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

Surprisingly Personal Account

This book offers a surprisingly personal history of Warren Buffett's upbringing, family and key personal relationships, and the development of his political views. It also describes more fully than any account I have seen before the personality, drive and genius behind his extraordinary business success.

To borrow a phrase from his partner, Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett has been a "learning machine" in business and financial affairs from his teen years. While he has generously shared with Berkshire shareholders, business school students and others, the investment precepts that have guided him, there can be no doubt after reading this book that Buffett's success cannot be duplicated by simply following his precepts.
His success is owed in greater part to native intelligence, drive, dedication and hard work.

The book also illustrates why Buffett is so widely admired: it cites numerous examples where Buffett acted with fairness and integrity when he had an opportunity to make more money with a less noble, but perfectly legal, alternative course of action. He exemplifies a life that has placed as much importance on doing things the right way as it has on achieving success in his chosen field.

Great Comprehensive Biography

Snowball is the most comprehensive biography ever written about Warren Buffett. Very compelling for investors, but goes beyond investing and business, he was born in the 30s so it also illustrates American history such as the civil rights movement and other historical events. Shows his evolution from being super frugal to becoming philanthropist, Great Biography!

amazing book

there is a lot of information about Buffet's life and it is very interesting to hear.

Compelling and enjoyable from start to finish.

I've been listening with Audible for just about a year in my art studio and when in the car. Since then I've passed the 'Scholar' rank, having racked up over 50 productions in total listening. This production of "Snowball" has been among my favorites of any production so far. The writing is superb and the reading full with surprises to be found throughout (wait until you here Schroeder's Schwarzenegger impression). Highly recommended!

Great!

Interesting and expands upon his ideas of value investing and his life turning that into an empire of helping people save. The parallels with this and "Titan" are astounding. They both had very similar methodologies to life centering around saving every penny. Both show you if your primary objective in life is to get filthy rich, you can do it by being a penny pincher. Don't expect it not to cost you and your immediate family comforts for years. I should throw in here that you shouldn't expect the reverse not to cost you in the later years!

The definitive Buffett bio.

Great biography. Great performance. If you just know him as "some rich guy," it's worth the listen.

Surprisingly Deep Insights into Buffett

I've read a lot about / by Buffett - partnership letters, Berkshire reports, other books, etc. After several of these I was feeling like I was reading the same things over and over again, so I delayed reading Snowball because I assumed it would be more of the same. Maybe I'd use it as a refresher, I figured.

I'm pleased to report I was shocked by how much I learned in this book. The author revealed numerous details and perspectives about his life that were unbeknownst to me.

In conclusion, I strongly recommend this for anyone serious about understanding Buffett.

Great book

Great principles to learn from on what to do and what not to do. Had a very positive bias that should have been managed better to give a more objective narrative

My Favourite Book in Years

I never bothered to read about Mr. Buffett, as I assumed it would teach me about things that I would be unable to apply or already know.

Instead it is a fascinating recount of 100 years of financial and political history from the perspective of a person that have both feet on the ground. It is a great story with lots of little insights, but most of all a long perspective and thread of our modern times

Great story of a great man.

I loved the way Buffet looked at building his investments through compounding. I'm also impressed with his integrity and his philanthropic efforts. This story is inspiring.