Softwar : an intimate portrait of Larry Ellison and Oracle / Mathew Symonds ; with commentary by Larry Ellison.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Symonds, Matthew.

Contributor:

Ellison, Larry.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ellison, Larry.

Oracle Corporation--History.

Oracle Corporation.

Computer software industry--United States--History.

Computer software industry.

History.

United States.

Businessmen--United States--Biography.

Businessmen.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xiii, 508 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Simon & Schuster, [2003]

Summary:

In a business where great risks, huge fortunes, and even bigger egos are common, Larry Ellison stands out as one of the most outspoken, driven, and daring leaders of the software industry. The company he confounded and runs, Oracle, is the number one business software company: perhaps even more than Microsoft's, Oracle's products are essential to today's networked world.

But Oracle is as controversial as it is influential, as feared as it is revered, thanks in large part to Larry Ellison. Though Oracle is one of the world's most valuable and profitable companies, Ellison is not afraid to suddenly change course and reinvent Oracle in the pursuit of new and ever more ambitious goals. Softwar examines the results of these shifts in strategy and the forces that drive Ellison relentlessly on.

In Softwar, journalist Matthew Symonds gives readers an exclusive and intimate insight into both Oracle and the man who made it and runs it. As well as relating the story of Oracle's often bumpy path to industry dominance, Symonds deals with the private side of Ellison's life. From Ellison's troubled upbringing by adoptive parents and his lifelong search for emotional security to the challenges and opportunities that have come with unimaginable wealth, Softwar gets inside the skin of a fascinating and complicated human being. With unlimited insider access granted by Ellison himself, Symonds captures the intensity and, some would say, the recklessness that have made Ellison a legend.

The result of more than a hundred hours of interviews and many months spent with Ellison, Softwar is the most complete portrait undertaken of the man and his empire -- a unique and gripping account of both the way the computing industry really works and an extraordinary life.

Despite his closeness to Ellison, Matthew Symonds is a candid and at times highly critical observer. And in perhaps the book's most unusual feature, Ellison responds to Symonds's portrayal in the form of a running footnoted commentary.

The result is one of the most fascinating business stories of all time.

Contents:

1 Larry and Me 1

2 On the Road 11

3 The War on Complexity 36

4 Beginnings 54

5 To the Limit 75

6 Growing Up 90

7 Best-of-Breed 112

8 Falling Out 136

9 The Laboratory 161

10 Ready or Not... 184

11 Taking Stock 205

12 Hungarian Lessons 227

13 Hill by Hill 233

14 The Last Database 246

15 Enemies 263

16 Chained to the Job 285

17 Alternative Stress 302

18 Sayonara Swan Song 322

19 Family Values 331

20 Three Strikes, You're Out 347

21 Larryland 369

22 A Life Beyond Oracle 380

23 "A Scrap of Information" 400

24 The Golden Nugget 418

25 A Perfect Storm 433

26 "The First Loser" 454

27 The Biggest Water Bottle 471.

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

074322504X

OCLC:

52638805