The Snowball: Alice Schroeder - 2009

Warren Buffett is one of the world’s most respected men within the finance realm. Although he has humble beginnings, he is not what you would call simple. Instead, he created a kingdom around him through his brilliance and principles. He is known as an honest man who has enriched peoples’ lives through his stewardship. The Snowball follows his journey through his life, although private. He has never written a memoir in his lifetime. However, he gave Alice Schroeder access to his insight on his success. She has asked him all the difficult questions and placed them in this published book of wisdom.

“He sits surrounded by icons and mementos of fifty years. In the hallways outside his office, Nebraska Cornhuskers football photographs, his paycheck from an appearance on a soap opera, the offer letter (never accepted) to buy a hedge fund called Long-Term Capital Management, and Coca-Cola memorabilia everywhere. On the coffee table inside the office, a classic Coca-Cola bottle. A baseball glove encased in Lucite. Over the sofa, a certificate that he completed Dale Carnegie's public-speaking course in January 1952. The Wells Fargo stagecoach, westbound atop a bookcase. A Pulitzer Prize, won in 1973 by the Sun Newspapers of Omaha, which his investment partnership owned. Scattered about the room are books and newspapers. Photographs of his family and friends cover the credenza and a side table, and sit under the hutch beside his desk in place of a computer. A large portrait of his father hangs above Buffett's head on the wall behind his desk. It faces every visitor who enters the room.”

Written in narrative form, this amazing piece of work has captured Buffett’s spirit and his overall attitude towards people and his success. Although he is meek, his wisdom is vast and all investors can learn from him.