Product Description
The first chapter makes the case that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, although based in Omaha, has emerged as a truly international company. Chapter 2 explores Buffett's extraordinary gift of the bulk of his fortune to the Gates Foundation. Chapter 3 reveals what Gates gave Buffett as a thank you (surprisingly, Gates gave Buffett a 1776 first edition of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations). And Chapter 4 tells of Buffett's purchase of Iscar, the precision tool company in Israel, and tracks BUffett's visit to Israel to visit Iscar's facilities and to meet with the Israeli prime minister. Also, there are chapters (among the 335) about Buffett's wedding on his 76th birthday, Berkshire's stock price surpassing $100,000 and Berkshire's bid to bail out the Lloyd's of London "Names." The fully revised book has more than 1,200 photos. The back cover photo is of Buffett and NBA's LeBron James.
Customer Reviews:
Rather disappointed.......2007-08-03
A lot of info about Buffett & his investment history, but most of them is useless. I see rubbish rather than helpful info in this book.
Ballooning volume size with shrinking contents.......2007-05-13
Kind of dissapointed after flipping through the two huge volumes. Nice pictures (but many of them not that clear)through out the book, and seemed to keep up to day with most of the recent events related to Warren Buffett. But the events has not much to read about. For example, about Buffett's purchase of USG stocks lately, only simply mentioned the fact without any background or related story (but the table of contents sure seemed to suggest otherwise). The older one-volume version of the book seemed to have more stuff to read then the new two-volume version, even the older text-only cover seemed to be nicer than the colorful picture-jammed new cover. The new 2 volume version seems to be a chronicle album rather than a historical book. Usually less really means more. Ballooning a book's size with air would only send the disappointed readers away.
Quantity AND quality!.......2007-04-25
I've just finished Volume 1 - a mere 903 pages - and it's terrific. The subject matter is compelling, of course, but Andy's own little humorous asides make this a very fun read!
far and away the best edition yet.......2007-04-24
If you want to gain insight into what makes Warren Buffett tick and what Berkshire Hathaway is really all about -- you NEED to get Andy Kilpatrick's Of Permanent Value. I have nearly every edition, and this 2007 International Edition, a two volume set, is superior to the past editions both in the extended quality of its content and in the upgraded physical quality of the book. The paper stock of this OPV is glossy and it is much "richer" than previous editions -- much more befitting the man who is it's subject. OPV 2007 IE is simply an essential part of anyone's library. I buy two -- one for home and one for the office. Every time I pick up the book I learn something new about Buffett, Berkshire and the businesses and people that make up this amazing story. A great gift for that Buffett-phile who has everything or the student who wants to learn more about this interesting and complex man/business.
The most comprehensive study of the life of the world's greatest invesor.......2007-01-26
Andy has really outdone himself with this set of two volumes. It has so much information in it that one has to pace himself when reading.There are 1800 plus pages. I find it highly interesting and infomative. If ever one wanted to know any thing about Warren Buffett, then this is the place to go. It probably has facts about WEB that even he may have forgotten.
That fact that this book has compiled just about evey fact that one might want to know about Buffett, from what type of car he drives to how many cokes he consumes a day, to his fond love of hamburgers,to the cost of his house in Omaha, it is in this set of two volulmes.
I am especially impressed with the stories on the early days of his partnership, and the wealth creation that came with throwing in with the unknown WEB. The amount of millionaires that he has created through his investing genius, as well as his patience on investing for the long term is to be found in this treatise over and over. I also feel that the lessons of life that Warren teaches is also most important. His value system is also on the mark. It is truly an amazing fact that the man is so correct in the manner in which he makes money, and also that he is so far ahead of the curve when it comes to his personal ethics. For example, when he got out of Freddy Mac, most people did not understand why. He did and sure enough, along come the accouting issues. He preached about stock options being expensed, about eating your own cooking. He has talked about the dangers of derivatives as well as excessive executive compensation. He is on the mark on all issues, and he sees the problems and explains it in simple english. Probably best of all, he lives his life in front of an open window,with everyone watchine his every move, but he lives it like he tells it. Andy has really laid it all out for anyone to see.
I know that if one wants to know how to invest like Warren Buffett, that this is a "must have" set. It is the best $ 50.00 dollars that a person will ever spend in the quest of long term investing and making money.
Product Description
The theme of this fully revised biography about Warren Buffett is books, books, books. Many works directly related to Buffett or Berkshire Hathaway, as well as many indirectly related, are the focus. For example, a chapter about Procter & Gamble includes photos and information about books written about P&G. A good number of the more than 1,100 photos in the book relate to books to help move the story, indeed the odyssey, along. The muse for this odyssey is James Joyce's Ulysses. The cover is blue because the original cover of Joyce's masterpiece was blue. The back cover of the book sports a superb photo of Buffett and Bill Gates standing together at a golf outing.
Customer Reviews:
The best book about Warren Buffett (including his Berkshire days).......2006-10-06
First, I want to mention two constructive feedback about this book. One is that this book is probably only suitable for Warren Buffett fanatics/fans. For general investors interested about Berkshire Hathaway or how Warren Buffett invest, this is probably not the best book to read (as it has so much more info. i.e. more than 1000 pages). Second is that I have read this book more than once and I still don't know how the book is organized (the chapters aren't following chronological order, alphabetical nor topical order), therefore it is quite confusing to read as you progress from one chapter to another. Only after you read enough chapter (or completed the book) then you can put it all in the big picture in your head (from Warren's childhood till his current Berkshire days). Nonetheless, kudos to Andrew Kilpatrick for putting this book together. Moreover, once you know the limitation, this book is easily considered the best book about Warren Buffett in my opinion.
Now about the content of the book. You will learn a lot about Warren Buffett and his life, and not only investing topic (investing decisions that he made throughout his career) but his life principles, family, and business in general as well. You will learn about his first job delivering papers when he was 13 (he filed income tax and deducted the bike as business cost), and how he build his first business (pinball machine business), created Buffett partnership, break it up (liquidate), acquire berkshire mills, creating Berkshire Hathaway as investment vehicle, and many other great investment decision/story that he made (Geico, See's Candies, Dairy Queen, General Re, Coca Cola, Salomon, Washington Post, Gillette etc)
Buffett concrete rules for investing are:
1. Never lose money
2. Never forget rule #1
I know it's easier said (what he say above about to never lose money) than done based on my 10 years of invesitng experience , but then again I'm no Warren Buffett.
In my opinion, here are the 5 strategy/skills that Warren Buffett uses (Mr. Buffett, please correct me if I'm wrong):
1. Intrinsic Value
2. Margin of Safety
3. Temperament (discipline and understanding Mr.Market)
4. Circle of Competence (knowing what your circle of competence)
5. Common Sense (which I think is the most important factor and encapsulate everything about Warren Buffett.)
You will learn that Warren is very good with numbers (calculating in his head) and memorizing so many facts and numbers. You will also learn that Warren is a man with a very good sense of humor.
There are so many things/chapters that I like on this book. Let me try to mention two of my favorite sections.
One is when Warren need to make a decision who would run Salomon ($150B institution with 8000 employees) within 2 days during their first crisis. There are 12 top-level managers that he interviewed. "This was the most important hire of my life", said Warren to the Columbia business students. The chapter explain his thought process of this candidate selection in detail. Warren mentioned that the good news (for the students and the candidate) is that he didn't ask what their grades were (laughter). Warren also said, "Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. and if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you. if you think about it, it's true, if you hire somebody without integrity, you want them to be dumb and lazy" (laughter). And he conclude the topic with this statement which I think is very powerful: "Pick the kind of person to work for you that you want to marry your son or daughter. You won't go wrong". By the way, he picked Deryck Maughan by the way for his integrity.
Another chapter that I really like is how Warren put the audience (of more than 2000 people) through Business School in an electrifying two minutes (The chapter about "Generics"). See how Warren answer the question of "Will developments in the generic brand area hurt coca-cola?" which is a very important questions. I'll try not to spill too much and take the joy of reading this chapter yourself but he basically explains in a nutshell (with all the details and numbers) how business and competition works (and using several other example like Gilette, Marlboro, Sam Cola etc) and how he convinced the audience (and me as a reader) that coca cola is considered immune to generics. He explains how one can save $500 for smoking generic brand (vs Marlboro) which is a lot of money. While a man will probably will only save $11 per year by not using Gilette Sensor and probably leave band-aids on his face and an uncomfotable experience for opting for generics/lower quality blades. And for coca cola, the net profit margin is only 1 cents per serving (can) while a lot of the ingredients cost (such as the aluminium close to 6 cents a can, sugar 1.3 ounce per can or 1.75 cents etc) the same regardless for coke or other cola company.
I'll stop here before it's getting too long. In summary, If you are a Warren Buffett fans, then this book is for you. If you are uncertain, you can get other books first (potentially less thick book), like "Warren Buffet Way" or maybe "Buffettology", and if you like them (Warren) or want to know more about Warren then get this book. I personally don't like it in the beginning but as time goes by (and after I re-read the book/chapters), I changed my mind, this book is a masterpiece.
As a Berkshire shareholder, I want to encourage all berkshire shareholders (and potential/future shareholders) to read this book to know more about the person in charge of your berkshire investment. I also want to encourage all shareholders to go to the annual shareholder meeting while Mr. Buffett is still in charge.
Last but not least, if I have to sum this book up in a word or two, I would use the word "WISDOM" to describe this book, though I have a strong feeling that Warren will disagree with me and think that the more suitable phrase is "COMMON SENSE"
Makes Sense for Value-Oriented Readers.......2006-10-03
The average American reads about 2 books averaging 200 pages per year. This books comes in at 1682 pages, so this could be the only book you need to buy for the next 4 years (assuming you read 400 pages per year). That, in my opinion, is a great value and a great way to simplify your life. Make one decision now instead of having to make many over the next four years. Hopefully Kilpatrick's next book will be 2000 pages, which would be a 5-year book. Some may argue that Kilpatrick could have made his points in 1500 pages or even 1400 pages, but bottom line is giving readers value. For the same price that most 1400 page books carry, Kilpatrick gives you 1682 pages.
I would recommend this for any serious consumer of pages, but would caution that people who are frail or have back problems should not attempt to handle the book on their own. When attempting to pick it up, remember to always lift with your legs, not your back, to avoid injury.
I'm not sure what "Literary Edition" means, except that it's intellectual and scholarly and long and important and not for illiterates.
Mr. Kirkpatrick, please hire an editor.......2006-01-14
Once again, this book comes out with more repetitious chapters. This book can be a resource for some new material, but it is not to be read straight through. Self-publishing has its downside, and this book demonstrates that. Kirkpatrick is a nice old newspaperman, and he has written several scores of short articles and collected them into his idea of a book. It must pay very well, emotionally if not monetarily, becuse he keeps doing it, but it does not serve anyone who values their time.
Book Description
Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett/2005 Edition is a fully updated and expanded biography of investor Warren Buffett. The book has 1,542 pages and more than 850 photos. The front cover features a photo of the 15.8 people who work at Berkshire Hathaway headquarters in Omaha.
Customer Reviews:
The best book about Warren Buffett (including his Berkshire days).......2006-11-14
First, I want to mention two constructive feedback about this book. One is that this book is probably only suitable for Warren Buffett fanatics/fans. For general investors interested about Berkshire Hathaway or how Warren Buffett invest, this is probably not the best book to read (as it has so much more info. i.e. more than 1000 pages). Second is that I have read this book more than once and I still don't know how the book is organized (the chapters aren't following chronological order, alphabetical nor topical order), therefore it is quite confusing to read as you progress from one chapter to another. Only after you read enough chapter (or completed the book) then you can put it all in the big picture in your head (from Warren's childhood till his current Berkshire days). Nonetheless, kudos to Andrew Kilpatrick for putting this book together. Moreover, once you know the limitation, this book is easily considered the best book about Warren Buffett in my opinion.
Now about the content of the book. You will learn a lot about Warren Buffett and his life, and not only investing topic (investing decisions that he made throughout his career) but his life principles, family, and business in general as well. You will learn about his first job delivering papers when he was 13 (he filed income tax and deducted the bike as business cost), and how he build his first business (pinball machine business), created Buffett partnership, break it up (liquidate), acquire berkshire mills, creating Berkshire Hathaway as investment vehicle, and many other great investment decision/story that he made (Geico, See's Candies, Dairy Queen, General Re, Coca Cola, Salomon, Washington Post, Gillette etc)
Buffett concrete rules for investing are:
1. Never lose money
2. Never forget rule #1
I know it's easier said (what he say above about to never lose money) than done based on my 10 years of invesitng experience , but then again I'm no Warren Buffett.
In my opinion, here are the 5 strategy/skills that Warren Buffett uses (Mr. Buffett, please correct me if I'm wrong):
1. Intrinsic Value
2. Margin of Safety
3. Temperament (discipline and understanding Mr.Market)
4. Circle of Competence (knowing what your circle of competence)
5. Common Sense (which I think is the most important factor and encapsulate everything about Warren Buffett.)
You will learn that Warren is very good with numbers (calculating in his head) and memorizing so many facts and numbers. You will also learn that Warren is a man with a very good sense of humor.
There are so many things/chapters that I like on this book. Let me try to mention two of my favorite sections.
One is when Warren need to make a decision who would run Salomon ($150B institution with 8000 employees) within 2 days during their first crisis. There are 12 top-level managers that he interviewed. "This was the most important hire of my life", said Warren to the Columbia business students. The chapter explain his thought process of this candidate selection in detail. Warren mentioned that the good news (for the students and the candidate) is that he didn't ask what their grades were (laughter). Warren also said, "Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. and if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you. if you think about it, it's true, if you hire somebody without integrity, you want them to be dumb and lazy" (laughter). And he conclude the topic with this statement which I think is very powerful: "Pick the kind of person to work for you that you want to marry your son or daughter. You won't go wrong". By the way, he picked Deryck Maughan by the way for his integrity.
Another chapter that I really like is how Warren put the audience (of more than 2000 people) through Business School in an electrifying two minutes (The chapter about "Generics"). See how Warren answer the question of "Will developments in the generic brand area hurt coca-cola?" which is a very important questions. I'll try not to spill too much and take the joy of reading this chapter yourself but he basically explains in a nutshell (with all the details and numbers) how business and competition works (and using several other example like Gilette, Marlboro, Sam Cola etc) and how he convinced the audience (and me as a reader) that coca cola is considered immune to generics. He explains how one can save $500 for smoking generic brand (vs Marlboro) which is a lot of money. While a man will probably will only save $11 per year by not using Gilette Sensor and probably leave band-aids on his face and an uncomfotable experience for opting for generics/lower quality blades. And for coca cola, the net profit margin is only 1 cents per serving (can) while a lot of the ingredients cost (such as the aluminium close to 6 cents a can, sugar 1.3 ounce per can or 1.75 cents etc) the same regardless for coke or other cola company.
I'll stop here before it's getting too long. In summary, If you are a Warren Buffett fans, then this book is for you. If you are uncertain, you can get other books first (potentially less thick book), like "Warren Buffet Way" or maybe "Buffettology", and if you like them (Warren) or want to know more about Warren then get this book. I personally don't like it in the beginning but as time goes by (and after I re-read the book/chapters), I changed my mind, this book is a masterpiece.
As a Berkshire shareholder, I want to encourage all berkshire shareholders (and potential/future shareholders) to read this book to know more about the person in charge of your berkshire investment. I also want to encourage all shareholders to go to the annual shareholder meeting while Mr. Buffett is still in charge.
Last but not least, if I have to sum this book up in a word or two, I would use the word "WISDOM" to describe this book, though I have a strong feeling that Warren will disagree with me and think that the more suitable phrase is "COMMON SENSE"
Outstanding annecdotes on the Oracle.......2004-09-04
Warren Buffett, the American Icon, is captured beautifully in these 1500some pages. The book is a haphazard collection of notes, annecdotes, rumors and stories of the Oracle himself. It contains much of the traditional folk wisdom of the man, as well as much of the lore you probably haven't heard yet. At 1500 pages, there's something for everyone.
The book is a must for any member of the cult of Warren.
The best Buffett book ever written.......2004-07-30
This new edition is the most comprehensive and compelling history of Berkshire Hathaway and it's officers, owners and hundreds of people who have invested in, run, benefitted, admired, nurtured, or otherwise influenced the life of Warren Buffett, as well as countless other people,factors and strategies responsible for the unprecedented and still relentless growth of one of the most successful corporate enterprises of all time. 272 quick-reading chapters cover just about every facet of the Buffett mistique, personality, thought process and lifestyle. The investment executive author and former journalist nails down all the whos, hows, wheres, whens, whys and hows relating to this remarkable man from his youth through the 2004 Berkshire Annual Meeting which brought 20,000 enthusiastic shareholders to Omaha this past May. Frank Betz
The Best Buffett Book By a Bunch!.......2004-07-29
If you ever wondered about ANY thing to do with Warren Buffett or Berkshire Hathaway, this is the ultimate source to own! Andy has outdone himself in his latest effort to compress the life and times of Warren Buffett between the covers of a book. The writing is engaging and interesting, it is lavishly drenched with over 800 photos that you will no doubt not see anywhere else, and make reading about the Berkshire empire all that more interesting. Kilpatrick does not skimp on any detail of Buffett's long and stellar carreer in investing. The personal and humorus stories and photos are woven throughout to make it a very entertaining and informative Buffett encyclopedia. Since the chapters, for the most part, are not that long, one can pick it up and read for as long or as short a time as is convienent. All in all,a most complete and exellent record of a "bigger than life" life!
A MUST have for Buffett fans!
Average customer rating:
- The best book about Warren Buffett (including his Berkshire days)
- Awesome Buffett anecdotes
- Not what I expected, but...
- A one volume encyclopedia of Warren Buffett
- The TOTAL Warren Buffett for the Serious Fan
|
Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett/More in '04, California Edition
Andrew Kilpatrick
Manufacturer: Andy Kilpatrick Publishing Empire (AKPE)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Business
| Professionals & Academics
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Buffett, Warren
| ( B )
| People, A-Z
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0964190559 |
Book Description
This biography of investor Warren Buffett tells how he forged Berkshire Hathaway into a $100 billion company. The book uncovers almost all the Buffett legacy in 1,500 pages and 750 photos. It's called the California Edition because of:
1. Buffett's backing of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the California eletion.
2. The tracing of a group of Stanford Business School students who heard Buffett speak there decades ago. Their remarkable careers are followed in light of Buffett. One student turned over word-for-word notes from a talk Buffett gave there in 1978.
3. A rare interview with Harry Bottle, 84, of California, who was Buffett's early Mr. Fix-it.
Customer Reviews:
The best book about Warren Buffett (including his Berkshire days).......2006-10-06
First, I want to mention two constructive feedback about this book. One is that this book is probably only suitable for Warren Buffett fanatics/fans. For general investors interested about Berkshire Hathaway or how Warren Buffett invest, this is probably not the best book to read (as it has so much more info. i.e. more than 1000 pages). Second is that I have read this book more than once and I still don't know how the book is organized (the chapters aren't following chronological order, alphabetical nor topical order), therefore it is quite confusing to read as you progress from one chapter to another. Only after you read enough chapter (or completed the book) then you can put it all in the big picture in your head (from Warren's childhood till his current Berkshire days). Nonetheless, kudos to Andrew Kilpatrick for putting this book together. Moreover, once you know the limitation, this book is easily considered the best book about Warren Buffett in my opinion.
Now about the content of the book. You will learn a lot about Warren Buffett and his life, and not only investing topic (investing decisions that he made throughout his career) but his life principles, family, and business in general as well. You will learn about his first job delivering papers when he was 13 (he filed income tax and deducted the bike as business cost), and how he build his first business (pinball machine business), created Buffett partnership, break it up (liquidate), acquire berkshire mills, creating Berkshire Hathaway as investment vehicle, and many other great investment decision/story that he made (Geico, See's Candies, Dairy Queen, General Re, Coca Cola, Salomon, Washington Post, Gillette etc)
Buffett concrete rules for investing are:
1. Never lose money
2. Never forget rule #1
I know it's easier said (what he say above about to never lose money) than done based on my 10 years of invesitng experience , but then again I'm no Warren Buffett.
In my opinion, here are the 5 strategy/skills that Warren Buffett uses (Mr. Buffett, please correct me if I'm wrong):
1. Intrinsic Value
2. Margin of Safety
3. Temperament (discipline and understanding Mr.Market)
4. Circle of Competence (knowing what your circle of competence)
5. Common Sense (which I think is the most important factor and encapsulate everything about Warren Buffett.)
You will learn that Warren is very good with numbers (calculating in his head) and memorizing so many facts and numbers. You will also learn that Warren is a man with a very good sense of humor.
There are so many things/chapters that I like on this book. Let me try to mention two of my favorite sections.
One is when Warren need to make a decision who would run Salomon ($150B institution with 8000 employees) within 2 days during their first crisis. There are 12 top-level managers that he interviewed. "This was the most important hire of my life", said Warren to the Columbia business students. The chapter explain his thought process of this candidate selection in detail. Warren mentioned that the good news (for the students and the candidate) is that he didn't ask what their grades were (laughter). Warren also said, "Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. and if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you. if you think about it, it's true, if you hire somebody without integrity, you want them to be dumb and lazy" (laughter). And he conclude the topic with this statement which I think is very powerful: "Pick the kind of person to work for you that you want to marry your son or daughter. You won't go wrong". By the way, he picked Deryck Maughan by the way for his integrity.
Another chapter that I really like is how Warren put the audience (of more than 2000 people) through Business School in an electrifying two minutes (The chapter about "Generics"). See how Warren answer the question of "Will developments in the generic brand area hurt coca-cola?" which is a very important questions. I'll try not to spill too much and take the joy of reading this chapter yourself but he basically explains in a nutshell (with all the details and numbers) how business and competition works (and using several other example like Gilette, Marlboro, Sam Cola etc) and how he convinced the audience (and me as a reader) that coca cola is considered immune to generics. He explains how one can save $500 for smoking generic brand (vs Marlboro) which is a lot of money. While a man will probably will only save $11 per year by not using Gilette Sensor and probably leave band-aids on his face and an uncomfotable experience for opting for generics/lower quality blades. And for coca cola, the net profit margin is only 1 cents per serving (can) while a lot of the ingredients cost (such as the aluminium close to 6 cents a can, sugar 1.3 ounce per can or 1.75 cents etc) the same regardless for coke or other cola company.
I'll stop here before it's getting too long. In summary, If you are a Warren Buffett fans, then this book is for you. If you are uncertain, you can get other books first (potentially less thick book), like "Warren Buffet Way" or maybe "Buffettology", and if you like them (Warren) or want to know more about Warren then get this book. I personally don't like it in the beginning but as time goes by (and after I re-read the book/chapters), I changed my mind, this book is a masterpiece.
As a Berkshire shareholder, I want to encourage all berkshire shareholders (and potential/future shareholders) to read this book to know more about the person in charge of your berkshire investment. I also want to encourage all shareholders to go to the annual shareholder meeting while Mr. Buffett is still in charge.
Last but not least, if I have to sum this book up in a word or two, I would use the word "WISDOM" to describe this book, though I have a strong feeling that Warren will disagree with me and think that the more suitable phrase is "COMMON SENSE"
Awesome Buffett anecdotes.......2004-09-04
Warren Buffett, the American Icon, is captured beautifully in these 1500some pages. The book is a haphazard collection of notes, annecdotes, rumors and stories of the Oracle himself. It contains much of the traditional folk wisdom of the man, as well as much of the lore you probably haven't heard yet. At 1500 pages, there's something for everyone.
The book is a must for any member of the cult of Warren.
Not what I expected, but..........2004-05-30
I bought an earlier edition of this book thinking it would be a regular biography of Warren Buffett. Instead, it's a strange, very lengthy collection of information about him. The writer rambles and digresses a LOT. But it's not a bad book, for what it is, and you can pick up some investing info amid all the trivia. Just don't expect an ordinary biography.
A one volume encyclopedia of Warren Buffett.......2004-01-14
There are a lot of books vying for your money that bear Warren Buffett's name. Only one of those books bears his endorsement - Of Permanent Value.
If you are building a Buffett library, I recommend starting with his own words in the form of Buffett's annual letters to shareholders, many of which are available on the Berkshire Hathaway website for free. Next you need get Of Permanent Value. Think of OPV as a one volume encyclopedia about everything Buffett.
Like a good encyclopedia, you never know what you'll find in Of Permanent Value - profiles of the people and companies that Buffett invests in/with and equally important, the people and companies who invest in/with Buffett. Vital investment information, with good humor and Buffett trivia mixed in. Reading OPV is a little like opening a treasure chest - you never quite know what you'll find inside!
I have owned every edition in OPV - Mr. Kilpatrick does an amazing updating the book so that its important to get the latest editions to remain current. I usually buy a few copies because OPV is literally so big that its difficult to carry from place to place. So, I just keep a copy at home, a copy at the office, and a copy at my in laws.
By the way - every single one of those other Buffett books you see on Amazon all cite Kilpatrick as a source. Start your Buffett book buying here. You aren't serious about Buffett or investing if you don't own it.
The TOTAL Warren Buffett for the Serious Fan.......2003-12-31
This is the biggest and the best of Andrew Kilpatrick's several books about billionaire investor Warren Buffett, not only because it's a well-organized volume of chapters that can be read in order, or individually standing alone.
There are hundreds and hundreds of photos of Buffett through his life, his family, his friends, his fans, key Berkshire managers and even historic documents that you won't find anywhere else.
This is a book you will be proud to own, and it will be a valuable resource of financial facts and figures and stories about Buffett's life and legacy.
Andrew Kilpatrick has written the encyclopedia of Warren Buffett. It also happens to be visually appealing and entertaining.
Customer Reviews:
The best book about Warren Buffett (including his Berkshire days), .......2006-11-14
First, I want to mention two constructive feedback about this book. One is that this book is probably only suitable for Warren Buffett fanatics/fans. For general investors interested about Berkshire Hathaway or how Warren Buffett invest, this is probably not the best book to read (as it has so much more info. i.e. more than 1000 pages). Second is that I have read this book more than once and I still don't know how the book is organized (the chapters aren't following chronological order, alphabetical nor topical order), therefore it is quite confusing to read as you progress from one chapter to another. Only after you read enough chapter (or completed the book) then you can put it all in the big picture in your head (from Warren's childhood till his current Berkshire days). Nonetheless, kudos to Andrew Kilpatrick for putting this book together. Moreover, once you know the limitation, this book is easily considered the best book about Warren Buffett in my opinion.
Now about the content of the book. You will learn a lot about Warren Buffett and his life, and not only investing topic (investing decisions that he made throughout his career) but his life principles, family, and business in general as well. You will learn about his first job delivering papers when he was 13 (he filed income tax and deducted the bike as business cost), and how he build his first business (pinball machine business), created Buffett partnership, break it up (liquidate), acquire berkshire mills, creating Berkshire Hathaway as investment vehicle, and many other great investment decision/story that he made (Geico, See's Candies, Dairy Queen, General Re, Coca Cola, Salomon, Washington Post, Gillette etc)
Buffett concrete rules for investing are:
1. Never lose money
2. Never forget rule #1
I know it's easier said (what he say above about to never lose money) than done based on my 10 years of invesitng experience , but then again I'm no Warren Buffett.
In my opinion, here are the 5 strategy/skills that Warren Buffett uses (Mr. Buffett, please correct me if I'm wrong):
1. Intrinsic Value
2. Margin of Safety
3. Temperament (discipline and understanding Mr.Market)
4. Circle of Competence (knowing what your circle of competence)
5. Common Sense (which I think is the most important factor and encapsulate everything about Warren Buffett.)
You will learn that Warren is very good with numbers (calculating in his head) and memorizing so many facts and numbers. You will also learn that Warren is a man with a very good sense of humor.
There are so many things/chapters that I like on this book. Let me try to mention two of my favorite sections.
One is when Warren need to make a decision who would run Salomon ($150B institution with 8000 employees) within 2 days during their first crisis. There are 12 top-level managers that he interviewed. "This was the most important hire of my life", said Warren to the Columbia business students. The chapter explain his thought process of this candidate selection in detail. Warren mentioned that the good news (for the students and the candidate) is that he didn't ask what their grades were (laughter). Warren also said, "Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. and if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you. if you think about it, it's true, if you hire somebody without integrity, you want them to be dumb and lazy" (laughter). And he conclude the topic with this statement which I think is very powerful: "Pick the kind of person to work for you that you want to marry your son or daughter. You won't go wrong". By the way, he picked Deryck Maughan by the way for his integrity.
Another chapter that I really like is how Warren put the audience (of more than 2000 people) through Business School in an electrifying two minutes (The chapter about "Generics"). See how Warren answer the question of "Will developments in the generic brand area hurt coca-cola?" which is a very important questions. I'll try not to spill too much and take the joy of reading this chapter yourself but he basically explains in a nutshell (with all the details and numbers) how business and competition works (and using several other example like Gilette, Marlboro, Sam Cola etc) and how he convinced the audience (and me as a reader) that coca cola is considered immune to generics. He explains how one can save $500 for smoking generic brand (vs Marlboro) which is a lot of money. While a man will probably will only save $11 per year by not using Gilette Sensor and probably leave band-aids on his face and an uncomfotable experience for opting for generics/lower quality blades. And for coca cola, the net profit margin is only 1 cents per serving (can) while a lot of the ingredients cost (such as the aluminium close to 6 cents a can, sugar 1.3 ounce per can or 1.75 cents etc) the same regardless for coke or other cola company.
I'll stop here before it's getting too long. In summary, If you are a Warren Buffett fans, then this book is for you. If you are uncertain, you can get other books first (potentially less thick book), like "Warren Buffet Way" or maybe "Buffettology", and if you like them (Warren) or want to know more about Warren then get this book. I personally don't like it in the beginning but as time goes by (and after I re-read the book/chapters), I changed my mind, this book is a masterpiece.
As a Berkshire shareholder, I want to encourage all berkshire shareholders (and potential/future shareholders) to read this book to know more about the person in charge of your berkshire investment. I also want to encourage all shareholders to go to the annual shareholder meeting while Mr. Buffett is still in charge.
Last but not least, if I have to sum this book up in a word or two, I would use the word "WISDOM" to describe this book, though I have a strong feeling that Warren will disagree with me and think that the more suitable phrase is "COMMON SENSE"
Average customer rating:
- The best book about Warren Buffett (including his Berkshire days)
- If you're looking for detail, you came to the right place!
- too thick, but I like it and enjoy it.
- Wow!
- Will appeal to fans of financial wizard Warren Buffett
|
Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett, Abridged Edition
Andrew Kilpatrick
Manufacturer: Andy Kilpatrick Publishing Empire
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Business
| Professionals & Academics
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Buffett, Warren
| ( B )
| People, A-Z
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0964190540 |
Book Description
This extensively updated biography of Warren Buffett contains 1460 pages and 568 photos.
Customer Reviews:
The best book about Warren Buffett (including his Berkshire days).......2006-10-06
First, I want to mention two constructive feedback about this book. One is that this book is probably only suitable for Warren Buffett fanatics/fans. For general investors interested about Berkshire Hathaway or how Warren Buffett invest, this is probably not the best book to read (as it has so much more info. i.e. more than 1000 pages). Second is that I have read this book more than once and I still don't know how the book is organized (the chapters aren't following chronological order, alphabetical nor topical order), therefore it is quite confusing to read as you progress from one chapter to another. Only after you read enough chapter (or completed the book) then you can put it all in the big picture in your head (from Warren's childhood till his current Berkshire days). Nonetheless, kudos to Andrew Kilpatrick for putting this book together. Moreover, once you know the limitation, this book is easily considered the best book about Warren Buffett in my opinion.
Now about the content of the book. You will learn a lot about Warren Buffett and his life, and not only investing topic (investing decisions that he made throughout his career) but his life principles, family, and business in general as well. You will learn about his first job delivering papers when he was 13 (he filed income tax and deducted the bike as business cost), and how he build his first business (pinball machine business), created Buffett partnership, break it up (liquidate), acquire berkshire mills, creating Berkshire Hathaway as investment vehicle, and many other great investment decision/story that he made (Geico, See's Candies, Dairy Queen, General Re, Coca Cola, Salomon, Washington Post, Gillette etc)
Buffett concrete rules for investing are:
1. Never lose money
2. Never forget rule #1
I know it's easier said (what he say above about to never lose money) than done based on my 10 years of invesitng experience , but then again I'm no Warren Buffett.
In my opinion, here are the 5 strategy/skills that Warren Buffett uses (Mr. Buffett, please correct me if I'm wrong):
1. Intrinsic Value
2. Margin of Safety
3. Temperament (discipline and understanding Mr.Market)
4. Circle of Competence (knowing what your circle of competence)
5. Common Sense (which I think is the most important factor and encapsulate everything about Warren Buffett.)
You will learn that Warren is very good with numbers (calculating in his head) and memorizing so many facts and numbers. You will also learn that Warren is a man with a very good sense of humor.
There are so many things/chapters that I like on this book. Let me try to mention two of my favorite sections.
One is when Warren need to make a decision who would run Salomon ($150B institution with 8000 employees) within 2 days during their first crisis. There are 12 top-level managers that he interviewed. "This was the most important hire of my life", said Warren to the Columbia business students. The chapter explain his thought process of this candidate selection in detail. Warren mentioned that the good news (for the students and the candidate) is that he didn't ask what their grades were (laughter). Warren also said, "Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. and if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you. if you think about it, it's true, if you hire somebody without integrity, you want them to be dumb and lazy" (laughter). And he conclude the topic with this statement which I think is very powerful: "Pick the kind of person to work for you that you want to marry your son or daughter. You won't go wrong". By the way, he picked Deryck Maughan by the way for his integrity.
Another chapter that I really like is how Warren put the audience (of more than 2000 people) through Business School in an electrifying two minutes (The chapter about "Generics"). See how Warren answer the question of "Will developments in the generic brand area hurt coca-cola?" which is a very important questions. I'll try not to spill too much and take the joy of reading this chapter yourself but he basically explains in a nutshell (with all the details and numbers) how business and competition works (and using several other example like Gilette, Marlboro, Sam Cola etc) and how he convinced the audience (and me as a reader) that coca cola is considered immune to generics. He explains how one can save $500 for smoking generic brand (vs Marlboro) which is a lot of money. While a man will probably will only save $11 per year by not using Gilette Sensor and probably leave band-aids on his face and an uncomfotable experience for opting for generics/lower quality blades. And for coca cola, the net profit margin is only 1 cents per serving (can) while a lot of the ingredients cost (such as the aluminium close to 6 cents a can, sugar 1.3 ounce per can or 1.75 cents etc) the same regardless for coke or other cola company.
I'll stop here before it's getting too long. In summary, If you are a Warren Buffett fans, then this book is for you. If you are uncertain, you can get other books first (potentially less thick book), like "Warren Buffet Way" or maybe "Buffettology", and if you like them (Warren) or want to know more about Warren then get this book. I personally don't like it in the beginning but as time goes by (and after I re-read the book/chapters), I changed my mind, this book is a masterpiece.
As a Berkshire shareholder, I want to encourage all berkshire shareholders (and potential/future shareholders) to read this book to know more about the person in charge of your berkshire investment. I also want to encourage all shareholders to go to the annual shareholder meeting while Mr. Buffett is still in charge.
Last but not least, if I have to sum this book up in a word or two, I would use the word "WISDOM" to describe this book, though I have a strong feeling that Warren will disagree with me and think that the more suitable phrase is "COMMON SENSE"
If you're looking for detail, you came to the right place!.......2004-01-11
This is obviously the most comprehensive book ever written on the life of Warren Buffett, the undisputed world champion of investing. This is not a quick "How to invest" book, but if you are looking to learn as much as you possibly can about Warren Buffett and the cult of investors who make the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting a "Woodstock for Capitalists", this book is for you. As an added bonus, at over 1,400 pages you will be sure to have a functional doorstop when you have completed reading this monster.
too thick, but I like it and enjoy it........2003-07-01
I was attracted by the first edition of this book(in chinese). Really interesting.
So I bought this latest version.
Wow!.......2003-03-08
This is a great book that adds detailed research not included in Warren Buffett's annual reports for Berkshire Hathaway.
Recommended highly!
Will appeal to fans of financial wizard Warren Buffett.......2003-01-06
Of Permanent Value: The Story Of Warren Buffett is a weighty tome will appeal to fans of financial wizard Warren Buffett, exploring his newfound popularity in wake of the latest stock market environment and exploring how Buffett began from scratch to form a business empire. Rises and falls blend with in-depth examinations of Buffett business philosophy and perspectives to pack in over 1400 pages of detail in a surprisingly lively read. Biography and business savvy makes for an intriguing blend, here.
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