The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of LifeBy Alice Schroeder
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Here is THE book recounting the life and times of one of the most respected men in the world, Warren Buffett. The legendary Omaha investor has never written a memoir, but now he has allowed one writer, Alice Schroeder, unprecedented access to explore directly with him and with those closest to him his work, opinions, struggles, triumphs, follies, and wisdom. The result is the personally revealing and complete biography of the man known everywhere as “The Oracle of Omaha.”Although the media track him constantly, Buffett himself has never told his full life story. His reality is private, especially by celebrity standards. Indeed, while the homespun persona that the public sees is true as far as it goes, it goes only so far. Warren Buffett is an array of paradoxes. He set out to prove that nice guys can finish first. Over the years he treated his investors as partners, acted as their steward, and championed honesty as an investor, CEO, board member, essayist, and speaker. At the same time he became the world’s richest man, all from the modest Omaha headquarters of his company Berkshire Hathaway. None of this fits the term “simple.”When Alice Schroeder met Warren Buffett she was an insurance industry analyst and a gifted writer known for her keen perception and business acumen. Her writings on finance impressed him, and as she came to know him she realized that while much had been written on the subject of his investing style, no one had moved beyond that to explore his larger philosophy, which is bound up in a complex personality and the details of his life. Out of this came his decision to cooperate with her on the book about himself that he would never write.Never before has Buffett spent countless hours responding to a writer’s questions, talking, giving complete access to his wife, children, friends, and business associates—opening his files, recalling his childhood. It was an act of courage, as The Snowball makes immensely clear. Being human, his own life, like most lives, has been a mix of strengths and frailties. Yet notable though his wealth may be, Buffett’s legacy will not be his ranking on the scorecard of wealth; it will be his principles and ideas that have enriched people’s lives. This book tells you why Warren Buffett is the most fascinating American success story of our time.
Customer Reviews
Best book on Mr. Buffet. This is by far the best biography available on Mr. Buffett. I sincerely recommend it to anyone looking to have a more profound understanding of Mr. Buffett and the evolution of his investment style and life, covering a time period back to his ancesters to this date. This book is not just reserved for business/investing oriented persons, but they should be encouraged to read it further. In my opinion, anyone can apply the lessons in the book to their own reality. In a "think it, learn it, do it" way of thinking, this book and all available info on Mr. Buffett, his mentors, transcripts,etc; covers the "learn it" part. The rest of course is up to you. As a final remark, I think that if investing is your business, happen to read this book thorughly and have done your homework by studiying the complete version of all his annual shareholders letters and reports (even the ones of the Graham-Newman partnership, Ben Graham himself, Charles Munger's mind set, Phil Fisher's approach and several other documents about "value-growth investing"), you belong to your game and for sure, you'll be pretty close to know Mr. Buffett's way of thinking when it comes to money making and life as well; and of course, you'll end up making profits.
The authorized biography This is not only the best book on Warren Buffett (there are over 30) it is one of the best biographies I've ever read. Some reviewers are complaining about the girth of the book and the lengthy stories that are major chapters of Buffett's life. I am a huge Buffett fan and the more info and insight I can get the better! Any true Buffett fan will appreciate the detail and full examination of different times in his life. What this book explains that "Buffett: Making of an American Capitalist" doesn't is the rational behind many Buffett investments, especially the ones early in his career. Buffett would find "cigar butts" and usually build a controlling interest. For example, he would look at companies like 21st Century Holding today (TCHC). It is a $35 million micro-cap selling at 30% of bookvalue that consists almost entirely of cash and bonds. It also has a 17% dividend. However, it will be overlook and undervalued because big investors, like Buffett today, have too much money to invest in these small companies. These stocks are where Buffett built his investment experience and he got 31% annual returns for his investment partners during the late 1950s and 1960s. Later, with the influence of Munger, he would invest in companies with competitive advantages, but still sold at prices that gave him a significant margin of safety (American Express, Washington Post, etc.). He even started paying "fair" prices for great companies like Coca-Cola that had great growth potential. In this book you will learn that Warren Buffett is one of the most selective investors in the world. He will not buy something unless the value is screaming at him. His discipline to spend most of his day reading a plethora of periodicals and financial reports is what made him successful early in his career. Buffett shows hard work, a good investment philosophy, and discipline pays off--big time.
A meandering snowball Simply put...the book needs an editor's pencil. There are too many twists and turns in the search for the real Warren Buffett.
Best book on Mr. Buffet. This is by far the best biography available on Mr. Buffett. I sincerely recommend it to anyone looking to have a more profound understanding of Mr. Buffett and the evolution of his investment style and life, covering a time period back to his ancesters to this date. This book is not just reserved for business/investing oriented persons, but they should be encouraged to read it further. In my opinion, anyone can apply the lessons in the book to their own reality. In a "think it, learn it, do it" way of thinking, this book and all available info on Mr. Buffett, his mentors, transcripts,etc; covers the "learn it" part. The rest of course is up to you. As a final remark, I think that if investing is your business, happen to read this book thorughly and have done your homework by studiying the complete version of all his annual shareholders letters and reports (even the ones of the Graham-Newman partnership, Ben Graham himself, Charles Munger's mind set, Phil Fisher's approach and several other documents about "value-growth investing"), you belong to your game and for sure, you'll be pretty close to know Mr. Buffett's way of thinking when it comes to money making and life as well; and of course, you'll end up making profits.
The authorized biography This is not only the best book on Warren Buffett (there are over 30) it is one of the best biographies I've ever read. Some reviewers are complaining about the girth of the book and the lengthy stories that are major chapters of Buffett's life. I am a huge Buffett fan and the more info and insight I can get the better! Any true Buffett fan will appreciate the detail and full examination of different times in his life. What this book explains that "Buffett: Making of an American Capitalist" doesn't is the rational behind many Buffett investments, especially the ones early in his career. Buffett would find "cigar butts" and usually build a controlling interest. For example, he would look at companies like 21st Century Holding today (TCHC). It is a $35 million micro-cap selling at 30% of bookvalue that consists almost entirely of cash and bonds. It also has a 17% dividend. However, it will be overlook and undervalued because big investors, like Buffett today, have too much money to invest in these small companies. These stocks are where Buffett built his investment experience and he got 31% annual returns for his investment partners during the late 1950s and 1960s. Later, with the influence of Munger, he would invest in companies with competitive advantages, but still sold at prices that gave him a significant margin of safety (American Express, Washington Post, etc.). He even started paying "fair" prices for great companies like Coca-Cola that had great growth potential. In this book you will learn that Warren Buffett is one of the most selective investors in the world. He will not buy something unless the value is screaming at him. His discipline to spend most of his day reading a plethora of periodicals and financial reports is what made him successful early in his career. Buffett shows hard work, a good investment philosophy, and discipline pays off--big time.
A meandering snowball Simply put...the book needs an editor's pencil. There are too many twists and turns in the search for the real Warren Buffett.
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