The Snowball

Warren Buffett and the Business of Life

Alice Schroeder | 4.31 | 39,759 ratings and reviews

Recommended by Marvin Liao, Chude Jideonwo, Eytan Levit, and 8 others. See all reviews

Ranked #10 in Corporate Finance, Ranked #14 in Business Biography — see more rankings.

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. less

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Reviews and Recommendations

We've comprehensively compiled reviews of The Snowball from the world's leading experts.

Marvin Liao Partner/500 StartupsMy list would be (besides the ones I mentioned in answer to the previous question) both business & Fiction/Sci-Fi and ones I personally found helpful to myself. The business books explain just exactly how business, work & investing are in reality & how to think properly & differentiate yourself. On the non-business side, a mix of History & classic fiction to understand people, philosophy to make sense of life and Science fiction to picture what the future could be like (not always utopian). (Source)

Eytan Levit Recommends this book

Chude Jideonwo It's been so long, and I've been so busy that I haven't been able to recommend a book. I am sorry! I have read so many fantastic ones though, no matter how busy I have been. And I am soooooo excited to recommend this one. I love Warren Buffett ... https://t.co/ML0pM3G29k https://t.co/6yhfhT8WF5 (Source)

John Kay It’s on the list, firstly, because Buffet is the most successful investor in history. (Source)

Robert Hajnal Robert Kiyosaki's “Rich Dad Poor Dad” stopped me from making a mistake and buying a car - because it wasn’t an asset. It also convinced me to invest in shares, while the books “Rule no.1” and “The Snowball” taught me how to choose them. (Source)

Richard Lambert How do you explain Warren Buffett? Everyone knows that in a deep and liquid capital market like that of the US, it is just about impossible to beat the stock market averages over anything more than the short term. But Buffett has been ahead of the curve for most of the past 50 years, making him one of the world’s richest people. Alice Schroeder’s massive authorised biography, The Snowball, provides some clues about how he’s done it. (Source)

DJ Vlad If I had to pick one book that changed the way I look at investing, this would be it. (Source)

Rankings by Category

The Snowball is ranked in the following categories:

#27 in Bibliography
#68 in Biography
#89 in Business
#89 in Business Development
#78 in Business Economics
#47 in Finance
#20 in Investment
#66 in Money
#62 in Personal Finance
#45 in Wealth

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