The Snowball by Alice Schroeder

The Snowball by Alice Schroeder

The personally revealing and complete biography of the man known everywhere as The Oracle of Omaha--for fans of the HBO documentary Becoming Warren Buffett

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.

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.

When Alice Schroeder met Warren Buffett she was an insurance industry analyst and a gifted writer known for her keen perception and business acumen. Her writings on finance impressed him, and as she came to know him she realized that while much had been written on the subject of his investing style, no one had moved beyond that to explore his larger philosophy, which is bound up in a complex personality and the details of his life. Out of this came his decision to cooperate with her on the book about himself that he would never write.

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.

Praise for The Snowball

Even people who don't care a whit about business will be intrigued by this portrait. . . . Schroeder, a former insurance-industry analyst, spent years interviewing Buffett, and the result is a side of the Oracle of Omaha that has rarely been seen.--Time

Will mesmerize anyone interested in who Mr. Buffett is or how he got that way. The Snowball tells a fascinating story.--New York Times

If the replication of any great achievement first requires knowledge of how it was done, then The Snowball, the most detailed glimpse inside Warren Buffett and his world that we likely will ever get, should become a Bible for capitalists.--Washington Post

Riveting and encyclopedic.--Wall Street Journal

A monumental biography . . . Schroeder got the best access yet of any Buffett biographer. . . . She deals out marvelously funny and poignant stories about Buffett and the conglomerate he runs, Berkshire Hathaway.--Forbes

The most authoritative portrait of one of the most important American investors of our time.--Los Angeles Times

Alice Schroeder was a managing director at Morgan Stanley and a well-known insurance industry analyst and writer. Warren Buffett first met her when she published research on Berkshire Hathaway; he was so struck by her knowledge and insight that he granted her access to his archives and to himself. Because of their friendship and mutual respect, she is in an great position to write The Snowball. Schroeder was born in Texas and went to the University of Texas at Austin for her undergraduate and MBA degrees before going east to work in finance. She is a former CPA, and she and her husband live in Connecticut.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780553805093
ISBN 10	0553805096
Title	The Snowball
Author	Alice Schroeder
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Random House USA Inc
Year published	2008-09-29
Number of pages	976
Prizes	Winner of People Magazine “Top Ten Books” 2008, Winner of Publishers Weekly Best Books 2008, Winner of The Globe and Mail Top 10 Business Books 2008, Winner of The Washington Post "Best Books" 2008
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.