The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life
Author: Alice Schroeder
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 thathe 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.
The New York Times - Janet Maslin
[Buffett's] opinions are so hotly sought that The Snowball, a biography with which he has enthusiastically cooperated, would be of interest even if it answered only softball questions. It approaches him seriously, covers vast terrain and tells a fascinating story. Mr. Buffett made a smart choice when he chose Alice Schroeder as his Boswell. Yes, he found an appreciative biographer with whom he seems to have a warm rapport. But he also found a writer able to keep pace with the wild swerves in the Buffett story and the intricacies of Mr. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway business empire. Ms. Schroeder is as insightful about her subject's precise anticipation of current financial crises as she is about his quirky personal story. And she is a clear explicator of fiscal issues. This sprawling, colorful biography will mesmerize anyone interested in who Mr. Buffett is or how he got that way.
The Washington Post - James Rosen
The Snowball, whose title is derived from one of the Oracle's homespun aphorisms—"Life is like a snowball. The important thing is finding wet snow and a really long hill"—marks a titanic achievement of research and reporting. It's the definitive portrait of a complex man of simple tastes, a power player who trembled from anxieties worthy of Charlie Brown, a triumphant outsider who revolutionized Wall Street from a modest office in Omaha, a money-obsessed genius who amassed unprecedented wealth and then gave it all away. To be sure, Schroeder could have used an editor; at 960 pages, her book devotes pages and pages of description, however thoroughly researched, to peripheral characters, family histories and houses that could have been sketched, no less ably or helpfully, in a few sentences…But if the replication of any great achievement first requires knowledge of how it was done, then The Snowball, the most detailed glimpse inside Warren Buffett and his world that we likely will ever get, should become a Bible for capitalists.
Publishers Weekly
Successful investor Warren Buffett sits down with author Schroeder to give readers deep and erudite insights into his work and personal life. Detailing his views on current trends in the economy and society, Buffet speaks with tremendous wisdom about everything from his family to his business ethics. Richard McGonagle gives an eloquent, straightforward reading. He has a knack for delivering words with a profound importance in his voice, drawing in listeners and holding their interest for hours. Schroeder reads her introduction and sets the tone for this revealing biography. A Bantam hardcover (reviewed online). (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Table of Contents:
Pt. 1 The Bubble 1
1 The Less Flattering Version 3
2 Sun Valley 5
3 Creatures of Habit 24
4 Warren, What's Wrong? 31
Pt. 2 The Inner Scorecard 35
5 The Urge to Preach 37
6 The Bathtub Steeplechase 44
7 Armistice Day 53
8 A Thousand Ways 59
9 Inky Fingers 66
10 True Crime Stories 86
11 Pudgy She Was Not 89
12 Silent Sales 96
13 The Rules of the Racetrack 105
14 The Elephant 110
15 The Interview 123
16 Strike One 129
17 Mount Everest 139
18 Miss Nebraska 151
19 Stage Fright 163
Pt. 3 The Racetrack 175
20 Graham-Newman 177
21 The Side to Play 190
22 Hidden Splendor 200
23 The Omaha Club 222
24 The Locomotive 229
25 The Windmill War 242
26 Haystacks of Gold 247
27 Folly 263
28 Dry Tinder 278
29 What a Worsted Is 287
30 Jet Jack 294
31 The Scaffold Sways the Future 303
32 Easy, Safe, Profitable, and Pleasant 312
33 The Unwinding 321
Pt. 4 Susie Sings 337
34 Candy Harry 339
35 The Sun 352
36 Two Drowned Rats 367
37 Newshound 375
38 Spaghetti Western 387
39 The Giant 399
40 How Not to Run a Public Library 416
41 And Then What? 439
42 Blue Ribbon 457
Pt. 5 The King of Wall Street 475
43 Pharaoh 477
44 Rose 490
45 Call the Tow Truck 505
46 Rubicon 514
47 White Nights 543
48 Thumb-Sucking, and Its Hollow-Cheeked Result 562
49 The Angry Gods 597
50 The Lottery 619
51 To Hell with the Bear 647
52 Chickenfeed 665
Pt. 6 Claim Checks 685
53 The Genie 687
54 Semicolon 689
55 The Last Kay Party 702
56 By the Rich, for the Rich 712
57 Oracle 730
58 Buffetted 752
59 Winter 765
60 Frozen Coke 773
61 The Seventh Fire 786
62 Claim Checks 806
Afterword 831
Notes 839
APersonal Note About Research 929
Photo Credits and Permissions 931
Acknowledgments 933
Index 937
Town & Country The Art of Gratitude: Thank-You Notes for Every Occasion
Author: The Editors of Town Country
We all have something to give thanks for, but we’re not always sure of the best way to convey our appreciation. This elegant new volume in Town & Country’s popular etiquette line will help. It gathers together the magazine’s time-tested wisdom on the subject, and offers the last, best word on the how and why of thank-you notes—when to write them and what to say, including examples readers can adapt for personal use.
The Art of Gratitude explains why the hand-written note is still relevant in today’s electronic society, discusses the basic stationery suite, and answers the pressing question: is it ever acceptable to send a thank-you note via e-mail? Find out about the correct language and structure to use; appropriate forms of address; ways of varying the tone for different occasions; and how to create wedding-related notes, including advice on designing your monogram as a couple. All situations receive careful attention, from the personal to the professional: letters for gifts, social occasions, in response to a kindness, condolences,and to follow up on a job interview. And, because no one is ever too young to learn good manners, the book includes guidelines for thank-you notes from children and teenagers, too.
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