Product Description

Experienced readers of Warren Buffett′s letters to the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. have gained an enormously valuable informal education. The letters distill in plain words all the basic principles of sound business practices.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1685 in Books
• Published on: 2009-01-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 328 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Buffett, the Bard of Omaha, is a genuine American folk hero, if folk heroes are allowed to build fortunes worth upward of $15 billion. He's great at homespun metaphor, but behind those catchy phrases is a reservoir of financial acumen that's generally considered the best of his generation. For example, in an essay on CEO stock options, he writes, "Negotiating with one's self seldom produces a barroom brawl." This is his way of saying that an executive who can give himself compensation totally disproportionate to his performance surely will. There are uncountable gems of financial wisdom to be harvested from these essays, taken from the annual reports he writes for Berkshire Hathaway, his holding company. Just to pick one more, here's a now-famous line about those he competes with when making stock-market investments: "What could be more advantageous in an intellectual contest--whether it be chess, bridge, or stock selection--than to have opponents who have been taught that thinking is a waste of energy?"

While Buffett has a policy of seldom commenting on stocks he owns--he feels public pronouncements will only lead to the public's expectation of more public pronouncements, and he likes to keep his cards close to his vest--he loves to discuss the principles behind his investments. These come primarily from Ben Graham, under whom Buffett studied at Columbia University and for whom he worked in the 1950s. First among them is the idea that price is what you pay and value is what you get--and if you're a smart investor, the first will always be less than the second. In that sense, the value of the lessons learned from Buffett's Essays could be far greater than the book's price. --Lou Schuler

CIB News, December 2000
"The book is the definitive source on Buffet."

Review
"...the only compendium of writings from the Sage of Omaha himself...a carefully chosen selection of Buffett′s famous annual letters" (CityWire.co.uk, January 16th 2009)

Customer Reviews

Essence of sage
Cunningham has done us a great favour. Buffett doesn't talk to the press and most books claiming to be Buffett bibles are re-hashes and 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 and its shareholdings, the lessons for investors are universal, and the "value investing" philosophy shines through. If that was all 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 and no-nonsense guy in the financial world. He also has a wonderfully impish sense of humour and 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 baseball, but I think I got the gist of it. Anyway, Buffett writes as clearly as he thinks and is as modest and self-deprecating as he is authoritative. He treats his readers like the investors they are, so this is not an "entry level" book and it might be a struggle if you don't know the difference between a fixed asset and a preference share, but otherwise it is a book that you won't regret buying.
I can't recommend it highly enough.

Learn about investing from the best investor in decades.
I think studying Buffett's investment philosophy is one of the best ways to understand investing (succesfully). And in that case, what gives you a better opportunity to do this than reading explanations written by Buffett himself? Cunningham did a very good job in reflecting Buffett's investment philosophy by summarizing the annual letters to the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway and some other essays from Buffett's hand. Therefore, you don't have to read the hundreds of pages that these letters make up, to get a good view of Buffett's insights and thinking. The summary is done in a very good way; it doesn't read like one and looks complete.

The undertitle of this book says that Buffett's observations also contain lessons to managers of corporations. I think this is correct; the book is a must read for both investors and managers.

Top 10 Book Ever
Buffett's shareholder letters were cited in the list of The FInancial Times' 10 best books ever written on investment, as selected by Richard Lambert, editor. In turn, The Wall Street Journal notes this collection of those letters is rated among the 5 books one must read on investment, as selected by J.P. Morgan. Common sense says it all, doesn't it, when you realize these writings are the wisdom of the richest man in the world and the only who made his wealth via investment. On top of it, the writings here are in plain English, witty, wry, an absolute delight (the word essays to describe these is a bit misleading, as these are a treat and joy to read not a chore at all).