Difference Between God and Larry Ellison*, the *God Doesn't Think He's Larry E: *God Doesn't Think He's Larry Ellison / Inside Oracle Corporation

Silicon Valley seems to hold an endless fascination for business readers, and there are few more intriguing characters than Larry Ellison, founder and CEO of Oracle Corp., the huge software firm, and reputedly the fifth-richest man in the U.S. Be it the homes he is building, the women the thrice-divorced Ellison is dating or the (frequently none too favorable) comments he makes about his competitors, the self-made billionaire generates a lot of press. In this biography, Wilson, a reporter for the St. Petersburg Times, does a solid job of punching holes in the myths that surround Ellison. It turns out that his subject didn't grow up on the streets of Chicago, as he has led some to believe, nor does he have a college degree, let alone the graduate degrees attributed to him. As for the rest of Wilson's take on Ellison, who agreed to be interviewed for the book, the title tells close to all. The author paints a slightly broader picture of his subject, but this ""update"" of the Citizen Kane legend makes it clear no one is going to accuse Ellison of being self-effacing. Photos not seen by PW. (Nov.)