New Buffett book

So it's finally happened....

Amazon.com: The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the...
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.

976 pages! Woo, it's gonna take me a while to get through this one.

Mark

On my way to Navra's talk on Wednesday night, I stopped by Myer in the City (Sydney), and found The Snowball book on Warren Buffett for 30% off (full price $49.95). So, I bought a copy - it will make good reading over the next few months.

Myer has got 30% off fully priced offer on books - not sure until when. I found 4 copies of The Snowball book. I was a bit disappointed at the scaledown of the book department at Myer in Sydney. They used to have a large and good selection of books. Now, it seemed they have reduced stock inventory significantly.

Dymocks (next door to Myer) also has the books for sale - but they would not give any discount. So, you have to pay the full price of $49.95.

Hi Mark and pthm

Have you read book yet?

If so, could you please provide a short response if it was a good read and what you may have learnt.

Thanks

Andrew: I have not finished reading the WB book - over 900 pages. I have read bits and pieces of the book. Hubby has been reading it chapter by chapter and said it painted WB as a very complex individual. It is on my list of things to do over the next few months! However, when it was released there were reviews in the Fin Review, Bloomberg and the Economist etc. If you google the title of the book, you will find plenty of reviews on the internet, plus an interview of the author (Alice Schroeder). One of the reviews said that as a biography the book made interesting reading about the life of a great investor - but if people were looking for any investment methodologies then there was none in the book. These have been covered by many other books on WB. So, if you want to learn about WB's investment strategies, then this is not the book to read. But, if you are curious about him as an individual then read this book.

Thanks pthm.