Customer Reviews
The only authentic Buffett - By: De Salvo Domenico, 04 Mar 2008 
Too many books contain the word Buffett in their title but only this book comes from the annual letters to shareholders. Truly authentic Buffett in his own words is much better just because he dosen't need any interpretation.
Domenico De Salvo
Prominent name, bad book - By: D. Giediminas, 30 Jan 2008 
This book tells about company strategy of Berkshire Hathaway & the history of it. Very boring, nothing interesting to learn & badly written. Complicated & confusing, skipping from one story to another & back again to first story.
Waste of money.
Wisdom from the great investor - By: mohan, 08 Dec 2007 
I admire Warren Buffett & love reading what he writes. Not only is he probably the wisest investor ever but he is also very articulate & witty.
Some of the chapters, e.g. "An Owner-Based Approach to Corporate Charity", "Berkshire's Recapitalization", "Distribution of the Corporate Tax Burden", etc were not of any interest to me. Excluding such chapters, this slim volume would be even slimmer. However, the book is worth it just for the remainder.
His basic investment goal is simple: He tries to buy businesses that he can understand that have favourable, long-term prospects & are operated by honest & competent people at an attractive price. This is easier said than done, but there is some guidance in his essays as to how he does this.
Some examples of his way with words, taken at random from the first few pages:
"At too many companies, the boss shoots the arrow of managerial performance & then hastily paints the bullseye around the spot where it lands."
"A horse that can count to ten is a remarkable horse - not a remarkable mathematician."
"Should you find yourself in a chronicallly-leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks."
Essence of sage - By: Petrolhead, 16 Mar 2007 Cunningham has done us a great favour. Buffett doesn't talk to the press & most books claiming to be Buffett bibles are re-hashes & interpretations, so this book of essays is the closest you will get to hearing it straight from the horse's mouth. This is Buffett's wisdom distilled from annual letters to shareholders in his company, which Cunningham has strung together seamlessly. Although that means alot of passages refer to Buffett's own firm & its shareholdings, the lessons for investors are universal, & the "value investing" philosophy shines through. If that was alll there was to recommend the book it would still be a must-have for anyone interested in making money. But it is also a great read.
Buffett comes across as the most genial, honest & no-nonsense guy in the financial world. He also has a wonderfully impish sense of humour & had me chuckling out loud (and then trying in vain to explain the joke to my girlfriend...) The only bits where he slightly lost me was when comparing investing with baseballl, but I think I got the gist of it. Anyway, Buffett writes as clearly as he thinks & is as modest & self-deprecating as he is authoritative. He treats his readers like the investors they are, so this is not an "entry level" book & it might be a struggle if you don't know the difference between a fixed asset & a preference share, but otherwise it is a book that you won't regret buying.
I can't recommend it highly enough.
Brilliant - By: Book Worm, 26 Jan 2007 This is such a good read, I can't recommend it enough. It has short punchy chapters & is full of Warren Buffetts wit & expertise. His ideas on business management are refreshing & his investing technique is unsurpassed. This has a wonderfully informal style & shows Buffets unique skill, as well as his outlook on other issues. A great read with much to teach. If you like this I highly recommend 'The Warren Buffett Way' By Robert Hagstrom.
