In this startlingly frank account of Buffett’s life, Schroeder, a former managing director at Morgan Stanley—and hand picked by Buffett to be his biographer—strips away the mystery that has long cloaked the word’s richest man to reveal a life and fortune erected around lucid and inspired business vision and unimaginable personal complexity. In a book that is dominated by unstinting descriptions of Buffett’s appetites—for profit, women (particularly nurturing maternal types), food (Buffett maintained his and his family’s weight by “dangling money”)—it is refreshing that Schroeder keeps her tone free of judgment or awe; Buffett’s plain-speaking suffuses the book and renders his public and private successes and failures wonderfully human and universal. Schroeder’s sections detailing the genesis of Buffett’s investment strategy, his early mentoring by Benjamin Graham (who imparted the memorable “cigar butt” scheme: purchasing discarded stocks and taking a final puff). Inspiring managerial advice abounds and competes with gossipy tidbits (the married Buffett’s very public relationship with Washington Post editor Katherine Graham) in this rich, surprisingly affecting biography.

Review
“The mandatory book to read in these treacherous times of financial crisis.…A thoughtful and intimate biography of the globe’s wisest investor.” –Forbes

“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

“Anyone who has been watching events unfold in recent months–which would be everyone–can now appreciate the wisdom of Buffett….The most authoritative portrait of one of the most important American investors of our time.”–Los Angeles Times

“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 Magazine

“Schroeder, a former analyst, has a meat-and-potatoes style that matches the homespun wisdom of her subject…Now more than ever, Buffett’s emphasis on fundamentals seems like genius. It’s the perfect moment for a great book on an immensely inspiring capitalist.”–People, four stars

“Schroeder, a former investment analyst, is well equipped to elucidate Buffett’s deals…[and] Buffett’s life abounds with good stories.” —The New Yorker

“An instructive chronicle of financial success at a moment when financial failure is on everyone’s mind….All you wanted to know about Warren Buffett–and more.”—Wall Street Journal

“You will learn a lot about one of the nation’s most compelling and important men from reading The Snowball.” —Boston Globe

“In The Snowball, novice biographer Alice Schroeder gives us one of the most detailed, candid life stories ever published…It is almost impossible to stop reading.” —Christian Science Monitor

“A penetrating and personal look at the Oracle of Omaha…An astute, and at times riveting, read–especially now.”—BusinessWeek

“Everyone knows that in a deep and liquid capital market like that of the US, it is just about impossible to beat the stock market averages over anything more than the short term. But Buffett has been ahead of the curve for most of the past 50 years, making him one of the world’s richest people. Alice Schroeder’s massive authorized biography, The Snowball, provides some clues about how he’s done it.” —Financial Times

“In this startlingly frank account of Buffett’s life, Schroeder, a former managing director at Morgan Stanley–and hand picked by Buffett to be his biographer–strips away the mystery that has long cloaked the word’s richest man to reveal a life and fortune erected around lucid and inspired business vision and unimaginable personal complexity.” —Publishers Weekly

“This massive–and highly readable–text (produced with Buffett’s full cooperation) is an unvarnished and well-paced biography that is essential for all public and academic business collections.” —Library Journal

“For students of the Oracle of Omaha, or even those looking for a little reassurance during the crisis, Schroeder’s book is a fascinating study of America’s most successful investor.” —New York Post

“If you’ve looked at your 401(k) statement and started to fear that everyone in financial markets is either greedy, predatory or incompetent, do yourself a favor. Take $35 out of the mattress and buy a copy of Alice Schroeder’s The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life. At a time like this, it’s a real comfort: Buffet is living proof there’s at least one wholly rational person managing money…an excellent and highly enjoyable look at the business titan.” —Houston Chronicle

“Ms. Schroeder does a good job of pulling…volunteered disclosures out of Mr. Buffett but her real contribution is her own investment expertise which enables her to make the convoluted financing schemes over the last 50 years understandable to lay readers and truly instructive to the business information junkie.” —Washington Times

“This is a fast-paced, precisely drawn profile of a man who, despite his high visibility in the financial world, isn’t someone we’ve known much about… We do now.” —Kansas City Star

“This massive—and highly readable—text (produced with Buffett’s full cooperation) is an unvarnished and well-paced biography that is essential for all public and academic business collections.”—LibraryJournal.com

“Top-notch biographies demand thorough research and crisp, finely honed writing. Schroeder exhibits both…. It’s hard to imagine a more complete account of Buffett’s life had he written it himself.”—Buffalo News

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