The Best Warren Buffett Books
88As one of the richest men in the world, and by acclimation the most successful investor of modern times, Warren Buffett has been the subjects of many books, both biographical and investment-related. Here are some of the best.
Biography
- The Snowball by Alice Schroeder - Schroeder had complete access to Buffett for countless hours of personal interviews, and she didn't put the effort to waste. The Snowball is as complete a chronicle of Buffett's life and investment career as anyone is likely to write. She details Warren Buffett's early entrepreneurial career, his difficult relationship with a verbally abusive mother, his personal relationships, and, of course, gives a step by step account of his investment moves.
- Buffett, the Making of an American Capitalist by Roger Lownstein. Less comprehensive than The Snowball, but more literary and insightful when it comes to analysis. Buffett was reportedly upset by this biography, but it's hard to see why since it's much less detailed about his personal life than the Snowball.
Investments
- The Warren Buffett Way: Investment Strategies of the World's Greatest Investor by Robert G. Hagstrom. By acclimation, the best book written about Warren Buffett's investment philosophy, and techniques. Details Buffett's focus on brand strength, return on invested capital, and margin of safety. If you buy only one Buffett investment book, this should be the one.
- The Four Filters Invention of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger by Bud Labitan. Focuses on the investment principles of Warren Buffet and his longtime friend and partner Charles Munger. One of the newer books on Buffett, and one of the better ones.
- The Real Warrenn Buffett: Managing Capital, Leading People by James O'Loughlin. One of the few books that tries to give insight into Buffett the businessman as well as Buffett the investor. Buffett's business skill are highly underrated.
- Buffettology: The Previously Unexplained Techniques That Have Made Warren Buffett The Worlds Greatest Investor by Mary Buffett and David Clark. Mary Buffett is Warren's former daughter-in-law and has made a career out of writing about him. Nevertheless, this is a fine book and worth reading for its insights into the man and his philosophy.
Other Warren Buffett Books
- Pilgrimage to Warren Buffett's Omaha: a Hedge Fund Manager's Dispatches from the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. Jeff Mathews of jeffmatthewsisnotmakingthisup.blogspot.com wrote this book about a trip he took to Berkshire's Annual Meeting, the so-called Woodstock for Capitalists. No great insights, but entertainingly written.
- The Essays of Warren Buffet - Lessons for Corporate America. Buffet's letters to shareholders, collected and annotated by Laurence A. Cunningham. You can find most of this information for free at Berkshire's website.
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Comments
True, but there's still plenty left.
My point was that this may be a new frontier for both of these billionaires, one where they are not so brilliant. Only time will tell.
veritas, you may well be right that we're entering a new era. However the hallmark of Buffett, Soros, and other successful investors is adaptability to new circumstances. Buffett started out as a Ben Graham style "cigar butt" investor, but Charlie Munger helped him become more focused on the quality of brand names and companies with competative "moats."
I think Buffet made an analytical mistake in not being more skeptical of Wells Fargo and American Express and their roll in the unfolding credit bubble. He also was perhaps too loyal to Washington Post, which has a dying business model (35% capital gaines tax has something to do with this loyalty). However his patience and Berksire's liquidity should see him through the current economic troubles.
The term economic moat, coined by Buffett is a very important part of investing. These are all great books
My personal favorite is definitely Buffettology. It is from the insiders to the family and one of the few who have the actual quantitative formulas Buffett is supposed to be using.
These are excellent choices and should be required reading for those who are looking to make money in the business world.
issues veritas says:
8 months ago
How about how I lost 25 billion dollars book.
Buffet lost 25 billion and bill Gates lost 17 billion and his lower loss put him in first place.