2,220 well-invested minutes!

Did I really want to listen to a 37 hours and 1 minute biography of Warren Buffett? He's a fascinating person, of course, but 2,220 minutes? I'm 75 now -- that's a big investment of my remaining minutes.

Well I clicked the "purchase" button and got hit with a five part download. I transferred it to hundreds (it seemed) of CD's and left for work. Luckily it's a 45 minute drive. 49.3 one-way trips. I could handle it!

I quickly got hooked. A generally (needed a touch more editing for a few redundencies) well written biography on basically a good man. It's not a gloss-job. The warts are in there too. I give Buffett credit for his cooperation in producing this biography, warts and all.

Really an excellent book and a fascinating subject!

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178 people found this helpful

Surprisingly Personal Account

This book offers a surprisingly personal history of Warren Buffett's upbringing, family and key personal relationships, and the development of his political views. It also describes more fully than any account I have seen before the personality, drive and genius behind his extraordinary business success.

To borrow a phrase from his partner, Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett has been a "learning machine" in business and financial affairs from his teen years. While he has generously shared with Berkshire shareholders, business school students and others, the investment precepts that have guided him, there can be no doubt after reading this book that Buffett's success cannot be duplicated by simply following his precepts.
His success is owed in greater part to native intelligence, drive, dedication and hard work.

The book also illustrates why Buffett is so widely admired: it cites numerous examples where Buffett acted with fairness and integrity when he had an opportunity to make more money with a less noble, but perfectly legal, alternative course of action. He exemplifies a life that has placed as much importance on doing things the right way as it has on achieving success in his chosen field.

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73 people found this helpful

Well worth the listen

Obviously tough to hear it through the total 36 hours, but at the end I ended up thinking that my time was well invested. Entertaining and educating at the same time... I also liked the narrator, Kirsten Potter. I would rate the book as one of the top listens I've had at audible.

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65 people found this helpful

Didn't Expect It to Be SO GOOD!

I read this because I read a couple of other "great CEO" books (Steve Jobs and Jack Welch) and really enjoyed them, and thought I would be remiss not to read about Sir Warren.

I hemmed and hawed about whether to go abridged or unabridged. I generally shy away from abridged books, because then you don't know what you've missed... but then again, 37 hours of one man's life seemed like a lot...

But I dove in and purchased the unabridged version, and never looked back. This is a very thorough picture of a uniquely gifted man, told in snippets organized to keep it interesting so there isn't too much time spent on any one part of his life. I have read other comments that people would have preferred not to hear as much about the other people in Mr. Buffett's life. I, however, found the company he chose to keep (or NOT to keep) an interesting part in assessing his total character.

In addition to an account of Mr. Buffet's life, it is also a fascinating "history in business", with much of it happening before my time (I'm in my mid-thirties).

The narrator did the right thing here: made it very listen-able without intruding.

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28 people found this helpful

BRK.A

BUYER BEWARE; If you purchase this book or others containing wisdom of Warren and Charlie, you will be well on your way to a successful life. However, don't fool yourself and equivocate "successful" with "lucrative." It's a book to inspire you to find your true passion is. We should come to grips that neither in the future or in the present will Warren Buffett be rivaled except by a very small few, if any, and that's a speculative notion. Realize that in the "money hungry" society we live in today, Warren and Charlie serve as a beacon, ironically, one such beacon to warn others to chase their dreams, not the money. Work will yield happiness, the quest for money will not. Do what you love and serve others, everything else will fall into place. Thank You Speculative Forces of the Universe for birthing me in America at a time in the most prosperous period of humanity. We Americans have won the ovarian lottery, and you will know what I'm talking about if you listen to the book intently. We all have so much to be grateful for, realize that if you have basic provisions for life, you are incredibly wealthy by the universe's concern. Peace, love, happiness be upon you!

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26 people found this helpful

Far more interesting than I had imagined.

Warren Buffett is far more interesting - and flawed in so many ways - that I would have ever imagined and this book does an excellent job of uncovering what makes him great - and terrible - and, well, human.

First, I am a big believer in the need for men (and women) like Steve Jobs, Henry Ford, and others who, through their own drive and focus, deliver joy to the world while causing pain to those closest to them. Warren Buffet seems to be one of those men.

In THE SNOWBALL, Alice Shroeder brings Buffett into ones own psyche. She goes into such intimate detail about the man, the investor, the husband, friend, and father that I literally felt as if I had met the man. What I liked best, however, was the amount of detail she gives on financial theory and the thought processes that Buffett and his partner Charlie Munger have implemented over the years to build one of the most valuable companies in the world.

Kirsten Potter also does a first-rate job narrating the story. I must admit that I was initially put off by a woman's voice telling this story, once you know Buffett's utter dependency on the women in his life, it was perfectly fitting.

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25 people found this helpful

Unbearable narrator

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A narrator that varied their rhythm and delivery, accentuated words correctly, didn't sound like a machine lady that was running out of battery. I feel terrible writing this but it has been absolutely torturous.

What other book might you compare The Snowball to and why?

Any other entrepreneurial bio.

What didn’t you like about Kirsten Potter’s performance?

The way she varied their rhythm and delivery was horribly predictable and monotonous, Her voice was below dull and sounded like a robot lady that was running out of battery. I feel terrible writing this but it has been absolutely torturous.

Any additional comments?

It would have been amazingggg if they chose a narrator that varied their rhythm and delivery, accentuated words correctly, didn't sound like a machine lady that was running out of battery. I feel terrible writing this but it has been absolutely torturous. Please get this redone I will pay full price to hear such a key figures story from someone who doesn't completely ruin the life of it. I'm sorry.

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15 people found this helpful

Come on, where is the story?

A list of boring lengthy facts. Please associate with the contexts,make it appealing stories with central theme. Feel like lacking key understanding of the facts to make them story. One of the worst auto bio.

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13 people found this helpful

Id rather go to the dentist for surgery...

What disappointed you about The Snowball?

Expecting to find nuggets of wisdom gleamed from the life of a billionaire? You can count them on 1 hand. Those 'nuggets' are buried deep in long boring swaths of useless information. A dictionary would be more entertaining and enlightening. I give this book my lowest recommendation, which is disappointing because I am a fan of the great Buffet. But you can't pay homage to a man by listing the most mundane facts of his life for 37 hours straight. This ranks among one of the worst books I've read in my entire life and I highly recommend you do NOT buy this book. Instead look for youtube videos of Buffet doing speeches, all his nuggets of wisdom are in there (and you wont lose 37 hours of your life to get them).

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Snowball?

I would cut 95% of the book. There was no drama, too much unnecessary facts. Yes life can be boring, thats not why you buy a book, even a biography. This book is a tomb of the unnecessary.

Any additional comments?

As a newspaper owner Im surprised Warren let a book this bad hit the press.

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Great story

Would you consider the audio edition of The Snowball to be better than the print version?

This is one of the best bio's I have ever heard. It's lengthy at 30+ hours but I had a hard time pulling out the ear phones. Warren Buffett truly inspires and this book show's the side of him that you don't often hear about in the media.
I will warn that this is a "life" story, and not a play-by-play of Warren's investments over the years. If you'd like to hear about this man's personal struggles, and what shapped him to become who and what he is today there's not better book!
If you'd like to get a comprehensive idea of how he invest, and his process well... There are a few nuggets but this isn't the book you need to be reading.

Kirsten Potter does a great job reading through the pages with little to no vocal change from what had to have been a great task to finish.

Worth the time and money.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Snowball?

For me some of the legal battles where the most interesting things in the book. You learn a lot about how being honest played a big role in fixing problems. (Some of which would have truly tested the mighty among us)

Which character – as performed by Kirsten Potter – was your favorite?

Warren himself

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

*****Major Spoiler Alert HERE*****

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***I Warned You***
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The death of Susan Buffet, and Katherine Graham where particularly telling.

Any additional comments?

Conservative (Republican or the like) readers will have a few bumps while trying to read this due to today's political issues. However, it's not a book that tries to get you to switch your beliefs, and I was able to sit through and undertand his reasonings for switching parties.
If you are a conservative like myself don't let the fact that Warren is a domo move you away from enjoying this story.

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11 people found this helpful