Kindle Link

"Damn Right : Behind the scenes with Berkshire Hathaway billionaire Charlie Munger" by Janet Lowe, Charles Thomas Munger and Warren Buffett. John Wiley & Sons, 304 pages, 10/2000. ISBN : 0-471-24473-2 .

This is a great biography of one of the man who shaped Warren Buffett's thinking in a major way : Charlie Munger. This book was recommended by Warren Buffett during the 2001 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting.

BONUS :  Transcript of a TMF interview with the Author : Here   

An excerpt : "...TMF Question : What books were on the reading list you were handed by Munger when he grudgingly agreed to cooperate on the book? Janet Lowe Answer: The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins; Three Scientists and Their Gods, Robert Wright (out of print); Influence: Science and Practice, Robert B. Cialdini; Guns, Germs & Steel by Jared Diamond...." [Note: All these books are in this page ;-)]

"Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger - Expanded Third Edition" Charles T. Munger with Peter D. Kaufman. Walsworth Publishing Company, 548 pages, 05/2008. ISBN : 1578645018. (Book cover of the first edition 480 pages, 05/2005 ISBN: 1578643031 - (Book cover of the second edition 512 pages, 05/2006 ISBN: 157864366X).

This is obviously the best biography of Charlie Munger. ;-) This book was edited by Peter Kaufman and his team. It is based on writings by Charlie Munger. It also discloses for the first time an edited transcription, in a chronological order, of all the talks (ten) given by Charlie Munger. ;-)

The Foreword was done by Warren Buffett who also started to recommend it during the 2005 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting.

"(...) Said Buffett: "The book is pure Charlie, and therefore couldn't be better." (...) (...) One of the talks [available in the book], Munger said, was "an utter failure" when he gave it to about 1,000 people in 1996. Titled "Practical Thought About Practical Thought?", the piece explains how Munger makes decisions and solves problems using a step-by-step series of "mental models." Munger said some people understand it and others don't, even after reading it twice slowly. "But I think it's important, and it's right." His advice is to read "Practical Thought" last. (...)" [Source: "Munger's wisdom fills a new book" April 29, 2005 OMAHA WORLD-HERALD]

BONUS 1: Website of the book : http://www.poorcharliesalmanack.com (Please note that shipping costs outside the USA for this book are now not as expensive as they were in May 2005).

BONUS 2: According to this comment Mr. Munger Loved this blog message : "The Wisdom Fallacy: Why Management Is Really Like Math" (Source: BRKNEWS October 24, 2005 free Membership required)

BONUS 3: The differences between the first and second edition are detailed here (Source: BRKNEWS June 17, 2006 free Membership required)

Buying a new copy of this book at Amazon is a little tricky: Go here Then, click on "Used/New". "Intermountain Books is the official shop which sell new copies of this book at Amazon".

Kindle Link

"The Selfish Gene" by Richard Dawkins. Oxford University Press , 384 pages, Thrid Edition 04/2006 (First edition 1976).

"Munger was asked to name his favorite books of all time. He replied, "That's hard because I mix ideas from so many books. One fabulous book is The Selfish Gene, which provides basic insights on human conditions."" - 2000 Wesco Annual Meeting

"Biological reasoning can help in investment by predicting the outcome of evolutionary process in business. Business and biological evolution have a lot of similarities." Charlie Munger - 2000 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting.

BONUS 1:  A GREAT unofficial site about Richard Dawkins : world-of-dawkins.com (see right part)

BONUS 2:  Transcript of Interview with the Author : Here

BONUS 3: Wikipedia link

Kindle Link

"Influence : The Psychology of Persuasion - 5th Edition" by Robert B. Cialdini. Allyn & Bacon, 272 pages 08/2008 (First edition 1984).

This great book explains how we are manipulated by people who know how to influence us in our day to day lifes. Do not hesitate to recommend this book to your friends!

BONUS 1:  Book reviews : here and here

BONUS 2:  A lot of information is available in the left part of the Dr. Cialdini's website : http://www.influenceatwork.com/ or here Example: About Dr. Robert Cialdini corporate Presentations : "This program will help executives make better decisions and use their influence wisely . . . Robert Cialdini has had a greater impact on my thinking on this topic than any other scientist." --Charles T. Munger, Vice Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. (from the corporate side of the site)

BONUS 3: Another website by Dr. Ciladini http://www.insideinfluence.com/

BONUS 4: Some special messages (Articles, Videos...) about this author have been sent in BRKNEWS all along the years (free registration required) : see here

Kindle Link

"Man's Search for Meaning : Experiences in the Concentration Camp" by Viktor E. Frankl. Mass Market, 221 pages, 01/1998 (First Edition 1946). ISBN : 0671023373.

This great small book was written a few days after its author, Viktor Frankl, was released from the extinction camp of Auschwitz in 1945. This books helped create and develop the "Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy": the Logotherapy. See http://logotherapy.univie.ac.at/ [Note: "By 1997 more than 9 million copies of this book had been sold."]

BONUS :  Transcript of Interview with the Author : Here

"The Third Chimpanzee" by Jared Diamond. Harperperennial Library, 416 pages, 02/1993. ISBN : 0060984031.

Recommended by Charlie Munger - 1992 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting (OID June 22, 1992)

See also the book (covered in this page) "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies"

BONUS : Wikipedia link

Kindle Link

"Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco" by Bryan Burrough & John Helyar. 536 pages, New Edition 08/2004 (First edition 01/1990).

Recommended by Charlie Munger - 1992 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting (OID June 22, 1992)

BONUS 1 : Wikipedia link

BONUS 2 : DVD

"Den of Thieves" by James B. Stewart. 592 pages, 09/1992.

Recommended by Charlie Munger - 1992 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting (OID June 22, 1992)

BONUS : Wikipedia link

Kindle Link

"Living Within Limits : Ecology, Economics, and Population Taboos" by Garrett Hardin.Oxford University Press, 350 pages, 06/1995. ISBN : 0195093852.

"I recommend that everyone read the last book by Garrett Hardin--Living Within Limits. It is a summary of the major things Hardin has learned in a lifetime. He is a real thinker. That is a fabulous book." Charlie Munger - (OID June 30, 1993)

Garrett Harden "was 78 years old when he wrote it. I advise you to read it twice (which I did)...because it is the condensed wisdom of a very smart man." Charlie Munger - 1997 Wesco Annual Meeting.

Note: Charlie Munger is thanked in the "Acknowledgments" of this book.

BONUS 1:  Transcript of Interview with the Author : Here.

BONUS 2:  Book Review : Here.

BONUS 3: Various links :  Number 1 and Number 2.

BONUS 4: Quote from page 202 of this book "Filters Against Folly" by Garrett Hardin :
"(...) As Charles T. Munger observed "The World Bank is not a bank but a religion."(...)".

"Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire" by James Wallace and Jim Erickson. HarperBusiness, 448 pages, 05/1993 (reprint). ISBN : 0887306292

"I think Bill Gates' biography, is a very useful book. You really get a feeling for what it took to write and sell software in the software revolution."- Charlie Munger - (June 30, 1993 - Wesco Annual Meeting)

BONUS 1:  Book review here

BONUS 2: Various links here

BONUS 3: Audio (50 minutes) interview with James Wallace for his next book "OVERDRIVE: Bill Gates and the Race to Control Cyberspace" (Wiley - May 1997) [Note: Overdrive is not recommended!] here

"Master of the Game : Steve Ross and the Creation of Time Warner" by Connie Bruck. Penguin USA, 395 pages, 04/1995 (reprint). ISBN : 0140244549

Recommended by Charlie Munger - (OID June 23, 1994).

Note: This book was on the list of the "Best Business books of 1994" by Business Week

"Benjamin Franklin" by Carl Van Doren. Penguin USA, 845 pages, 06/1991 (reprint). ISBN : 0140152601

Recommended by Charlie Munger - (OID June 23, 1994). Charlie Munger also recommended reading "anything about his personal hero, Benjamin Franklin." - 1998 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting

BONUS 1:  Main websites : Number 1 and Number 2

BONUS 2: Various links Number 1, Number 2 and Number 3

BONUS 3: You may also be interested by this free book : "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin"

"Judgment in Managerial Decision Making" by Max H. Bazerman. John Wiley & Sons, 230 pages, 08/2008 (7 edition) (Old cover 1997 , old cover 2001, old cover 2005).

Recommended by Charlie Munger - 1995 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting

BONUS 1:  Main website : Here

BONUS 2: "The sixth edition (2006) of my book on judgment was updated in numerous ways. Most importantly, I added new chapters on bounded awareness and bounded ethicality" (Source)

BONUS 3: Paper "The Challenge of Auditor Independence"

BONUS 4: Audio interview of another book by the same author: Smart Money Decisions (32 Minutes - 01/19/2000) : here

"The Blind Watchmaker : Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design" by Richard Dawkins. W.W. Norton & Company, 358pages, 09/1996 (reprint). ISBN : 0393315703

Recommended by Charlie Munger - (OID August 8, 1996)

BONUS 1:  Great Fan website http://www.world-of-dawkins.com/

BONUS 2:  Book reviews : Number 1 and Number 2

Kindle Link

"The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language" by Steven Pinker. Harper Perennial, 496 pages, 11/2000. ISBN : 0060958332

Recommended by Charlie Munger - (OID March 13, 1998)

BONUS 1:  Author webpage here

BONUS 2:  Book review from somebody who liked it and from somebody who didn't like it.

BONUS 3: Author interviews (also about his other books) here (Old fan websites Number 1 and Number 2)

BONUS 4: 1999 article with Richard Dawkins here

Kindle Link

"Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared Diamond. W.W. Norton & Company, 480 pages, 03/1997. ISBN : 0-393-03891-2.

"...books like Guns, Germs, and Steel, don't come along very often." Charlie Munger - 2000 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. Charlie Munger liked the book because Diamond is "always asking WHY ?" - 1998 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting.

BONUS 1:  Audio Interview with the Author (46 minutes) : Real Audio Link here (from here)

BONUS 2:  Transcripts of Interviews with the Author : Number 1 and Number 2.

BONUS 3:  Book Review : here

BONUS 4:  Various links : PDF File : here "How to Get Rich" a talk by the Author [or Here (scroll down)] ;Other link Number 1 (follow the 2 first parts links) ; Other link Number 2 ; 2 PDF Files (from here) : Author's Curriculum Vitae, "Ecological Collapses of Pre-industrial Societies," year 2000 Tanner lecture.

BONUS 5: Some special messages (Articles, Videos...) about this author have been sent in BRKNEWS all along the years (free registration required) : see here

Kindle Link

"The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor" by David S. Landes. W.W. Norton & Company, 658 pages, 05/1999. ISBN : 0-393-31888-5.

Recommended by Charlie Munger - 1999 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting

BONUS 1:  Book Review : Here

BONUS 2: Wikipedia link

"Titan : The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr." by Ron Chernow. Random House, 774 pages, 05/1998. ISBN : 0-67-943808-4.

Recommended by Charlie Munger - 1999 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting

BONUS 1:  Transcript of Interview with the Author : here and here

BONUS 2:  Book Reviews : here and here

BONUS 3:  Here is a book review by Ron Chernow. Also, here is his other book about Alexander Hamilton (interview)

Video Available (only?) at the New York Library (from here The emergence of modern philanthropy : the Rockefeller story. New York, NY: Rockefeller University, 2000. 50 minutes. A 050 ROC. Video recording of a panel discussion featuring Ron Chernow, author of "Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller", Sr.; David Rockefeller; Peter J. Johnson; James Allen Smith; and Arnold J. Levine.

"Getting It Done : How to Lead When You're not in Charge" by Roger Fisher, John Richardson (Contributor), Alan Sharp. Harperbusiness, 219 pages, 06/1999. ISBN : 0887309585.

"This book is must reading for those seeking to maximize their contribution to the constructive work of the world." - Charles T. Munger, vice chairman, Berkshire Hathaway Inc - (from the back cover of the book)

Let's assume, for instance, that you are working inside a group of co-workers, but that you are not the group leader. It certainly means that you are all together for solving some kinds of problems. Good for you ! This is exactly the book that you need. It will give you the tools in order to get the job done in the best way for all parts. ;-)

BONUS 1:  Wikipedia link.

BONUS 2:  Book Review.

BONUS 3: Other related books in part by the same author are:

"Getting to Yes" (Kindle Link) by Roger Fisher and William Ury (see also here) and "Beyond Reason: Using Emotions as You Negotiate" (Kindle Link) by Roger Fisher and Daniel Shapiro. Website of the book : here

Buy this book here (You may also find another book description with a table of contents and a free excerpt)

"Models of My Life" by Herbert Alexander Simon. MIT Press, 416 pages, 1991 (reprinted in 1996. Cover). ISBN : 0-465-04641-X (ISBN of the 1996 edition : 0-262-69185-X).

Recommended by Charlie Munger - 2001 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting

BONUS :  Various links : http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/profiles/simon.htm ; http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~earthware/Simon.html ; Alas this Author died in February 2001 and the last link

"Genome" by Matt Ridley. Harpercollins , 352 pages, 10/2000. ISBN : 0-06-093290-2.

"Genome which is the history of a species in 23 chapters, is a perfectly amazing book -- and very interesting." Charlie Munger - 2001 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting (source: OID )

BONUS 1:  Audio interview with the Author : Number 1 [Scroll down and look for "07/01/00 The Genome author explains the big deal about biotech. Entire interview "] Transcript of the interview : Part 1 and Part 2.

BONUS 2:  Transcripts of Interviews with the Author : Number 1, Number 2 [Part 1 and Part 2] and Number 3.

BONUS 4:  Book Reviews : Number 1 and Number 2.

"Three Scientists and Their Gods : Looking for Meaning in an Age of Information" by Robert Wright. Random House, 324 pages, 05/1988. ISBN : 0-06-097257-2.

"It's a very interesting book for a certain academic type". Charlie Munger - 2001 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting (source: OID )

BONUS 1:  Main website of another of his books : nonzero.org [By the way maybe there is a hope for those who cannot locate this book : read here ;-)]

BONUS 2:  Book Review : Here

BONUS 3: Wikipedia link

As this book is Out of print, you can, still try here (You may also find another book description with a table of contents and a free excerpt)

"Ice Age" by John and Mary Gribbin . Allen Lane The Penguin Press (UK) or Barnes & Noble Books (USA Cover), 112 pages, 12/2001. ISBN : 0713996129 (first released in the UK), 0760734062 (USA)

"Best work of science exposition and history that I've read in many years!" Charles T. Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc - (from the back cover of the book)

"I recommend Ice Age, which traces the past history of glaciation. It's the best book of scientific explanation I've ever read." - Charlie Munger - 2002 Wesco Annual Meeting

BONUS :  An old article here

Kindle Link

"How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created Our World and Everything in It" by Arthur Herman. Crown Pub, 288 pages, 11/2001. ISBN : 0609606352

"I also recommend How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created Our World and Everything in It, about how a small group of people flourished." - Charlie Munger - 2002 Wesco Annual Meeting (Extracted from here)

BONUS 1:  Book review : here

BONUS 2: A brief summary of each chapter is available here

BONUS 3: Interview

"Darwin's Blind Spot: Evolution Beyond Natural Selection" by Frank Ryan. Houghton Mifflin Co, 310 pages, 12/2002.

The question for the book recommendation was not asked during the 2003 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. But according to an Omaha World Herald story published on May 2, 2003, the book that should have been recommended is this one. ;-)

 BONUS : More in BRKNEWS here

"A Matter of Degrees: What Temperature Reveals About the Past and Future of Our Species, Planet, and Universe" by Gino Segre. Viking Press, 320 pages, 6/2002.

Recommended by Charlie Munger - 2003 WESCO Annual Meeting

 BONUS : More in BRKNEWS here

"Andrew Carnegie" by Joseph Frazier Wall. Univ of Pittsburgh Pr, 1137 pages, 10/1989 (first edition 10/1970 Oxford Univ Pr).

Recommended by Charlie Munger - 2003 WESCO Annual Meeting

BONUS :   here

"F.I.A.S.C.O.: The Inside Story of a Wall Street Trader" byFrank Partnoy. Penguin, 288 pages, 02/1999. The 1999 edition adds one chapter (30 pages) not included in the first 1997 edition.

"(...) Read the book “F.I.A.S.C.O.”, by law professor and former derivatives trader Frank Partnoy, an insider account of depravity in derivative trading at one of the biggest and best regarded Wall Street firms. The book will turn your stomach." - Charlie Munger - 10/2003 (source here)

BONUS :  There is a more recent book (2003) by the same author : "Infectious Greed: How Deceit and Risk Corrupted the Financial Markets"

"Deep Simplicity : Bringing Order to Chaos and Complexity" by John Gribbin. Random House, 304 pages, 04/2005.

Recommended by Charlie Munger - 2004 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting.

 BONUS : More in BRKNEWS here

"Les Schwab Pride in Performance" by Les Schwab. Pacific Northwest Books, 231 pages, 06/1986.

Recommended by Charlie Munger - 2004 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting.

"Les Schwab autobiography which gives a very good idea on small business compensation plans." - Charlie Munger (Source)

 BONUS : More in BRKNEWS here

Kindle Link

"Conspiracy of Fools : A True Story" by Kurt Eichenwald. Broadway, 768 pages, 03/2005.

Recommended by Charlie Munger - 2005 WESCO Annual Meeting

 BONUS : More in BRKNEWS here

Kindle Link

"No Two Alike: Human Nature and Human Individuality" by Judith Rich Harris. W. W. Norton, 352 pages, 02/2006.

Recommended by Charlie Munger - Poor Charlie's Almanack - 2nd edition (see above)

Buy this book here (You may also find another book description with a table of contents and a free excerpt)

Kindle Link

"Fortune's Formula : The Untold Story of the Scientific Betting System That Beat the Casinos and Wall Street" by William Poundstone. Hill and Wang, 400 pages, 08/2005.

Recommended by Charlie Munger - 2006 WESCO Annual Meeting

 BONUS : More in BRKNEWS here and here

Kindle Link

"The Martians of Science: Five Physicists Who Changed the Twentieth Century" by Istvan Hargittai. Oxford University Press, 376 pages, 07/2006.

Recommended by Charlie Munger - 2007 WESCO Annual Meeting

 BONUS 1: More in BRKNEWS here

 BONUS 2: Mr. Hargittai has written and co-written several other books. You may be interested in the following :

"The Candid Science series of books contains well over 200 conversations with famous scientists, including more than 100 Nobel laureates. These in-depth conversations cover the stories of scientific discoveries and the exciting human dramas behind them." Many thanks to Istvan Hargittai for allowing me to share this PDF file (1.4Mo) which will give you more details. ;)

"Candid Science: Conversations with Famous Chemists" by Istvan Hargittai (528 pages, 01/2000)

"Candid Science II: Conversations with Famous Biomedical Scientists" by Istvan Hargittai (616 pages, 03/2002)

"Candid Science III: More Converstations With Famous Chemists" by Istvan Hargittai (520 pages, 03/2003)

"Candid Science IV: Conversations With Famous Physicists" by Magdolna & Istvan Hargittai (728 pages, 06/2004)

"Candid Science V: Conversations with Famous Scientists" by Balazs & Istvan Hargittai (712 pages, 07/2005)

"Candid Science VI: More Conversations With Famous Scientists" by Istvan & Magdolna Hargittai (885 pages, 12/2006)

Kindle Link

"Einstein: His Life and Universe" by Walter Isaacson. Oxford University Press, 704 pages, 04/2007.

Recommended by Charlie Munger - 2007 WESCO Annual Meeting

"Munger said he had read every Einstein biography, and this new one by Isaacson was the best." (source)

 BONUS : More in BRKNEWS here

Kindle Link

"Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive" by Robert Cialdini, Noah Goldstein and Steve Martin. Free Press, 272 pages, 06/2008.

Recommended by Charlie Munger - 2008 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting

Kindle Link

"Outliers: The Story of Success" by Malcolm Gladwell. Little, Brown and Company, 309 pages, 01/2008.

Recommended by Charlie Munger - 2009 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting

Kindle Link

"In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives" by Steven Levy. Simon & Schuster, 432 pages, 04/2011.

Recommended by Charlie Munger - 2011 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting

"Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger (Third Edition)" by Peter Bevelin. PCA Publications LLC. 328 pages, 05/2007.

Recommended by Warren Buffett - 2006 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report

Recommended by Charlie Munger - 2007 WESCO Annual Meeting

My comment: In my humble opinion this an outstanding book! It is probably the best if you want to improve your Latticework of Mental Models. Nothing to add...except that you MUST buy it! ;)

Buying a new copy of this book at Amazon is a little tricky: Go here Then, click on "Used/New". "Intermountain Books is the official shop which sell new copies of this book at Amazon". You can also buy it at http://www.poorcharliesalmanack.com

"Latticework: The new investing" [Paperback title : "Investing: The Last Liberal Art ] by Robert Hagstrom. Texere. 256 pages, 11/2000. ISBN : 1-587-99000-8

 Charlie Munger gave (indirectly) the idea of this book to Robert Hagstrom. It will make you travel in different disciplines other than Finance (e.g. Phisics, biology, Literature,...) in order that you become a better investor.

BONUS 1:  23 minutes New Video Interview with the Author : Real Video Link here

BONUS 2:  Book review here (see also links in the left part).

Buy this book here or paperback here (You may also find another book description with a table of contents and a free excerpt)

"The Detective and The Investor: Uncovering Investment Techniques from the Legendary Sleuths" by Robert Hagstrom. Texere. 240 pages, 10/2002. ISBN : 1587991276

BONUS :  34 minutes audio interview with the Author : Here

Buy this book here (You may also find another book description with a table of contents and a free excerpt)

Kindle Link

"The Future for Investors: Why the Tried and the True Triumph Over the Bold and the New" by Jeremy J. Siegel. Crown Business. 336 pages, 03/2005.

"(...) Question: Jeremy Siegel had some ideas in his second book. How would this impact your
investment strategies?
Warren Buffett : It didn’t.
Charlie Munger : I think he is demented.
Warren Buffett : He is a very nice guy Charlie.
Charlie Munger : He may well be a very nice guy, but he is comparing apples against elephants in trying
to make accurate projections." 2006 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting (Source).