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

An exhaustive account very unique individuals life

This is an extremely lengthy, extremely well researched and thorough account of Warren Buffett's life at both personal and professional levels. By the end of it you have a substantial understanding of his character, values, the way he works, basic principles of investing that he always comes back to. An excellent way to get very acquainted with this individual. This book must have taken an enormous amount of time to research. At times it feels there are too many details though and the descriptions can be very drawn now. Some of the writing style honestly falls a little flat and at times feels awkward or repetitive (biographies by Edmund Morris have spoiled me!). But the great parts absolutely make it worth it; a life enriching book for sure.

Interesting and fascinating life of a great man

I became more humbled and grateful because of Mr. Buffet. The narrator did an amazing job.

A necessity

Warren Buffett is a great man. This story gave and reinforced some important principles of life & investing.

Must read to truly grasp the meaning of "Snowball"

Where does The Snowball rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Great in the category of biography

What did you like best about this story?

Personal insights

Any additional comments?

Although, I'm sure after listening to this book everyone's experience will be different, I thought the author was able to truly capture and deliver the personal essence of Warren Buffet. To avoid repetition, I think, the summary of this book greatly summarizes the content and gives an accurate preview of what's expected in the book. Bottom line, if a person admires Warren Buffet or just curious about how he accomplished the status of one of the most influential people in the world, especially within the investment world, one SHOULD NOT SKIP this book.

Fantastic in every respect

This was my favorite book so far on Audible. Great story. Beautiful voice reading it. Wonderful.

Enjoyed it very much

Have a renewed appreciation for Warren Buffet and what he has accomplished in his life.

Long but Solid

The book goes into great detail about Warren Buffett the person. I am sure there are other books that detail more about his business mind.

Engaging, Thorough, and Personal

While 37 hours is quite the commitment, Snowball proved to be a very enjoyable and rewarding listen. Alice Schroeder provides a detailed account of Warren Buffett's entire life, from childhood to present day. I especially enjoyed the frank portrayal of what Warren liked and disliked. At many points throughout the story, the listener feels like they are Buffett and begins to view the story as being told from Buffett's own mind. This is not a book on financial advise or fundamentals of investment. While there are many details provided to satisfy the financially minded, this book is primarily a biography of one of the greatest investment gurus of all time.

The narrator is easy to listen to and makes every attempt to fully immerse herself in the reading. I especially liked her attempts at imitating the voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Good audio book

It took me awhile to get vested in this book, but once hooked - I appreciated the author's insight of Warren Buffet.

Excellent work

I truly enjoyed the entirety of this book and will be listening to it again. This is a very detailed account of Warren Buffett’s life and includes much more than only his financial triumphs. The narration is a little slow for my taste, but I went ahead and listened to it at 1.5x speed which got he reading up to my liking. Otherwise, fantastic book!