2006, ISBN: 9780060840846

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Simon & Schuster. Very Good. 7 x 1.5 x 9.75 inches. Hardcover. 2003. 528 pages.<br>A history of the computer company Oracle chronicles its rise to become one of the industry… Mehr…

Simon & Schuster. Very Good. 7 x 1.5 x 9.75 inches. Hardcover. 2003. 528 pages.<br>A history of the computer company Oracle chronicles its rise to become one of the industry's most powerful and profi table companies, noting its penchant for reinventing itself in pu rsuit of new goals. Editorial Reviews Review Softwar is a biography of Larry Ellison and his company, Oracle. As such , it's simultaneously a portrait of a clever and driven man, a ca se study of a successful software development company, and a tabl eau of the commercial software industry from its beginnings, thro ugh the dot-com craze, and into the present era. Matthew Symonds, who began this project while working as the editor of the excell ent technology section of the Economist, has done a great job wit h all three elements of his project, thanks in no small part to t he tremendous access he was given and to his close collaboration with Ellison. Collaboration is very nearly the right word, as El lison reviewed Symonds' manuscript before publication and, while he did not alter it, he did make a large number of comments, whic h appear in the book as footnotes. As Symonds is a good journalis t who attributes most of his material, Ellison is able to take is sue immediately with statements other people make about him and h is company. The overall effect is hypertextual, and represents an important new biographical technique that other writers should i mitate. Softwar succeeds because Ellison has a fantastically inte resting life, tremendous experience, and carefully considered opi nions, and because Symonds communicates them with clarity and sty le. --David Wall Topics covered: The life, times, acquaintances, tastes, toys, and opinions of Larry Ellison, the database entrep reneur and CEO of Oracle Corporation. From Publishers Weekly Sy monds was technology editor at the Economist when Ellison invited him to collaborate on a book about e-business, but the journalis t decided he would rather write a profile of the software tycoon, one of Silicon Valley's most notorious figures. Oracle's databas e programs have become integral to the Internet and other network ed computer systems, and Oracle's head is convinced that he can s urpass Microsoft as the industry leader. But he's also developed a reputation for his aggressive corporate tactics and personal fl amboyance. Ellison agreed to cooperate with the project, but as p art of the deal, he reserved the right to respond, which he does in a series of running footnotes. Sometimes he only uses the oppo rtunity to mouth business platitudes, but he also refutes stories , cracks jokes and even argues with other sources. Although the b ook deals extensively with Oracle's efforts to promote a new soft ware package, it comes to life most when it follows Ellison outsi de the office-prepping his sailboat for a run at the America's Cu p or overseeing the final touches on a Japanese garden complex. S ymonds's near-total access to his subject leads to intimate obser vations that verge on personal advice, as when the writer suggest s how best to handle a top Oracle executive or comments on the re lationship between Ellison and his two children. But he remains o bjective enough to point out several mistakes in the past managem ent of Oracle (many of which Ellison acknowledges or clarifies). Even without its unusual counterpoint, the book would stand as a compelling portrayal of one of the computer industry's most influ ential leaders. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Publishers Weekly Symonds was technology editor at the Econo mist when Ellison invited him to collaborate on a book about e-bu siness, but the journalist decided he would rather write a profil e of the software tycoon, one of Silicon Valley's most notorious figures. Oracle's database programs have become integral to the I nternet and other networked computer systems, and Oracle's head i s convinced that he can surpass Microsoft as the industry leader. But he's also developed a reputation for his aggressive corporat e tactics and personal flamboyance. Ellison agreed to cooperate w ith the project, but as part of the deal, he reserved the right t o respond, which he does in a series of running footnotes. Someti mes he only uses the opportunity to mouth business platitudes, bu t he also refutes stories, cracks jokes and even argues with othe r sources. Although the book deals extensively with Oracle's effo rts to promote a new software package, it comes to life most when it follows Ellison outside the office-prepping his sailboat for a run at the America's Cup or overseeing the final touches on a J apanese garden complex. Symonds's near-total access to his subjec t leads to intimate observations that verge on personal advice, a s when the writer suggests how best to handle a top Oracle execut ive or comments on the relationship between Ellison and his two c hildren. But he remains objective enough to point out several mis takes in the past management of Oracle (many of which Ellison ack nowledges or clarifies). Even without its unusual counterpoint, t he book would stand as a compelling portrayal of one of the compu ter industry's most influential leaders. Copyright 2003 Reed Bus iness Information, Inc. From Booklist There has been a war brewi ng in the software industry that most computer users don't even k now about. Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, wants to supplant th e current Windows-based client-server network architecture with a totally Internet-based solution that would simplify computing an d make Microsoft's server software obsolete. Even now, Oracle is the dominant software in business; every time you do a Google sea rch or buy something on , you are using it. Anyone who craves a play-by-play account of Ellison and the evolution of the number-one relational database in the world can really sink thei r teeth into this. There is a slightly bizarre twist to this high -tech tale: Ellison himself gets to throw in running commentary a t the bottom of many pages, augmenting and often contradicting th e author's text in his own brash style. Beware if you 're not up on your geekspeak, though, as the casual reader will get lost in all the IT systems acronyms thrown around, such as CRM, ERP, HR a nd TPC-C. More entertaining than the technical jargon is the ruth less backstabbing that goes on between Ellison and big-name compe titors such as Microsoft, Seibel Systems, PeopleSoft and i2 Techn ologies. David Siegfried Copyright © American Library Association . All rights reserved Review Alan Goldstein The Dallas Morning N ews Thank goodness for Larry Ellison. The chairman and chief exec utive of Oracle Corporation always keeps things interesting. -- R eview About the Author Matthew Symonds is currently political ed itor of The Economist, but before that was the magazine's technol ogy and communications editor for nearly four years. He has also been a founding editorial director of The Independent and strateg y director of BBC Worldwide Television. Symonds lives in London w ith his wife and three children. Excerpt. ® Reprinted by permiss ion. All rights reserved. Chapter One: Larry and Me I first met Larry Ellison in his office at Oracle's Redwood Shores headquart ers on December 8, 1997. I had recently become The Economist's te chnology and communications editor, and this was the first of wha t became regular visits to Silicon Valley. I had just completed t wo days of meetings at Microsoft's campus at Redmond, Washington, 800 miles to the north, where an array of impressively on-messag e executives had been wheeled out for my benefit -- though unfort unately not Bill Gates himself. I would see him on my next visit, I was assured. But there was a strong hint that face time with B ill was conditional on The Economist's taking a more sympathetic line toward Microsoft in the antitrust case that the Department o f Justice was preparing against it. After a similar turn involvin g Oracle's most senior managers, I had been promised time with El lison himself. It turned out I'd picked a bad afternoon. I didn 't know it at the time, but Oracle was about to issue its first e arnings warning since the firm had nearly gone under in 1990. The economic crisis in Asia had taken its toll, and in North America , slowing license sales of Oracle's most important product, its a ll-conquering database, seemed to support the argument of some an alysts that Oracle was dominating a market that was getting close to saturation. The following day, the stock lost 30 percent of i ts value. As I waited, I could see Ellison through the glass do ors of the eleventh-floor boardroom, huddled in conversation. He was already an hour and a half late for his interview with me and I knew he had to fly to New York later in the day to deliver a k eynote speech at an Internet conference. I had heard stories abou t Ellison's lateness and didn't believe the press flak's distract ed excuses about an emergency being the cause of the delay. Let's leave it for another time, I suggested grumpily. But at that mom ent, I was suddenly ushered into Ellison's handsome office with i ts expensive Japanese artifacts and panoramic views across the ba y. Despite the strain he must have been under, Ellison was cour tesy itself. After apologizing profusely for his lateness, he beg an to talk about technology. His theme was the failure of the pre vailing computer architecture of the day, known as client/server (because the job of running software was shared between server co mputers in corporate data centers and their desktop PC clients). He believed client/server was an evolutionary dead end that was d istributing complexity with disastrous consequences. The answer w as a new model of computing based on the Internet, in which the c omplexity and the computing would be hidden in the network. Users would be able to access everything they needed through a web bro wser that could be run by a machine much less expensive and canta nkerous than a PC -- a network computer. There was nothing unex pected in this. It was a drum that Ellison had been beating for s ome time, and conceptually it was little different from Sun Micro systems's famous slogan that the network is the computer. Ellison had first declared the PC a ridiculous device at a technology co nference in Paris more than two years earlier. The speech, at the height of the hoopla surrounding the release of Windows 95 and i n front of an audience that included Bill Gates, caused a minor s ensation. Ellison ran through a well-rehearsed routine, but the re was nonetheless something extraordinarily compelling about his argument. He seemed to be speaking directly to the problems that anyone who depended on computers at work knew all too well: the crash-prone PC with its incomprehensible error messages; the incr edible effort of maintaining thousands of PCs across a company; t he apparently insurmountable difficulties of getting reasonable p erformance and scalability across wide-area networks. The argumen ts seemed utterly rational and commonsensical, while Ellison hims elf was passionate and funny. ??? Over the next three years, Ellison was proved to be far more right than wrong. The network c omputer itself proved to be a dazzling digression: Ellison had be en right about how the Internet would change the way computers we re used, but most people still reckoned that the best way of gett ing to the Internet was through a PC. A few network computers wer e made by Oracle and a loosely knit coalition of Microsoft's enem ies, such as IBM and Sun Microsystems, but tumbling PC prices and the limitations imposed by slow dial-up connections quickly cond emned them to irrelevance. Microsoft crowed; Ellison was made to look a bit foolish. But the PC versus the NC was a sideshow that stole attention from the real struggle for the future of computin g. What mattered was that Ellison had understood better than anyo ne the potential impact of the Internet on enterprise computing i n general and on Oracle in particular.* While the technology an alysts in the investment banks and the consultancies confidently predicted the maturing of the database market, Ellison realized t hat the Internet would exponentially increase both the number of database transactions and the number of people who would interact with Oracle's databases. That would mean more license growth tha n the analysts had dreamed of. Every time someone looked for a bo ok on , bought stock through E*TRADE, or put something up for auction on , that person was using an Oracle database. Ellison believed that the database would be the essential platfo rm for Internet computing, effectively displacing the once all-im portant operating system. Within companies, the same thing woul d happen. Instead of business software being used by only a handf ul of specialists, Internet-based applications could be extended to anyone with authorization and a browser. Every time one of tho se applications was used, there was a good chance that it would q uery the database that the application ran on. When the networkin g giant Cisco Systems talked of having a URL for everything we do , it was another way of saying that everybody they employed was c onstantly using the firm's Oracle database. In a client/server wo rld, less sophisticated databases, such as Microsoft's SQL Server , might have become good enough for many businesses, but with Int ernet computing came the need for databases that could support mi llions of users at once. With the coming of e-business, Oracle's databases became at least as much an essential element of infrast ructure as Cisco's routers or the big server computers made by th e likes of Sun that were also back in fashion. It was no coincide nce that in early 2000 those three companies -- the three superst ars of the Internet -- had a combined market value of nearly a tr illion dollars. If that was a stroke of luck for Oracle, what w asn't was Ellison's decision, to the horror of many colleagues an d customers, to abandon all further development of client/server- based applications and concentrate the firm's entire engineering effort on building for the new computing architecture of the Inte rnet. While rivals in the apps business, such as the German power house SAP and PeopleSoft, talked up the Internet and put a web fr ont-end on some of their products, Ellison went much further. Ora cle was the first established software firm to risk everything on the new paradigm. His rationale was simple: Oracle could never hope to be number one in enterprise applications as long as clie nt/, Simon & Schuster, 2003, 3, Crown. Very Good. 6.5 x 1 x 9.5 inches. Hardcover. 2004. 288 pages. <br>In America's new war, the first guns in the fight are special operations forces, including the Navy SEALs, speciall y trained warriors who operate with precision, swiftness, and let hal force. In the constantly shifting war on terror, SEAL units-- small in number, flexible, stealthy, and efficient--are more vit al than ever to America's security as they take the battle to an elusive enemy around the globe. But how are Navy SEALs made? Wh at special training and preparation sharpen the physical skills a nd intangible character of a regular soldier into that of an elit e warrior? In the acclaimed Warrior Elite, former Navy SEAL Dick Couch narrated one SEAL class's journey through BUD/S training, t he brutal initial course that separates out candidates with the c haracter and stamina necessary to begin training as Navy SEALs. I n The Finishing School, Couch follows SEALs into the next levels of training, where they further develop their endurance and stren gth, but also learn the teamwork and finely honed skills they'll need to fight with the best--and win. Dick Couch spent six mont hs living with and observing SEALs in training for operational re adiness in the months leading up to the Iraqi campaign. He follow s them on the ground and in the water as they undergo SEAL Tactic al Training, where they master combat skills such as precision sh ooting, demolitions, secure communications, parachuting, diving, and first aid. From there, the men enter operational platoons, w here they subordinate their individual abilities to the mission o f the group and train for special operations in specific geograph ical environments. Never before has a civilian writer been grante d such close access to the training of America's most elite milit ary forces. The Finishing School is essential reading for anyone who wants to know what goes into the making of America's best war riors. Editorial Reviews Review Couch is a well-qualified guide to this class of men who possess what he calls a relentless desi re to fight and win as a team. -Wall Street Journal Lively, info rmative, and intimidating. -Bob Kerrey, president, New School Uni versity, BUD/S Class 42 From the Trade Paperback edition. From the Inside Flap In America's new war, the first guns in the fight are special operations forces, including the Navy SEALs, special ly trained warriors who operate with precision, swiftness, and le thal force. In the constantly shifting war on terror, SEAL units- -small in number, flexible, stealthy, and efficient--are more vi tal than ever to America's security as they take the battle to an elusive enemy around the globe. But how are Navy SEALs made? W hat special training and preparation sharpen the physical skills and intangible character of a regular soldier into that of an eli te warrior? In the acclaimed Warrior Elite, former Navy SEAL Dick Couch narrated one SEAL class's journey through BUD/S training, the brutal initial course that separates out candidates with the character and stamina necessary to begin training as Navy SEALs. In The Finishing School, Couch follows SEALs into the next levels of training, where they further develop their endurance and stre ngth, but also learn the teamwork and finely honed skills they'll need to fight with the best--and win. Dick Couch spent six mon ths living with and observing SEALs in training for operational r eadiness in the months leading up to the Iraqi campaign. He follo ws them on the ground and in the water as they undergo SEAL Tacti cal Training, where they master combat skills such as precision s hooting, demolitions, secure communications, parachuting, diving, and first aid. From there, the men enter operational platoons, where they subordinate their individual abilities to the mission of the group and train for special operations in specific geograp hical environments. Never before has a civilian writer been grant ed such close access to the training of America's most elite mili tary forces. The Finishing School is essential reading for anyone who wants to know what goes into the making of America's best wa rriors. About the Author DICK COUCH is the author of The Warrio r Elite: The Forging of SEAL Class 228 and five novels. He comman ded a SEAL platoon in Vietnam that conducted one of the few succe ssful POW rescue operations of the war. He lives in central Idaho . About the Author DICK COUCH is the author of The Warrior Elite : The Forging of SEAL Class 228 and five novels. He commanded a S EAL platoon in Vietnam that conducted one of the few successful P OW rescue operations of the war. He lives in central Idaho. Exce rpt. ® Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. The Prerequi sites THE BASIC COURSE There are a number of things a young man must do before he begins the serious business of SEAL finishing s chool. Before the Navy or Naval Special Warfare will invest the t ime and money to train a man to be a Navy SEAL, they want to know two things: Is he smart enough and is he tough enough for this b usiness? SEAL candidates are screened carefully for mental aptitu de, and most have the required mental ability. Basic Underwater D emolition/SEAL training, or BUD/S, is designed to test whether th ese SEAL hopefuls have the toughness. What we are talking about h ere is what the SEALs call Hack It School, or Pain 101. In the c ulture of the Navy SEAL teams, it all begins at BUD/S. Perhaps no other military training carries with it the mystique--and pain-- associated with this training. The Warrior Elite focused on this basic course. It is the crucible that takes qualified young sailo rs and naval officers and makes them candidates for SEAL training . Note that I used the term candidates for SEAL training. But BUD /S is where the real making of a Navy SEAL begins. Granted, the p rice of admission to the qualification course is steep. The coin of this culture is counted in terms of sweat and pain. Men are ve tted in BUD/S for their commitment and determination; it's a meas ure of heart. It is an accomplishment in itself to successfully c omplete BUD/S, but the basic course is no more than an admissions slip to advanced SEAL training--the finishing school. The etern al debate about BUD/S is whether this is a training program or a testing ground. In reality, it is both. First of all, it is an el aborate, tradition-bound screening process that seeks to find men who would rather die than quit. This is accomplished with a puni shing diet of physical conditioning, cold water, and lack of slee p--the same conditions in which Navy SEALs are expected to operat e. BUD/S trainees learn early on that unless they can come to ter ms with being cold and miserable for extended periods of time, th ey don't belong here. The training is brutal by design. BUD/S al so lays the foundation for basic SEAL operational skills. Many of these skills are fundamental, military/special operations tradec raft, and others are maritime-centric skills. The Navy SEAL is a versatile animal, capable of many of the disciplines of other SOF (special operations forces) components. The other SOF components , such as the Special Forces, the Rangers, and the Air Force Spec ial Tactics Teams, also conduct diving and small-boat training, b ut no special operator in the SOF community is as comfortable in the water as a SEAL. For the others, water is an obstacle; for SE ALs, it is a refuge. While SEAL capabilities do not stop at the w ater's edge, SEALs are, and will remain, the primary special oper ations maritime force. Before a man can become a SEAL, he must fi rst become a frogman. He must excel in a variety of military skil ls, but it is essential that he be comfortable in and under the s ea. Again, it all begins at BUD/S. This basic course, start to f inish, is a thirty-week endurance test. The attrition is dramatic as many young men discover that they have neither the heart nor the physical stamina for this life. Only about one man in five wh o passes the screening test and is admitted to BUD/S training wil l qualify to wear the Navy SEAL Trident. BUD/S is conducted at th e Naval Special Warfare Center in Coronado, California. The Cente r, as it is called, is on the Naval Amphibious Base, a naval base that straddles a sand spit that connects the near-island of Coro nado to the city of Imperial Beach, situated just north of the U. S.-Mexican border. This famous sand spit is know as the Silver St rand, or simply the Strand. INDOC BUD/S training is conducted i n three phases: First Phase--physical conditioning; Second Phase- -diver training; and Third Phase--land warfare. In order to prepa re trainees for phase training, SEAL candidates must complete a p retraining course called the Indoctrination Course, or Indoc. Off icially, the purpose of Indoc is to physically, mentally, and env ironmentally prepare qualified SEAL candidates to begin BUD/S tra ining. Prior to the beginning of Indoc, trainees arrive at the Na val Special Warfare Center. For the most part, this is physical c onditioning without pressure--a time to tune up for the ordeal ah ead. BUD/S trainees come to the Special Warfare Center from a va riety of backgrounds. Newly commissioned ensigns come from the Na val Academy, the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC), an d a few from Officer Candidate School. Most classes include fleet officers, lieutenants or junior-grade lieutenants--who come to B UD/S after a tour aboard ship. The leadership of these seasoned o fficers is often critical to the success of a BUD/S class. Many o f the enlisted men come from boot camp, usually by way of a Navy school that will help them qualify in their rate, or naval techni cal specialty. They joined the Navy with the goal of becoming a N avy SEAL. Some enlisted men come from the fleet with shipboard ex perience or a tour at a shore facility. The leadership of these p etty officers is also critical to the success of a BUD/S class. A nd some SEAL candidates, both officers and enlisted men, come fro m other services. The challenge of BUD/S training draws men from other SOF components and from the Marine Corps. The Indoctrinati on Course is currently a five-week curriculum. Here the trainees will learn the rules and conventions of BUD/S training, and about the culture and ethos of this warrior class. Indoc is also desig ned to physically and mentally bring the class together. Most of the students have prepared for this individually. Now they will l ive and train as a class--as a team. The days are long with liber al doses of timed beach runs, soft-sand conditioning runs, group physical training (known as PT sessions), and a great deal of tim e in the water. There are standards of performance--individual ti mes that trainees must achieve or face being dropped from the cou rse. BUD/S classes that work together and demonstrate teamwork wi ll not necessarily have an easy time of it, but they can avoid a great deal of discretionary pain. Team play, and the lack of it, never escapes the watchful eyes of the BUD/S instructors. A day in the life of an Indoc trainee begins at 0530 for pool training or for a four-mile beach run. After breakfast, his morning could be taken up by calisthenics, the obstacle course (called simply t he O-course), or practical work with basic SEAL equipment. The af ternoon could begin with a conditioning run in the soft sand, mor e pool work, or classroom sessions on subjects ranging from first aid to proper nutrition. There may or may not be a training evol ution after the evening meal. Many times throughout the training day, the class is sent into the surf, usually in their fatigue un iforms and boots. Now they are cold and wet. On their return from the surf, they are made to roll in the sand. Now they are cold, wet, and sandy--a normal condition for a BUD/S trainee. There is a price to pay for meals as well. The round-trip from the Center to the chow hall is two miles. That's six miles of running, often after a trip to the surf, just to get three squares a day. This will continue, in one form or another, for the next six months. At the conclusion of Indoc, the attrition has already begun. Five percent of the candidates quit before they even begin Indoc; the y simply become intimidated by the whole process. Up to 20 percen t will voluntarily drop from training during Indoc--a few from in juries, some from the pain of the moment, but most because they n ow understand that this pace and the cold water will not end for months and months. In truth, it will never end. Most of these men are physically capable, but they lack the mental toughness to co ntinue. Most still want to be Navy SEALs. They simply didn't unde rstand the price of admission to this club. FIRST PHASE First P hase training presents a different set of instructors and a new s et of challenges for the BUD/S class. First Phase is quite simila r to Indoc, but the intensity is turned up a notch--perhaps two n otches. It begins on day one with a killer PT session. After a tr ip to the surf and a roll in the sand, each trainee will do more than five hundred push-ups and sixty pull-ups before First Phase is an hour old. Each man is expected to lower his run, swim, and O-course times. There are new challenges like surf passage and l og PT--a game in which the teams of trainees juggle sections of t elephone poles. They undergo a drown-proofing test with their han ds and feet bound, and an underwater fifty-five-yard swim without fins. In First Phase, the days are longer than in Indoc, with le ss time for sleep. The weekends, which provide much-needed time f or battered bodies to rest and heal, seem shorter. And for First Phase trainees, the prospect of an upcoming Hell Week hangs over them like a dark cloud. Pre-Hell Week training is devoted to tou ghening a class and preparing it for Hell Week. Post-Hell Week tr aining must allow for healing and teaching skills the class will need before it moves on to the advanced phases of BUD/S training. This balance is not easy to achieve. Hell Week may be one of the most intense and demanding challenges, both physically and menta lly, in the armed forces of any nation. A class may lose 20 to 40 percent of its number in the days before Hell Week. During Hell Week alone it can be as high as 60 percent. I closely followed Cl ass 228 during the writing of The Warrior Elite. Ninety-eight men began Indoc with Class 228. Of those ninety-eight, nineteen fini shed Hell Week. Of those nineteen, ten graduated with Class 228. A tradition that begins during Indoc and carries over into First Phase is intense competition within the class. The competition i s driven in large part by the fact that in BUD/S it, Crown, 2004, 3, Very Good. Beautiful Meg MacNeill never thought of herself as an heiress, let alone one of the richest, most eligible women in Scotland. Her humble upbringing in the Western Isles, and her secret child - born of a magical night and a mysterious man - make her role in glittering Edinburgh society seem unlikely, even dangerous . . . especially when she comes face-to-face with her devastatingly attractive enemy., 3, Pan Macmillan, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2003. First Edition. Hardcover. Good/No Dust Jacket. Hardcover. 300 pages. *** PUBLISHING DETAILS: Pan Macmillan, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2003. First Edition. *** CONDITION: This book is in good condition but dust jacket is not included. More specifically: Covers have superficial rubbing/wear. Edges of boards have superficial wear. Pages are clean and unmarked and in excellent condition. Minor edgewear to spine ends. *** ABOUT THIS BOOK: For Ellie Linton, being back on the farm with her parents is what makes the terrible things that happened during the war - the things she, Homer, Lee, Fi, and the others had to do - all worthwhile. It's where she belongs. But the war won't let her go. A devastating tragedy has shattered any hope she ever had to reclaim her life, or herself. It's a new kind of fight. And the enemy isn't always from the other side of the border. Another spectacular novel of war and its consequences by bestselling author John Marsden. *** Quantity Available: 1. Category: Children & Young Adult; Teenage Fiction; ISBN: 1405035544. ISBN/EAN: 9781405035545. Inventory No: 12070066.. 9781405035545, Pan Macmillan, 2003, 2.5, Harper Collins. Used; Acceptable. Enter the unforgettable world of New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens, creator of the phenomenal Cynster family. This amazing clan -- and their friends -- is a bold, powerful group of men who let nothing stand in their way when it comes to matters of the heart. And in this, Stephanie Laurens's newest novel, a passionate man and a daring woman confront the ultimate question. . . .<br /><br />What Price Love?<br /><br />There is nothing more fascinating than a darkly handsome rake, especially one as controlled and elusive as Dillon Caxton, protege of Demon Cynster. Despite his dangerous air, Dillon is a man of sterling reputation, but it wasn't always so. Years ago, an illicit scheme turned into a nefarious swindle, and only the help of his cousin, Felicity, and her husband, Demon, saved Dillon from ruin. Now impeccably honest, he guards his hard-won reputation and is the Keeper of the Register of all racing horses in England. His standing and aloofness make Dillon undeniably desirable to young ladies, but despite all the lures thrown his way, he remains uninterested -- his attention unfixed.<br /><br />Until "Miss Priscilla Dalling" erupts into his life. A stunning beauty, she affects Dillon as no other ever has, but what fascinates him even more is that this tempting young lady is clearly desperate, and equally clearly lying about wanting to see the Register to fulfill the whim of an eccentric aunt.<br /><br />Lady Priscilla Dalloway will do anything to see what's in the Register -- even lie! Her twin brother, Russell, who had fought with their father and left the family home to work with the finest racehorses, has disappeared. Pris knows that clues to his whereabouts can be found in the tome Dillon Caxton refuses to let her see.<br /><br />She unleashes her feminine wiles on Dillon -- to no avail. But Dillon is now determined to learn the truth behind her quest. Exploiting the powerful attraction that flares between them, he succeeds in convincing Pris to tell him all, to trust him with her twin's life. Together, Dillon and Pris locate Rus, only to discover that his life is being threatened by the perpetrators of a massive betting swindle.<br /><br />The time is ripe for Dillon to repay old debts by helping another as he himself was helped. Assisted by Demon, Felicity, and Barnaby Adair, Dillon and Pris embark on a journey riddled with danger -- and undeniable passion -- as they seek to overturn the swindle and expose Rus's deadly enemies. And along the way they discover the answer to that age-old question: What price love? . 2006. HARDCOVER., Harper Collins, 2006, 2.5<

2006, ISBN: 9780060840846

Simon & Schuster. Very Good. 7 x 1.5 x 9.75 inches. Hardcover. 2003. 528 pages.<br>A history of the computer company Oracle chronicles its rise to become one of the industry… Mehr…

Simon & Schuster. Very Good. 7 x 1.5 x 9.75 inches. Hardcover. 2003. 528 pages.<br>A history of the computer company Oracle chronicles its rise to become one of the industry's most powerful and profi table companies, noting its penchant for reinventing itself in pu rsuit of new goals. Editorial Reviews Amazon Review Softwar is a biography of Larry Ellison and his company, Oracle. As such , it's simultaneously a portrait of a clever and driven man, a ca se study of a successful software development company, and a tabl eau of the commercial software industry from its beginnings, thro ugh the dot-com craze, and into the present era. Matthew Symonds, who began this project while working as the editor of the excell ent technology section of the Economist, has done a great job wit h all three elements of his project, thanks in no small part to t he tremendous access he was given and to his close collaboration with Ellison. Collaboration is very nearly the right word, as El lison reviewed Symonds' manuscript before publication and, while he did not alter it, he did make a large number of comments, whic h appear in the book as footnotes. As Symonds is a good journalis t who attributes most of his material, Ellison is able to take is sue immediately with statements other people make about him and h is company. The overall effect is hypertextual, and represents an important new biographical technique that other writers should i mitate. Softwar succeeds because Ellison has a fantastically inte resting life, tremendous experience, and carefully considered opi nions, and because Symonds communicates them with clarity and sty le. --David Wall Topics covered: The life, times, acquaintances, tastes, toys, and opinions of Larry Ellison, the database entrep reneur and CEO of Oracle Corporation. From Publishers Weekly Sy monds was technology editor at the Economist when Ellison invited him to collaborate on a book about e-business, but the journalis t decided he would rather write a profile of the software tycoon, one of Silicon Valley's most notorious figures. Oracle's databas e programs have become integral to the Internet and other network ed computer systems, and Oracle's head is convinced that he can s urpass Microsoft as the industry leader. But he's also developed a reputation for his aggressive corporate tactics and personal fl amboyance. Ellison agreed to cooperate with the project, but as p art of the deal, he reserved the right to respond, which he does in a series of running footnotes. Sometimes he only uses the oppo rtunity to mouth business platitudes, but he also refutes stories , cracks jokes and even argues with other sources. Although the b ook deals extensively with Oracle's efforts to promote a new soft ware package, it comes to life most when it follows Ellison outsi de the office-prepping his sailboat for a run at the America's Cu p or overseeing the final touches on a Japanese garden complex. S ymonds's near-total access to his subject leads to intimate obser vations that verge on personal advice, as when the writer suggest s how best to handle a top Oracle executive or comments on the re lationship between Ellison and his two children. But he remains o bjective enough to point out several mistakes in the past managem ent of Oracle (many of which Ellison acknowledges or clarifies). Even without its unusual counterpoint, the book would stand as a compelling portrayal of one of the computer industry's most influ ential leaders. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Publishers Weekly Symonds was technology editor at the Econo mist when Ellison invited him to collaborate on a book about e-bu siness, but the journalist decided he would rather write a profil e of the software tycoon, one of Silicon Valley's most notorious figures. Oracle's database programs have become integral to the I nternet and other networked computer systems, and Oracle's head i s convinced that he can surpass Microsoft as the industry leader. But he's also developed a reputation for his aggressive corporat e tactics and personal flamboyance. Ellison agreed to cooperate w ith the project, but as part of the deal, he reserved the right t o respond, which he does in a series of running footnotes. Someti mes he only uses the opportunity to mouth business platitudes, bu t he also refutes stories, cracks jokes and even argues with othe r sources. Although the book deals extensively with Oracle's effo rts to promote a new software package, it comes to life most when it follows Ellison outside the office-prepping his sailboat for a run at the America's Cup or overseeing the final touches on a J apanese garden complex. Symonds's near-total access to his subjec t leads to intimate observations that verge on personal advice, a s when the writer suggests how best to handle a top Oracle execut ive or comments on the relationship between Ellison and his two c hildren. But he remains objective enough to point out several mis takes in the past management of Oracle (many of which Ellison ack nowledges or clarifies). Even without its unusual counterpoint, t he book would stand as a compelling portrayal of one of the compu ter industry's most influential leaders. Copyright 2003 Reed Bus iness Information, Inc. From Booklist There has been a war brewi ng in the software industry that most computer users don't even k now about. Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, wants to supplant th e current Windows-based client-server network architecture with a totally Internet-based solution that would simplify computing an d make Microsoft's server software obsolete. Even now, Oracle is the dominant software in business; every time you do a Google sea rch or buy something on Amazon, you are using it. Anyone who craves a play-by-play account of Ellison and the evolution of the number-one relational database in the world can really sink thei r teeth into this. There is a slightly bizarre twist to this high -tech tale: Ellison himself gets to throw in running commentary a t the bottom of many pages, augmenting and often contradicting th e author's text in his own brash style. Beware if you 're not up on your geekspeak, though, as the casual reader will get lost in all the IT systems acronyms thrown around, such as CRM, ERP, HR a nd TPC-C. More entertaining than the technical jargon is the ruth less backstabbing that goes on between Ellison and big-name compe titors such as Microsoft, Seibel Systems, PeopleSoft and i2 Techn ologies. David Siegfried Copyright © American Library Association . All rights reserved Review Alan Goldstein The Dallas Morning N ews Thank goodness for Larry Ellison. The chairman and chief exec utive of Oracle Corporation always keeps things interesting. -- R eview About the Author Matthew Symonds is currently political ed itor of The Economist, but before that was the magazine's technol ogy and communications editor for nearly four years. He has also been a founding editorial director of The Independent and strateg y director of BBC Worldwide Television. Symonds lives in London w ith his wife and three children. Excerpt. ® Reprinted by permiss ion. All rights reserved. Chapter One: Larry and Me I first met Larry Ellison in his office at Oracle's Redwood Shores headquart ers on December 8, 1997. I had recently become The Economist's te chnology and communications editor, and this was the first of wha t became regular visits to Silicon Valley. I had just completed t wo days of meetings at Microsoft's campus at Redmond, Washington, 800 miles to the north, where an array of impressively on-messag e executives had been wheeled out for my benefit -- though unfort unately not Bill Gates himself. I would see him on my next visit, I was assured. But there was a strong hint that face time with B ill was conditional on The Economist's taking a more sympathetic line toward Microsoft in the antitrust case that the Department o f Justice was preparing against it. After a similar turn involvin g Oracle's most senior managers, I had been promised time with El lison himself. It turned out I'd picked a bad afternoon. I didn 't know it at the time, but Oracle was about to issue its first e arnings warning since the firm had nearly gone under in 1990. The economic crisis in Asia had taken its toll, and in North America , slowing license sales of Oracle's most important product, its a ll-conquering database, seemed to support the argument of some an alysts that Oracle was dominating a market that was getting close to saturation. The following day, the stock lost 30 percent of i ts value. As I waited, I could see Ellison through the glass do ors of the eleventh-floor boardroom, huddled in conversation. He was already an hour and a half late for his interview with me and I knew he had to fly to New York later in the day to deliver a k eynote speech at an Internet conference. I had heard stories abou t Ellison's lateness and didn't believe the press flak's distract ed excuses about an emergency being the cause of the delay. Let's leave it for another time, I suggested grumpily. But at that mom ent, I was suddenly ushered into Ellison's handsome office with i ts expensive Japanese artifacts and panoramic views across the ba y. Despite the strain he must have been under, Ellison was cour tesy itself. After apologizing profusely for his lateness, he beg an to talk about technology. His theme was the failure of the pre vailing computer architecture of the day, known as client/server (because the job of running software was shared between server co mputers in corporate data centers and their desktop PC clients). He believed client/server was an evolutionary dead end that was d istributing complexity with disastrous consequences. The answer w as a new model of computing based on the Internet, in which the c omplexity and the computing would be hidden in the network. Users would be able to access everything they needed through a web bro wser that could be run by a machine much less expensive and canta nkerous than a PC -- a network computer. There was nothing unex pected in this. It was a drum that Ellison had been beating for s ome time, and conceptually it was little different from Sun Micro systems's famous slogan that the network is the computer. Ellison had first declared the PC a ridiculous device at a technology co nference in Paris more than two years earlier. The speech, at the height of the hoopla surrounding the release of Windows 95 and i n front of an audience that included Bill Gates, caused a minor s ensation. Ellison ran through a well-rehearsed routine, but the re was nonetheless something extraordinarily compelling about his argument. He seemed to be speaking directly to the problems that anyone who depended on computers at work knew all too well: the crash-prone PC with its incomprehensible error messages; the incr edible effort of maintaining thousands of PCs across a company; t he apparently insurmountable difficulties of getting reasonable p erformance and scalability across wide-area networks. The argumen ts seemed utterly rational and commonsensical, while Ellison hims elf was passionate and funny. ??? Over the next three years, Ellison was proved to be far more right than wrong. The network c omputer itself proved to be a dazzling digression: Ellison had be en right about how the Internet would change the way computers we re used, but most people still reckoned that the best way of gett ing to the Internet was through a PC. A few network computers wer e made by Oracle and a loosely knit coalition of Microsoft's enem ies, such as IBM and Sun Microsystems, but tumbling PC prices and the limitations imposed by slow dial-up connections quickly cond emned them to irrelevance. Microsoft crowed; Ellison was made to look a bit foolish. But the PC versus the NC was a sideshow that stole attention from the real struggle for the future of computin g. What mattered was that Ellison had understood better than anyo ne the potential impact of the Internet on enterprise computing i n general and on Oracle in particular.* While the technology an alysts in the investment banks and the consultancies confidently predicted the maturing of the database market, Ellison realized t hat the Internet would exponentially increase both the number of database transactions and the number of people who would interact with Oracle's databases. That would mean more license growth tha n the analysts had dreamed of. Every time someone looked for a bo ok on Amazon, bought stock through E*TRADE, or put something up for auction on , that person was using an Oracle database. Ellison believed that the database would be the essential platfo rm for Internet computing, effectively displacing the once all-im portant operating system. Within companies, the same thing woul d happen. Instead of business software being used by only a handf ul of specialists, Internet-based applications could be extended to anyone with authorization and a browser. Every time one of tho se applications was used, there was a good chance that it would q uery the database that the application ran on. When the networkin g giant Cisco Systems talked of having a URL for everything we do , it was another way of saying that everybody they employed was c onstantly using the firm's Oracle database. In a client/server wo rld, less sophisticated databases, such as Microsoft's SQL Server , might have become good enough for many businesses, but with Int ernet computing came the need for databases that could support mi llions of users at once. With the coming of e-business, Oracle's databases became at least as much an essential element of infrast ructure as Cisco's routers or the big server computers made by th e likes of Sun that were also back in fashion. It was no coincide nce that in early 2000 those three companies -- the three superst ars of the Internet -- had a combined market value of nearly a tr illion dollars. If that was a stroke of luck for Oracle, what w asn't was Ellison's decision, to the horror of many colleagues an d customers, to abandon all further development of client/server- based applications and concentrate the firm's entire engineering effort on building for the new computing architecture of the Inte rnet. While rivals in the apps business, such as the German power house SAP and PeopleSoft, talked up the Internet and put a web fr ont-end on some of their products, Ellison went much further. Ora cle was the first established software firm to risk everything on the new paradigm. His rationale was simple: Oracle could never hope to be number one in enterprise applications a, Simon & Schuster, 2003, 3, 2003. Hardcover. FICTION As New As New. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Gift quality. About the book: With the knowing eye and fiery voice of an accomplished storyteller, Alice Borchardt takes us back to the amazing world of a re-envisioned Camelot in the continuing Tales of Guinevere. Remarkably strong, magically talented, a match for friend and foe alike, Guinevere has come into womanhood and faces a new relationship with Lancelot that will lead to the sharp-edged triangle of legend. . . . Born of the Highlands, along Pictish shores washed by the icy North Sea, Guinevere, Queen of the Dragon People, has become a woman. She has taken the power offered to her by the Dragon Throne. Now there is no turning back. In order to protect her beloved homeland from the obscene greed of the Saxon raiders, Guinevere knows she must launch an attack. The sub-chiefs refuse to fall in line with her plans (because what does this young thing, barely a woman, know of warfare?) and give her an army of the useless, the outcast, the weakest of their young boys and girls. But the war party must proceed. If it fails, the command of both land and sea will fall to the enemy. Facing her first battle against the pirates on foreign shores, and backed only by a meager band of ill-equipped fighters, Guinevere calls upon the spirits of the dead to aid her in the attack. Diving into the dark, morbid depths, Guinevere suddenly understands more of hate, love, anger, and revenge than she has ever wanted to. But the power the dead provide comes at a severe price. If she makes it through the raid, she will be a changed woman, in more ways than she can possibly imagine. Further south, Black Leg, her childhood companion, sets out on his own. It is a quest to become a man a man, he hopes, who will be worthy of the newly crowned Guinevere. A shapeshifter and the son of Guinevere s adoptive man-wolf father, Black Leg (soon to be Lancelot) feels he has much to learn and even more to prove. He discovers both his inner strength and an unmitigated passion when he meets the Lady of the Lake. But the trials of his journey both mental and physical turn out to be more perilous with each step. And when Lancelot and Guinevere are finally reunited, the consequences of both their ordeals will unleash a torrent of anguish and desire. With familiar names brilliantly repositioned for a new generation of Arthurian fans evil Merlin, conniving Igrane, complex Lancelot, tainted Arthur, and of course, warrior Guinevere Alice Borchardt s creation stands as a testament to the power of imagination., 2003, 5.5, Harper Collins. Used; Acceptable. Enter the unforgettable world of New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens, creator of the phenomenal Cynster family. This amazing clan -- and their friends -- is a bold, powerful group of men who let nothing stand in their way when it comes to matters of the heart. And in this, Stephanie Laurens's newest novel, a passionate man and a daring woman confront the ultimate question. . . .<br /><br />What Price Love?<br /><br />There is nothing more fascinating than a darkly handsome rake, especially one as controlled and elusive as Dillon Caxton, protege of Demon Cynster. Despite his dangerous air, Dillon is a man of sterling reputation, but it wasn't always so. Years ago, an illicit scheme turned into a nefarious swindle, and only the help of his cousin, Felicity, and her husband, Demon, saved Dillon from ruin. Now impeccably honest, he guards his hard-won reputation and is the Keeper of the Register of all racing horses in England. His standing and aloofness make Dillon undeniably desirable to young ladies, but despite all the lures thrown his way, he remains uninterested -- his attention unfixed.<br /><br />Until "Miss Priscilla Dalling" erupts into his life. A stunning beauty, she affects Dillon as no other ever has, but what fascinates him even more is that this tempting young lady is clearly desperate, and equally clearly lying about wanting to see the Register to fulfill the whim of an eccentric aunt.<br /><br />Lady Priscilla Dalloway will do anything to see what's in the Register -- even lie! Her twin brother, Russell, who had fought with their father and left the family home to work with the finest racehorses, has disappeared. Pris knows that clues to his whereabouts can be found in the tome Dillon Caxton refuses to let her see.<br /><br />She unleashes her feminine wiles on Dillon -- to no avail. But Dillon is now determined to learn the truth behind her quest. Exploiting the powerful attraction that flares between them, he succeeds in convincing Pris to tell him all, to trust him with her twin's life. Together, Dillon and Pris locate Rus, only to discover that his life is being threatened by the perpetrators of a massive betting swindle.<br /><br />The time is ripe for Dillon to repay old debts by helping another as he himself was helped. Assisted by Demon, Felicity, and Barnaby Adair, Dillon and Pris embark on a journey riddled with danger -- and undeniable passion -- as they seek to overturn the swindle and expose Rus's deadly enemies. And along the way they discover the answer to that age-old question: What price love? . 2006. HARDCOVER., Harper Collins, 2006, 2.5<

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[ED: Gebundene Ausgabe], [PU: Avon], EAN: 9780060840846 Das Titelbild der Auflage kann abweichen. Buch mit Gebrauchsspuren und vereinzelten Knicken, Flecken oder mit Gebrauchsspuren auf dem Einband vorhanden, ansonsten in gutem Zustand. Gegebenenfalls kann Namenseintrag oder Besitzerstempel tragen, 100% Zufriedenheit garantiert, kostenfreie Rücksendung, Rechnung mit Mehrwertsteuer per E-Mail im PDF-Format versandt., DE, [SC: 2.99], leichte Gebrauchsspuren, gewerbliches Angebot, 23.1 X 16 X 3.3 cm, 400, [GW: 680g], Banküberweisung, PayPal, Klarna-Sofortüberweisung, Internationaler Versand<