The Snowball
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.
Sources:
http://bestsellers-bookstore.com/2008/10/06/the-snowball/