No comments about Applied Value Investing: The Practical Application of Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett's Valuation Principles to Acquisitions, Catastrophe Pricing and Business Execution.

4 comments about New Buffettology.

1. The author shows formulsa to determine of companies are worth investing in and she explains both with narrative and formuals how Warren Buffett grew in his life to make miney and understand the market.



2. Many books have been written about Warren Buffet's way of picking the right stocks at the right time, but this one is the most sound, concise and actionable -- the formulas and algorithms given in this book aren't given anywhere else. There is another book similar to this one: "The Warren Buffet Way" by Robert G. Hagstrom, but it misses the important topics laid out in the "Buffetology". These major topics are: what are the differences between a "consumer monopoly" and a "commodity"; how to calculate the rate of return over a long period of time before choosing the investment; and so on. There is another great book about Warren Buffet and his investment strategy - "Buffet: The Making of an American Capitalist" by Roger Lowenstein, but it better describes Mr. Buffet's biography and his relations with family, friends and the society, rather than how did he evaluate the companies. But please note that "Buffetology" is not a replacement of the book by Roger Lowenstein, I highly recommend reading both of them. What is you can omit is the book by Robert G. Hagstrom, above mentioned.
   
   I would recommend an abridged audio version of the "Buffetology" instead of the printed book. The audio version discloses the most important factors of Mr. Buffet's investment principles pretty well. Some of the background information is available on free letters to shareholders and Mr. Buffet's lectures, but you might not want to crawl thought all these; you might want to save time and just listen the "Buffetology" audio or read the "Buffetology" book, where all this information is perfectly summarized and laid out in a consistent way.



3. this book along with the author has been more misrepresenting warren and his method than many. there are several books worth the reading on buffett:
   
   1) warran buffett essays / annual reports;
   2) the warren buffett ceo;
   3) buffett, the making of an american capitalist;
   4) intelligent investors.
   
   but by far, the first book is the one which tells you almost everything, not just investing, but how to run a business with rational approach.



4. This book is not worth the buy. Sometimes I wonder if the authors have read it themselves after writing it!
   A much much better book is "Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham - who was Warren's mentor and tutor.

5 comments about Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger.

1. The majority of the book is mostly a compilation of his Top 10 public speeches, but with many side business anecdotes and references. The highlight however is with respect to his "Mental Models" with some new material. As Munger says, without the Models you're doomed with the "Man with a Hammer" syndrome. Just as you need several tools to both be a competent individual and to provide something back to society, you also need the tools to be a good investor as you are rarely the smartest one in the room.
   
   In addition, the recommended readings (if adhered to) are an education in themselves and are primarily the basis for many of the Mental Models presented, but entail so, so much more. Whether you are interested in investing, or not, one can learn many life lessons from the mental model teachings in Poor Charlie's Almanack.



2. Read much of the book this week preceding Christmas 2005, pausing to read several reviews herein. Great lessons, presented in earnest, worth every dollar, however, only to he who truly reads with focused abandon. I believe Goethe said something like Truth Only Is Known By The Minority...explaining why some readers will not get it. I agree with most of Buffet-Mungerisms...only question I would ask is why not a single quotation from any translation of The Holy Bible? Great addition to thoughtful library quite equal to Franklin's Original Autobiography.



3. Just go to www.poorcharliesalmanack.com



4. All in all, this thick volume comes off rather thin.
   
   The book's first half feels like a hagiography, with countless people testifying to Mr. Munger's multifaceted greatness. Following that is a number of repetitive, less-than-inspiring speeches delivered by Mr. Munger at various times.
   
   Strip away the glowing testimonials and the cutesy cartoons and all you're left with is a portrait of a grouchy, know-it-all octogenerian.
   
   Not a work on which to spend any time or money.



5. Most billionaires have a stellar silent partner, Warren Buffet is no exception. The speeches chronicled in this book may take more than one read but they're insightful. Munger's deep analysis doubles as life's lessons as well as financial advice. Refer to it often, it's worth every penny!

2 comments about Warren Buffett and Tao Te Ching: A Modern Investor and an Age-Old Philosophy.

1. I find this book an interesting but confused reading. Whilst the quotations from Tao Te Ching is accurate, its extrapolation into Warren Buffett's investment philosophy leaves much to be desired. For example, the book's emphasis on reduced activity reflect a misunderstanding of the "dynamic tension" active in Tao. The inactivity of Tao is like a bow that is fully driven. It is a dynamism masquerading as inactivity.



2. I am the author of the book (forgive me for giving it a 5 star rating). I feel that it is necessary to clarify the issue raised by the previous reviewer.
   
   According to Lao Tzu, everything in the universe (including human society) follows the Tao. If one follows the Tao, one will end up rising above the rest of the people and will never fail. The Tao is invisible and indefinable. People don't need to know the Tao in order to follow it. All they need to do is to reduce their desires and activities. Because when people are desireless and inactive, they are naturally following the Tao. Desires and activities may help people to achieve certain success. However, what has been achieved by desires and activities will eventually be destroyed by desires and activities. This is the fact that most people ignore. Desires and activities helped Mr. Buffett achieved great success before he reached his 50's. However, after that, he gradually became desireless (and later decided to donate most of his fortune to charities) and inactive. This is what makes him the greatest investor in the world.
   
   Inactivity is the core of Lao Tzu's philosophy. Lao Tzu once lamented that very few people grasped the merit of inactivity. Listen to what Warren Buffett said, "We continue to make more money when snoring than when active." This is not "the dynamic tension active" or "a bow that is fully driven," or "a dynamism masquerading as inactivity."
   
   Tao Te Ching is a masterpiece of human civilization. Most people don't understand/appreciate Lao Tzu's principles because these principles are contradictory to people's daily experience (e.g., inactivity). For those who understand/appreciate these principles, they may find it difficult to follow them because it is hard to overcome human nature (e.g., desirelessness). This book is aimed to help the readers to understand Lao Tzu's principles by using Warren Buffett as an example.

1 comments about What Do I Do with My Money Now?: Answers to Any Market from Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch, and Other Investors You Can Trust.

1. The books is a collection of a few articles written by a few famous investors. Of course, there is some wisdom in their words, but overall the selection looks pretty random. The articles are not really logically connected, written about different markets, different times and often are given out of the context. Just like mixing the best ingridients is not nessesary makes a good meal, this books is not adding much value by combining the pieces together.
   
   It's also hard to recommend this book to any category of investors. It's clearly not a getting started guide for the beginners because there is no introduction to the market. And the serious investors would probably rather read the original works of those star investors.

3 comments about The New Buffettology: How Warren Buffett Got and Stayed Rich in Markets Like This and How You Can Too!.

1. This book tries to reverse-engineer Warren Buffett's investment strategy and does a horrible job of it. Like all of Mary Buffett's books, this is long on hype and short on credibility.

   For about the same price, you can buy the Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham, a book that Warren Buffett personally recommends reading.




2. This is great book on investing and I highly recommend it. The CD is great to listen to in the car and gets all the points across. I suggest that you also get the book. It's way better than the Graham books - which are very dated - they give you the tools to buy stocks selling at below book value - not a lot of those around any more. Besides Buffett got over Graham years ago.



3. Many books have been written about Warren Buffet's way of picking the right stocks at the right time, and many audio programs have been recorderd, but this one is the most sound, concise and actionable. There is another book on this subject: "The Warren Buffet Way" by Robert G. Hagstrom, but it misses the important topics laid out in the "Buffettology". These major topics are: what are the differences between a "consumer monopoly" and a "commodity"; how to calculate the rate of return over a long period of time before choosing the investment; and so on. There is another great book about Warren Buffet and his investment strategy - "Buffet: The Making of an American Capitalist" by Roger Lowenstein, but it better describes Mr. Buffet's biography and his relations with family, friends and the society, rather than how did he evaluate the companies. But please note that "Buffettology" is not a replacement of the book by Roger Lowenstein, I highly recommend both of them, but get the printed book Roger Lowenstein, not an audio version. The autio version of Roger Lowenstein masterpies is severely abridged and strips all the important details. What you can omit is the book by Robert G. Hagstrom, above mentioned.
   
   I would recommend this abridged audio version of the "Buffettology" instead of the printed book. The audio version discloses the most important factors of Mr. Buffet's investment principles pretty well. Some of the background information is available on free letters to shareholders and Mr. Buffet's lectures, but you might not want to crawl thought all these; you might want to save time and just listen the "Buffettology" audio or read the "Buffettology" book, where all this information is perfectly summarized and laid out in a consistent way.

5 comments about A Weekend with Warren Buffett: And Other Shareholder Meeting Adventures.

1. This is a book based on a gimmick. As such, the novelty soon wears off and tedium prevails. Cepuch's accounts of the meetings are all the same: a catalog of the free food and knicknacks, some mildly interesting facts about the company you may never have heard of, and a description of the Q&A session. The author has trouble filling the book with the promised adventures and at points he wastes our time with stories about his travel arrangements and the difficulty of doing laundry away from home.
   
   Reading the first half of the book suffices to learn its secrets: A shareholder meeting may be a useful source of investment information, but only if shareholders pose intelligent questions and the directors give forthright responses. This rarely happens.
   
   The Berkshire Hathaway meeting is one of a kind, but there is plenty written about it elsewhere. If you're really looking for a weekend with Warren Buffett, spend next Saturday reading Buffett's letters to his shareholders which are available from the Berkshire Hathaway website. They're much more informative and entertaining.



2. This is one of those rare books that has insightful information and some good laughs along the way. Mr. Cepuch's style is fresh and direct. He quickly draws you into each shareholder adventure with a keen eye for detail and a sense of humor. I enjoyed it thoroughly and came away with the satisfying feeling that I'd gotten an insider's view.



3. I admit to owning stocks in several individual companies (as opposed to investments in mutual funds and the like), and that I've never actually attended a shareholders meeting of any of these companies. I get the invitation in the mail, and always ignore it, but in the back of my mind I've wondered at times what it would be like to actually go.
   
   Now comes "A Weekend With Warren Bufett and Other Shareholder Meeting Adventures" (266 pages), in which author Randy Cepush just does exactly that: after attending the 1999 shareholders meeting of Warren Buffett's company, Cepuch decided to attend other shareholder meetings of usually high-profile companies, such as Microsoft, Wal-Mart, Starbucks, Disney, etc., totaling about 20 companies, and the author devotes about 10 pages per company experience. The best part of the book is the initial one-third or so, with in particular the Warrenn Buffett experiece making it a worthwhile read. But after a while, it all starts to read and feel very much alike. Thankfully Cepuch in the epilogue provides an update on all the companies, which brings a much-needed new perspective.
   
   Cepuch does write with ease and humor. In writing about his experience at Starbucks, "During the next few minutes, [CEO] Schultz says all the right things for employees and shareholders alike. 'Can a company get big and stay small?' he asks. A pal who speaks Starbucks lingo tells me later that the question really should've been 'Can the company get venti but stay tall?'". Haha! Or this beauty in talking about a tension-filled shareholder meeting at Hershey's: "But today the practice hits a new low when a boy who looks to be about eight approaches the mike and says 'I am a stockholder and I want to know why the strikers are so mad.' Mind you, that's what he ways. What everyone hears is 'I'm a cute kid and it wouldn't look good if you didn't take me seriously. Mr. CEO, when did you stop beating your wife?' For a few seconds the air is sucked out of the room." I wish the book had more zingers like that one!



4. It's always great to to get a behind-the-scenes view of a segment of the world from an entertaining writer, and this is definitely that. If you're at all interested in the machinations of publicly traded companies, you'll enjoy this peek into how businesses treat their shareholders once a year at their annual meeting. Mr. Cepuch personally attended all the gatherings that he writes about, and it's fun to read about the varying philosophies (not to mention which freebies and refreshments are or aren't provided) that drive each company. I even came away with an interest in a few that I'd never considered trading. This book will be a fun read for anybody who's already an investor and for anyone who's thinking about investing and wants a good look at how it all works and where shareholders fit into the equation. Big thumbs up.



5. Slightly entertaining for the first 20 or so pages, but very little on Buffett. Wasn't what I was expecting. Couldn't plow through the repetition. Didn't finish the book. No real insight into Buffett.

3 comments about J. K. Lasser's Pick Stocks Like Warren Buffett.

1. I just started investing seriously a couple of years ago, and am still learning. Mr. Boroson's book was invaluable to me. It contained a lot of concise, well-thought-out advice that was immediately relevent to today's uncertain investment climate. Most books about investing I've read are either too simple, or so complicated that you need to be Warren Buffet himself to understand them. I liked Mr. Boroson's book because it helped me think through decisions more clearly without trying to impress me with a lot of complicated terms and ideas that won't help me build a winning portfolio. I'm already putting some of Mr. Boroson's strategies to work!



2. This is the best book yet for small investors. Warren Boroson's previous advice made it possible for me to take early retirement. Now, he takes us hand-in-hand with the "big guys" and shows us the paths to take and to avoid through today's volatile market. Good sense with good humor. A "must read."



3. Great insight into how Warren Buffett and other successful investors invest in stocks.

5 comments about Becoming Rich: The Wealth-Building Secrets of the World's Master Investors Buffett, Icahn, Soros.

1. This book is completely worthless. The strategies within this text constantly contradict themselves. For example don't take risks - focus on keeping what you have rather than building on what you've got. Then it goes on to say, risk; however, is in the eye of the beholder. One of the "strategies" in this book actually speaks of predicting the market before a trend even occurs. I guess the average Joe investor will be able to predict future market trends before the experts do, huh? Basically this book reads as follows, invest in strong companies and/or companies that are deeply discounted, but fundamentally sound ... Don't diversify your portfolio ... Put all your eggs in one basket or just a few baskets. Be able to predict the future so that you can put your money into a sector that is about to take off, etc. If you are looking to build your wealth I would say step one is saving the money you would have spend purchasing this book and look else ware.



2. I write financial newsletters for a living. I'm constantly being asked by my publisher's book subisidary to submit ideas for an investment title. I've bought every investment book with the name Buffett in the title. I've read most of them, although I've finished few of them. The best ones are The Warren Buffett Way, by Hagstrom, The Buffettology books, and Greenwald, et al's Value Investing: From Graham to Buffett and Beyond. Becoming Rich, is half a notch below these, but this is the book I wish I'd written, not any of those other three.
   
   The best thing about Becoming Rich is that Tier, a veteran newsletter writer, always SHOWS you. He never merely tells you what his point is. This book has page after page of anecdotes and examples, including material I don't remember reading elsewhere about Buffett. For example, there's a great couple of paragraphs explaining what happened to Coke before Goizueta took over, and how Goizueta dug into the business, sold of all the garbage assets previous management had bought, and introduced Diet Coke, which became an instant smash hit.
   
   Tier does a better job of summing up Soros's style than any of the Soros books. I can't get through Alchemy of Finance, but I really enjoyed reading about Soros in Becoming Rich. Icahn material is scarce, and Becoming Rich has material I haven't seen elsewhere, although Tier did tell me by e-mail that some of it came from the now out-of-print biography, King Icahn.
   
   If you're an individual investor, you should read this book. If you're an educated financial professional, you've probably swallowed a fair amount of pure garbage as a part of your formal education. This book can help you discard it.
   
   If you enjoy reading stories and anecdotes about business and great investors, you'll love this book. It doesn't hurt that, along the way, Tier calls out the principles that Buffett, Icahn and Soros used to get rich.
   
   So...it's a useful book, a unique though simple approach to the topic, loaded with ultra-specific examples, delivered with a sense of urgency, fun and story-telling throughout.
   
   ~ Dan Ferris, Editor, Extreme Value
   (www.stansberryresearch.com)



3. I found this book very interesting and would say it lived up to its billing. I specifically bought it to read about Carl Icahn but found the other investors interesting as well. It's always a good idea to learn from the best and these guys are some of the best, give it a try.



4. I don't agree with absolutely everything that Mark Tier writes in this book - but the points I disagree on at least get me to think. I think there are more differences between Soros and Buffett than Tier would like. Some of the rules are relatively but not absolutely true - for example the don't diversify rule is relative. Buffett is in fact very diversified today across investments and operating businesses as a result of the pure size of Berkshire though insurance remains the primary business. Soros always diversified across individual stock investments but would take large futures positions. But the insights in the book far outweigh any of my criticisms. For the guy who says the book is worthless - the book is not very useful to someone with no experience in trading and investing. You need to come to this book with a lot of experience and maybe limited success and it will open your eyes. Having previously read biographies of Soros and Buffett and their own writings will help put things in context too. This is very much an advanced level text :)



5. Well written, I believe if the advice is implemented completely the reader will becoming wealthy as the title implies.

5 comments about The Essential Buffett: Timeless Principles for the New Economy.

1. Robert Hagstorm re-states the great principles included in his outstanding book "The Warren Buffet Way", adding references to the new economy just in the last chapter with a few recommendations.

   I am a true believer in the doctrine taught in the three books by Hagstorm, and they opened a whole new field to me. But his first book remains the best. I put it in practice with excellent personal results so far.




2. Before I read the Essential Buffet I knew very little about Warren Buffett. I knew he was one of, if not the richest man in the world. I knew he made his fortune from the stock market, but that was basically all.
   I began the book with the hope of learning what set him apart from the thousands of other investors that don't even come close to his successes.
   The book begins with a general summery of what is to come. Then it gets into the details. You learn how his childhood shaped his decision making. Then it talks about his greatest influences Graham and Fischer. Then it talks about how he selects stocks.
   All of the skills you learn not only teach you why he was successful but also how you can be. The author uses simple analagies to explain complex ideas, which makes it an easier read.
   I recomend the book to those who are interested in the stock market, owning or managing a business or just in economics in general.



3. Hagstrom's The Essential Buffett is key to understanding successful investing strategies. However this very helpful book is not just about why Buffett makes his choices, but, how Buffett's thought process in deciding to pick a stock has come to be. Besides the genius of Buffett, the reader learns about stock market guru's Ben Graham, Philip Fisher and Berkshire Hathaway's vice-Chairman Charlie Munger. Hagstrom's examples of the companies Buffett has been with like: Net Jet, See's, Coca-Cola, Citigroup... teaches young investors Buffett's investment ideaology. Because Hagstrom uses assumptions and multiple mathematical examples to prove HIS own application of Buffett's investing style to tech stocks, The Essential Buffett is not a five star book.



4. Hagstrom has presented Buffett's philosophy that is understandable and correct. I intend to learn from Buffett's principles and to use them to my advantage, to make my billions.



5. Instead of calling this book "The Essential Buffett", Hagstrom should have called it "The Rehashed Buffett". I have read both of the author's previous books about Buffett, and they stand well on their own. This book, though, is just a cash grab. It is "essentially" just highlights from the other two books recycled into this "new" book.

   If you haven't read the first two books should you read this one? I don't know... but if you have read the first two, don't bother with this patch job.