The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life ~ Alice Schroeder

Funk Rating: 6 out of 10

If you want an exhaustive dissection of the thermodynamics of drying paint under different atmospheric conditions, I fear you may find this author's name on the title page of such a dissertation.

I can't begin to tell you how sad I was to find a subject as rich and powerful as Warren Buffet reduced to such poor writing. I gave it 5 extra rating points just because of Buffett and because of everything he's done, because of his genius, and because of the absolutely spectacular nuggets of insight that are present in this book.

But.

Don't, for a moment, think this is a page turner. Don't expect it to get better in the next chapter, and don't expect the author will find her stride. It was too much of a stretch, too rich of a subject, and she had too many visions of being "the only authorized biography of an icon of our time, so let's make it accurate." She forgot the point about it being readable and enjoyable.

If you love Buffett, you'll be able to battle through. And you'll be rewarded with some keen insights, some amazing stories, and a lot of history. But I can't actually imagine recommending someone that doesn't love Buffett read this. It's like Chinese water torture of detailed minutia and it misses the mark.

Comments

[Mario]

John, for once, I read a book at the same time you did and I felt exactly the same way you did. In hindsight, I should have waited for your review.

[Jeffrey Horn]

Sorry...I guess I just love Buffett....I enjoyed the book. His quotes were wonderful...his life story fascinating...and, while I agree it was not the best written effort, it was worth the investment of time...