A while back I had some stock in Oracle, I was amazed by Oracle and specifically by Ellison — it’s CEO and co-founder. When this biography (authorized) came out I immediately read it — it’s one of the few books I chose to read while still in college.

It is a fascinating look at Ellison. What is so fascinating about this biography is the stipulation Ellison put on his cooperation:

>Ellison agreed to cooperate with the project, but as part of the deal, he reserved the right to respond, which he does in a series of running footnotes.

No seriously. The book is massive and most of that is because Ellison is trying to put his spin on everything. It’s excellent.

If you want to know just how good Ellison is at what he does, this is the best insight into that. He is like an amplified and unrestrained Steve Jobs and really a lot more.

Anyways Oracle may not be a sexy company to learn about, but it’s CEO certainly is interesting, [for example](http://ellisonfoundation.org/): Ellison started a foundation (as billionaires do), but they aren’t out to cure cancer or other diseases, it’s not about education either — no Ellison’s foundation seeks to cure aging. Yeah, getting old. Now, it’s not all a joke — real research is being done and money given out that most likely does help people — but still, it’s funny.