The Best Warren Buffett Books
As 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.
