Expert Rating: 9 stars
Newcomer Rating: 5 stars
"It is the winter of Warren's ninth year. Outside in the yard, he and his little sister, Bertie, are playing in the snow. Warren is catching snowflakes. One at a time at first. Then he is scooping them up by handfuls. He starts to pack them into a ball. As the snowball grows bigger, he places it on the ground. Slowly it begins to roll. He gives it a push, and it picks up more snow. He pushes the snowball across the lawn, piling snow on snow. Soon he reaches the edge of the yard. After a moment of hesitation, he heads off, rolling the snowball through the neighborhood. And from there, Warren continues onward, casting his eye on a whole world full of snow." (Taken from page inside book prior to Table of Contents)
The Newcomer Rating is so low, not because the book wouldn't interest lots of different people, but because it is 838 pages long. At that length, you have to be pretty interested to pick up the book.
The expert rating is not a 10 because the last few chapters are almost entirely about Susie Buffett's battle with cancer. Those chapters were pretty long and drawn out. Some of the other chapters were more detailed than they needed to be but they didn't seem as drawn out as the last few.
Warren Buffett may be the only man to become a myth during his own lifetime. Even Elvis waited until he was dead. That is one of the reasons I love reading biographies. It is easy to forget how similar we all are as human beings. It is also easy to look at someone living a lifestyle like Warren Buffett's and forget the work (and craziness) it took to get to that point. Biographies give you a look into the thought process, the hidden actions, the overlooked details that make a person who they are.
This biography points out a lot of the small, cumulative, dedicated things that Buffett did that led to his success. The fascinating part of it, however, is looking into his personality. You get to see his relationships and how they affected him. It becomes apparent how Buffett became not only one of the wealthiest men in the world, but also one of the most respected. His extreme dedication to his pursuit of money caused him to hurt those closest to him without really meaning to. He spent many years recovering his relationship with Susie (his first wife) and their children. However, that same dedication made it so he built his life honestly and in such a way that no one could fault him for the incredible success he has had.
In the book he makes a comment about how he always read books about great people and tried to glean wisdom from their lives. He tried to learn from great men and women's lives so that he could be better. That is another reason I love biographies and one of the reasons I love this book. Warren Buffett's biography holds many little tidbits about life, business, money, relationships, dedication, and honesty. Some may read it and be motivated to pursue his ambitious goal of accumulating great wealth. Others will come out having learned lessons about "the business of life" and the things that really matter.
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