The Snowball

Warren Buffett and the Business of Life

By: Alice Schroeder

Narrated by: Kirsten Potter

Length: 36 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

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."

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.

©2008 Alice Schroeder (P)2008 Books on Tape

Rare look at his private life

Any additional comments?

Before listening to this book I really didn't know a whole lot about Buffet, after finishing I felt like we've been neighbors for years. The book is that personal. It digs deep into his childhood, relationship with his family, and of course his business life. It was especially interesting to hear about his friendships with Charlie Munger and Benjamin Graham.

I almost purchased the abridged version because I tend to have a hard time staying interested in non-fiction that's more than 10 hours long. But I'm glad I stuck with the unabridged version, I have to imagine that too many important details would have been cut in the shorter edition. Well worth the time!

Excellent...Fascinating!!!

This excellent and well written biography has all the suspense of a mystery novel and tells the story in fascinating detail, much of it in Buffet's own words. I was sorry to come to the end.

Top Notch

probably one of my better purchases on audible. I have purchase the intelligent investor hardcopy and read a couple shareholder papers. lovely stuff.

Fantastic biography, great man

Warren Buffett is an amazing individual, the author was thorough and captivating, and the narrator was phenomenal. I couldn't recommend it enough.

Wonderfully rendered.

Loved the story and the rendition. It's an unusual window into the life of Warren Buffett.

very well done

While there's quite a few parts with lots of detail audience may be indifferent to, I loved it (and the detail often puts you in shoes of author- as if interviewing him yourself... so even that is pretty cool).

Overkill

If you could sum up The Snowball in three words, what would they be?

Too much information for one book. A snowball indeed.

What did you like best about this story?

Ingenuity at an early age, but the detail is almost unbelievable for a 1st biography. Perhaps I'm just envious of a picture perfect 60 year memory. ALL things Buffet if you're a wall street junkie.

my whole life and perspective just changed.

This book enlighten me to a whole new world of the way things work and how close I am to what I can truly accomplish. It wow'd me and brought tears to my eyes while giving my heart a sick feeling that is easily resolved.

Loads of lessons from a most unusual life

By the length, it should be no surprise that it is long winded at times, especially as it relates to tangents into the lives of those coming within Buffet's sphere. It would be great to have an additional afterward covering the period since 2008. A man with complicated principles (some of which I strongly disagree with), but one fully devout to those and acting accordingly with amazing consistency. Life is complicated, and no less so just because thou earn your way to becoming the wealthiest man on earth.

It's a long story

An amazing book filled with business and life lessons. It's a long listen but totally worth it.