The Snowball
by Alice Schroeder · first published 2008
79% recommend21% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Detailed, well-sourced biography of Warren Buffett that goes beyond hagiography to show his intense focus and long-haul investing discipline; suits readers of investing, business history, or founder thinking.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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, especia
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I've been listening to The Snowball, a biography of Warren Buffett. Fascinating guy. http://www.amazon.com/Snowball-Warren-Buffett-Business-Life/...
on “Buffett makes $3.7B profit from $5B investment in Goldman Sachs” ↗"The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life", by Alice Schroeder - http://www.amazon.com/Snowball-Warren-Buffett-Business-Life/... This is by far the best biography on the man. Alice Schroeder did an amazing…
on “Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why” ↗Everything thoroughly documented here: https://www.amazon.com/Snowball-Warren-Buffett-Business-Life... It is a great book which really explains how extreme an investor Buffett is. Few would be able to stay fully invested for a lifetime like he has.
on “Warren Buffett's Net Worth by Age” ↗- Snowball by Alice Schroeder (it's a biography of Warren Buffett). So many life lessons here (in addition to teaching you a way to think through investing) - The Goal (and its descendants). Changes the way you…
on “Ask HN: Which book/essay changed your life?” ↗I've been a longtime Buffett follower. I haven't seen the HBO documentary yet but am looking forward to it. I would recommend Buffett's authorized biography "The Snowball" by Alice Schroeder. Before writing it, WB told AS that if she got different stories from different tellers to go with the one that was least flattering to WB. Since it was written, WB hasn't denounced…
on ““Becoming Warren Buffett,” the Man, Not the Investor” ↗…realize I'm about 10 years behind everyone else, and I've found it most deserving of all of the hubbub. With respect to nonfiction, I enjoyed Schroeder's recent biography of Warren Buffett, entitled the Snowball. It was much less of a hagiography than much of what you read on him. He's a fascinating, complex man.
on “Ask HN: Best book you read in 2011” ↗Interesting/Recommended: The Snowball, Alice Schroeder Shantaram, Gregory David Roberts The Art of Happiness, HH Dalai Lama Getting Things Done (I know I'm late to the party...) Shop Class as Soulcraft, Matthew Crawford (I heard about…
on “Ask HN: Great books you read in 2009?” ↗…founders' job while recruiting) is having a special eye for that die-hard resilience and determination. For those of you who are Buffett fans, regarding this there's a great quote by him on page 293 of "The Snowball" (bio written by Alice Schroeder): "Intensity is the price of excellence." This is also probably why Andy Grove penned his book "Only the Paranoid Survive".
on “Stop Being a Wimp” ↗Lean Startup - Eric Ries, The Snowball {Warren Buffett} - Alice Schroeder, Founders at Work - Jessica Livingston, Essays in Persuasion - John Maynard Keynes, The Principia - Sir Isaac Newton,
on “Ask HN: Good books for the holiday season?” ↗…things I've never heard him explicitly recommend but I think are definitely worth reading: 1) Letter to shareholders (all of them, you can find the ones of his partnership and earlier ones online) 2) The Snowball - Alice Schroeder 3) Tap Dancing to Work - Carol Loomis (There are tons of books on Buffett, but these two are friends of his) Also, if you ever go to his shareholders meeting, there's a whole list of…
on “Buffett FAQ” ↗Oh I can only agree ! Each year I'm eagerly waiting for it. To complement, I would add two books from Buffett and Munger: - "The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life" by Alice Schroeder - "Poor Charlie's Almanack" by Charlie Munger - a fantastic read
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite non-fiction books of all time?” ↗…Modern Advertising Walter Isaacson - Steve Jobs Alan Deutschman - The Second Coming of Steve Jobs James Wallace - Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire Alice Schroeder - The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life Richard Branson - Losing My Virginity
on “Ask HN: Biographies recommendations – both Westerner and Non-westerner” ↗My understanding of the SEC has evolved since I just finished the Snowball Warren Buffet book (http://www.amazon.com/Snowball-Warren-Buffett-Business-Life/...). There is a section that discusses his run in with the SEC and there is a behind the scenes discussion before charges…
on “SEC Charges Mark Cuban With Insider Trading” ↗Art of War is one of my favorites. Currently rereading The Snowball by Alice Schroeder and Eloquent Javascript
on “Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?” ↗…photography, where you get rid of film so knowing how to make film becomes absolutely irrelevant." Check out this book on the iBooks Store: https://itun.es/us/hj_bz.l Excerpt From: Schroeder, Alice. “The Snowball.” Bantam Books, 2009. iBooks.
on “Ask HN: Insider history of the demise of Kodak?” ↗