|  | Author: Alice Schroeder
Publisher: Bantam
List Price: $35.00
Buy Used: $4.94
as of 11/23/2009 07:26 CST details
You Save: $30.06 (86%)
New (66) Used (130) Collectible (29) from $4.94
Seller: dreambooksco
Rating:  205 reviews
Sales Rank: 3339
Format: Deckle Edge
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1ST
Pages: 976
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.4
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6 x 2.2
ISBN: 0553805096
Dewey Decimal Number: 332.6092
EAN: 9780553805093
ASIN: 0553805096
Publication Date: September 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: This is a used book in good condition with normal wear and tear and may contain some writing, minor shelf wear and creases. Items are uploaded via ISBN and stock photo may be different from actual book cover.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 26-30 of 205
 Interesting, Informative and Entertaining - really! May 29, 2009
Optimist (Texas)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
To begin, it is interesting that Warren Buffett gave Alice Schroeder such volumes of information about his life. Then it is interesting how both Alice Schroeder and Kirsten Potter convey Warren Buffett in the first person as they relate the fascinating details of his life. The whole story is very entertaining, from the first line of the first disk... all the way through to the 30th disk. I'm so glad that I took time to learn about, and from, Warren Buffett.
THE Book on Warren Buffet May 29, 2009
A. Lee (San Francisco, CA USA)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
"The Snowball" a wonderful book that gives you insight into the life of the greatest investor of our time. On the one hand he is a humble, somewhat quirky individual with strong Mid-Western values, on the other he is prodigy with an incredible business mind. I previously read the other Buffet biography, "Making of an American Capitalist," which was also very good, but this book gives you a very detailed picture of Warren Buffet, the human being, who is shaped by his family and his experiences.
Excellent Biography May 21, 2009
James Lauter (CA USA)
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
Book arrived in time and in good condition.
The biography was very interestinh and well written.
 Fascinating life, horrible author May 19, 2009
J. D. Jackson
4 out of 13 found this review helpful
Warren Buffet's life story certainly deserved a better writer than this. I have seen better writing than this from middle school students.
 Superior Investment, Average book May 13, 2009
Seth Hettena (San Diego, CA USA)
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
Warren Buffett certainly knows an undervalued company when he sees one, but the same can't be said of his judgement in writers. The Snowball reportedly earned a $7 million advance, but the result is a book that is too long and ultimately lacks focus and insight.
Several writers have made the switch from the investment world to the writing world with grace (William Cohan and Liaquat Ahamed come to mind), but unfortunately Alice Schroeder, a former insurance analyst at Morgan Stanley, seems to fallen under the spell of her subject. In The Snowball, Buffett's words appear in italic, as though Ms. Schroeder were carrying the tablets down from Mt. Sinai.
Ms. Schroeder is at her best writing about Buffett's business dealings. Much has been written about them before but Schroeder got unprecedented access to Buffett and his family, so much of the book is consumed with Buffett's unusual family life. Buffett's family life is indeed fascinating, but Ms. Schroder's analytic skills fail her when she needs them most. As a result, parts of The Snowball read like hagiography.
Buffett was curiously detatched from everything but money. He seems emotionally frozen, possibly as a result of the upbringing by his stern and frigid mother. His children hardly knew the man who holed himself up in his office to read his Moody's Manual after dinner. Everything was left to his wife, and the strain ultimately drove her away. Yet, Buffett slavishly came running when Kay Graham called.
Does Buffett regret this? It's hard to tell from reading The Snowball which treats all his actions with equanimity. Schroeder grinds the reader down with too many details and insufficient analysis. Susie Buffett's singing career got too much attention for my liking. Do we really need to read her set lists? What possible value does that add? The more interesting subject of Buffett's painful relationships with his children fade into the background or are covered up with superficialities.
There's much to be admired in Buffett -- when it comes to handling money. The great irony of Buffett's life, however, is one of the assets he most undervalued was his own family. The world's greatest investor is not the world's greatest family man. But those sorts of insights will have to wait for another book.
Showing reviews 26-30 of 205
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