Softwar: An Intimate Portrait of Larry Ellison and Oracle
Original price was: €31.€22Current price is: €22.
Price: $30.99 - $21.94
(as of Sep 22, 2025 11:34:00 UTC – Details)
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 cofounded 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.
In Softwar, journalist Matthew Symonds gives readers 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. With unlimited insider access granted by Ellison himself, Symonds captures the intensity and, some would say, the recklessness that have made Ellison a legend.
With a new and expanded epilogue for the paperback edition that tells the story behind Oracle’s epic struggle to win control of PeopleSoft, 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.
Publisher : Simon & Schuster
Publication date : September 7, 2004
Language : English
Print length : 528 pages
ISBN-10 : 0743225058
ISBN-13 : 978-0743225052
Item Weight : 1.5 pounds
Dimensions : 6 x 1.3 x 9 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #89,134 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #18 in Computer & Technology Biographies #79 in Computers & Technology Industry #149 in Biographies of Business & Industrial Professionals
Customer Reviews: 4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 180 ratings var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Customers say
Customers find the book entertaining and informative, with one review noting extensive access to the subjects. The book provides a fascinating look inside Oracle and Larry Ellison’s amazing life. While customers appreciate the content, they mention the book is a bit long.
12 reviews for Softwar: An Intimate Portrait of Larry Ellison and Oracle
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Original price was: €31.€22Current price is: €22.
The Swan –
Inside the Mind of a Software Genius!
Full disclosure requires me to report, at the outset of this review, that I had the privilege to work for Larry Ellison and Oracle Corporation back in the mid to late 80’s. During my time at Oracle, I enjoyed the unique opportunity to meet with Mr. Ellison on a couple of most memorable occasions. When I did, I always had the distinct feeling that I was in the presence of a genius. And indeed, I was.In this unique, remarkable, and truly excellent book, Matthew Symonds captures, as well as a journalist could, what an amazing man Mr. Ellison is, and what an amazing company he founded and led to unbelievable success. Symonds also gives a truly special look inside the mind and character of the enigmatic founder of this software colossus.Currently, I am working on a book on the Relational Model for Database. And I picked up this book by Symonds as part of my research. Having read “Softwar”, I am well prepared to describe, with awe, the remarkable role that Mr. Larry Ellison played in making Dr. E.F. Codd’s dream a reality. Indeed, as Codd provided the theoretical foundation for the Relational Model for Database, and fought valiantly for its acceptance, even unto his death, Ellison probably merits more credit than any particular human being for making the Relational Model a commercial reality, and success.A common theme occurs throughout this wonderful book. The theme is that programmers, of which Larry Ellison is certainly one, are constantly playing the game of “I’m Smarter than You” whenever locked in technical debate. One of the reasons that Ellison is so disliked by many uninformed observers in the industry is that he nearly always won that game. And that sort of unparalleled excellence always seems to become the object of jealousy.I strongly recommend this excellent book to any who would understand both Mr. Ellison and the history of his amazing company. God bless.
Elteto –
but the book is an excellent work.
Though this book is a couple of years old, it is still a fascinating look at Ellison and Oracle. The author had extensive access to the subjects, and though he occasionally spends a bit too much time on seemingly unimportant details (sailing), there is a lot to learn from the twists and turns of both Ellison’s life and the history of his company. Giving Ellison the chance to comment at the end of each chapter even adds extra entertainment value. People often tend to be polarized in their opinion of both Ellison and Oracle, but the book is an excellent work.
Nicholas Honko –
If you want to know a lot about Ellison AND Oracle
For years it seems like I’ve heard about Larry Ellison being the complete antithesis of Bill Gates while at the same time earning almost as much money. Knowing this about him and very little about Oracle, I decided it was time to look into it. “Softwar” appears to blend a few things that I find very desirable into one book.First, its written by an independent observer– Matthew Symonds of the Economist. While who can say whether this is truly an unbiased account, the vast majority of the book seems to portray Oracle in good light, but contains quips that allow the reader to see where all the Oracle detractors might have a point.Second, Larry Ellison. When Symonds writes something or quotes someone (like Tom Siebel or other former employees) and Ellison disagrees, he gets to chime in and tell his side of the story through footnotes. After looking at so many books that just don’t seem to have any proximity to Ellison, I chose this book mainly because you can get Ellison’s rhetoric straight from the horses’s mouth.Third, if you read this book soon, the information will be more practical than books that seem to focus on interesting, but outdated info about a companies products or strategies. I personally knew nothing of Enterprise software or hardware other than hearing people complain about SAP. Now I at least have a semblence of knowledge about a field I’ll probably end up at least working with.If you want a book that puts Oracle in a good light while displaying its bad side at times and to hear mostly about Oracle with a brief biography of Ellison and how he commands the world’s second largest software company, read it! PS I loved it.
Jim W –
Interesting, but too long.
An interesting read, and certainly gave me new insights into Larry Ellison and Oracle. But the same insights and a more compelling could have been told in a book that was a third shorter.
Kasonde –
A Good Read
I really enjoyed the book and would definitely love to an updated version that builds upon and has transpired in the last 22 years
Dave –
terrific meandering read on Larry
I mean, I really enjoyed it, but maybe an editor could have helped. Not sure I needed the blow by blow on that much sailing, but the business stuff was terrific.
Bryan Grenn –
Great book to give the back story
I am a recently new Oracle employee. I have been in the database industry using Oracle products for 20+ years. This book was great to give a lot of the background to all the changes I saw over the years. It really helped explain the company attitude of “it’s better to make a bad decision than do nothing”.For someone not exposed to Oracle and the software products sold, I’m sure it can be difficult t I understand the significance of what was happening.This book also explains why engineered systems is such a key direction for Oracle and Larry’s vision.
Peter Bl. –
This book was written by a journalist, so you get a very good picture of the man and his journey. Riveting read, very enjoyable.
Simon –
I love it…
Anil Kumar Karnal –
Good
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london33 –
Larry Ellison is undoubtedly and impressive individual. Matt Symonds clearly admires Ellison and with good reason. However, the book feels far from objective, particularly from a journalist. Reviews outside of Amazon describe it as “overly fawning” which matches my experience with the book. In addition, the book can in places be rather repetitive, particularly when discussing the Business Suite and Ellison’s belief that Oracle enterprise software would be the singular and ultimate business application suite.I finished book thinking that with Symonds’ level of access to Ellison, the book could have been so much more.