The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison: *God Doesn't Think He's Larry Ellison | 
 enlarge | Author: Mike Wilson
Publisher: Collins Business
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  43 reviews
Sales Rank: 114443
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 420
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 0060008768
Dewey Decimal Number: 920
EAN: 9780060008765
ASIN: 0060008768
Publication Date: November 1, 2003
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Condition: Paperback, Book in Excellent Condition
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Amazon.com
It seems like all of the biggest names in the computer industry are getting the celebrity bio treatment these days. But no corporate CEO deserves it more than Larry Ellison, the charismatic head of Oracle Corp. This isn't your standard, dry, "learn-from-his-example" type of life. It's not that Ellison's life doesn't offer the same lessons in hard-won business success as some of his colleague's, because it certainly does. It's just vastly more entertaining. In The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison, author Mike Wilson delivers a fascinating and genuinely interesting portrayal of Silicon Valley's most notorious bad boy, constructed from hundreds of interviews with friends, colleagues, and those unfortunate enough to stand in Ellison's way. There are plenty of behind-the-scenes stories of the growth and worldwide success of Oracle, which Ellison founded in 1977. Plus, there's plenty of the good stuff: tales of Ellison's truly fast-lane lifestyle, filled with big boats, beautiful women, and celebrity friends. While this book probably won't transform you into a fan of Ellison's, you will be grateful for a chance to observe him--from a safe distance. The punchline is "God doesn't think he's Larry Ellison," of course.
Product Description
Larry Ellison started the high-flying tech company Oracle with $1,200 in 1977 and turned it into a billion-dollar Silicon Valley giant. If Bill Gates is the tech world's nerd king, Ellison is its Warren Beatty: racing yachts, buying jets, and romancing beautiful women. His rise to fame and fortune is a tale of entrepreneurial brilliance, ruthless tactics, and a constant stream of half-truths and outright fabrications for which the man and his company are notorious. Investigative reporter Mike Wilson, with access to Ellison himself and more than 125 of his friends, enemies, and former Oracle employees, has created an eye-opening, utterly fascinating portrayal of a Silicon Valley success story ... filled with the stuff that dreams and cultural icons are made of.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 38 more reviews...
 Great Book! April 17, 2005
I absoultly loved this book. I am currently recieving my MBA, and it gave me a whole new perspective about how busniess can be, how it can suceed, and fail. Also, Ellisons sotry is realy fabulous, and the author does a great job of interviewing many of Ellison's ex-wives, ex-employyes etc. This gives a very realistic viw of Oracle, and how they felt about Ellison. I started ths book this morning, and I simply could not put it down until an hour ago when i finished it. Great Read!
 Interesting reading March 11, 2005
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It's a very good book in terms of the history of the computing giants that shaped the world. It kept my attention long enough to dedicate 2 days to reading it cover to cover. As an Oracle programmer, it helped me understand some of the thoughts I had of the company since working with their product since the early 90's.
The author tried the address the book as a novel, skipping around in time and making it difficult to follow. You go from 1977 to 1989 to 1991 to 1984 to 1996 to ... (you get what I mean). Confusing.
This is the type of book that needed to be more linear in timeline or overlapping in timeline, but not arranged the way it was. Still, very enjoyable and worth the read for those that enjoy the behind the scenes action that shaped technology as we know it today.
 A candid look at Ellison February 14, 2005
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Okay, so who is this guy Larry Ellison? He's the man behind Oracle, one of the world's largest software companies. Not only is he known for his "battles" with Bill Gates of Microsoft, but also for his personal and professional exploits.
Even though I thoroughly enjoyed this biography, I felt it was lacking something. I'm not sure what exactly, but I walked away feeling Ellison to be some sort of a lone egomaniac, using everyone and everything around him to further grow Oracle - and by extension, him - into even greater success.
Not that there is little biographic value, because there is. His childhood is chronicled, how he left behind his humble beginnings and attained greatness. Had it been any other person, they would perhaps have been forever relegated to a life of poverty, misery, etc. But Ellison overcame that and became a billionaire. So if anything, it is a story of triumph, both in his own life - though admittedly filled with tragedies of divorce, etc. - and in Oracle's.
I would suggest that you read it, but don't make it the sole biography. There are at least a couple of others, one even with commentary by Ellison. Check them out! :)
Sure, Bill Gates is richer, but I'd rather be Larry Ellison! January 3, 2005
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book was a great read, and it was a blast reading about the great Larry Ellison. Larry Ellison's personality comes out in this book. He is a fun, flamboyant, in-your-face billionaire who knows how to enjoy the money he makes. Big houses, sharp clothes, fast cars, and hot women! Oh, yeah, he also built up a pretty good business.
Larry, you're the man!!
Long, repetetive and incomplete August 22, 2004
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
This book could have perfect at 100 pages. Instead the book goes on and on about how bad, delusional, self-centered and lying Larry Ellison is. It also belabores how decadent and immoral are Oracle's marketing and sales people.
The book does not really paint a picture of how Oracle became successful. The time line is blurred, instead, we get repetetive stories ripped out of different periods in Oracle's history.
The explanations of database industry and technology sector overall are weak.
Perhaps if the book was shorter, I would not be as negative, but as it stands at 350 pages, I can not recommend it.
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