Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist ANNOTATION
Starting from scratch, simply by picking stocks and companies for investment, Warren Buffett amassed one of the epochal fortunes of the 20th century--an astounding net worth of ten billion dollars, and counting. Journalist Roger Lowenstein draws on three years of unprecedented access to Buffett's family, friends, and colleagues to provide the first definitive, inside account of the life and career of this American original. of photos. Online promo.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Buffett is the enthralling story of the life and investment philosophy of America's most successful stock picker. Wall Street Journal reporter Roger Lowenstein reveals how the famously sensible investment strategy of buying stocks that are undervalued and hanging on until their worth invariably surfaces is a reflection of the values by which Warren Buffett has always lived. By piercing the veil of secrecy of this immensely private man, Lowenstein explores his human qualities - patience, loyalty, integrity, conviction - and shows how these were always as important as his nimble mind. Buffett masterly traces every facet of this uniquely American life, from delivering Cokes door-to-door in Omaha, Nebraska, to becoming the largest shareholder in the Coca-Cola Company. More than a collection of corporate-finance anecdotes, Buffett is a human story and an unforgettable portrait of one man's remarkable success.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
By picking the right stocks and businesses to invest in, plainspoken Nebraskan Warren Buffett became the richest man in the U.S. In this excellent biography, Wall Street Journal reporter Lowenstein details the billionaire stock market wizard's strategy of betting on the long-term growth of a handful of successful companies such as American Express and Berkshire Hathaway. Providing personal glimpses of a very private man, Lowenstein unearths childhood traumas such as the tormenting rages of Buffett's mother and his forced relocation to Washington, D.C., in 1943, where, at 13, he ran away from home (he was found by the police the next day). Buffett's wife, Susan Thompson, a nightclub singer, walked out on him in 1977 and was quickly replaced by his mistress, Latvian-born Astrid Menks. Lowenstein profiles an emotionally guarded, ``strangely stunted'' Midas obsessed with work and secrecy, who seemingly derives little pleasure from his fabulous wealth. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour. (Aug.)
Library Journal
Of all the so-called financial wizards, one stands above them all: Warren Buffet. Starting out in a middle-class Nebraska family, Buffet turned his prodigious talents for investing into a fortune of over $9 billion. Like many with a particular sort of genius, the man contains myriad complexities and contradictions: a traditional moral base that somehow includes both wife and mistress; a serene exterior that masks a fixed fear of death and a history of parental abuse; and a generosity that does not preclude requiring his children to repay all loans with interest. Lowenstein, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, has made a thoroughly researched attempt at exploring how Buffet's mind works. He gives a largely sympathetic view of a man who says bankers should wear ski masks, a billionaire who has "no art collection or snazzy car...but lives in a commonplace house on a tree-lined block." A worthwhile addition to most public and academic libraries.Katherine Gillen, Luke Air Force Base Lib., Ariz.
Booknews
Traces the career of stockbroker Warren Buffett from its modest beginning in 1956 to the nearly uncountable fortune he holds today. Journalist Lowenstein draws on three years of access to his family, friends, and colleagues to draw a portrait of Buffett as honest, unpretentious, humorous. He finds parallels between his personality and his fundamental investment strategy of buying into a company that is undervalued then waiting for its worth to surface. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Barrons
The singular achievement of Lowenstein's excellent biography. . . is that it burnishes the Buffett myth while deconstructing it with heavy doses of reality.
Business Week
Lively, smoothly written, and elaborately researched, Buffett is likely to stand as the definitive biography.
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