I own most of my success to the Java Platform and therefor, in my opinion, to the team that developed Java - including James Gosling. I've always been in awe of James Gosling mostly because he is deemed "the father of Java" and has been the top guy in the Java industry for as long as I can remember (stretching back to my introduction to Java in 1995).

My admiration for him is based on that fact that he invented a platform that was not only interesting and exciting but a platform that is perhaps the most successful programming platform in history. There are more Java software developers and more Java software than just about anything else - the possible exception might be C/C++.

There is a pretty good article about James Gosling and the future of Sun Microsystems, called Java Computing: Second Cup?, which was published in Canadian Business magazine - its an example of great reporting which in my opinion is missing from technical press these days.

I always wanted to write an accurate but populist account of the history of Java, but I'll probably never get around to do it. Computing history is fascinating to me. I hope someone writes a book about the invention and subsequent ups and downs of the Java platform and Sun Microsystems. It would be fascinating.