I - Books related to WARREN E. BUFFETT (08/30/1930 - ...)

Click on one of the following number and/or scroll down.

Note: Some of the books appearing on this page are also available as a Kindle book. There is no need to possess a Kindle reader (example) in order to be able to read Kindle books ! You just need a computer or a smartphone ("Kindle for PC, Mac, Iphone,...") or an internet access ("Kindle Cloud Reader"). More details here.


WARNINGS : I tried to gather, and rank by category, all the books written about, and by, Warren Buffett. But, in my humble opinion, you must be aware that some of the books listed here just give you some partial ideas about Mr. Buffett's thinking. Moreover, sometimes a few add some errors. By the way, one can also wonder if some books are created partly to make an ad for the author's investment firm? Anyway, in order to guide you, I tried to be as precise as possible in each of my comments and categories. I am sure you will learn something worthwile. Enjoy your readings! ;-)


1) Reports written by Warren Buffett :

"The Annual Reports Of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK)" (from 1977 until present) :

They are available for free ( ".pdf" or ".html" format) at http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/ .

My comment is a quote of an anonymous investor : "Each investor should take the time to read these reports. You will often find all the contrary of what you have learnt in Business School, but you will really understand how to make good investments." These iconoclastic reports were written by Warren Buffett and represent a genuine "bible" of investment ! I also often read in some online boards, the following quote: "You don't have to look anywhere else, it is all here". Note: I highly recommend the reading of, at least, the last report.

"A three volume set of compilations of letters (1977 through 2000) is available upon written request accompanied by a payment of $35.00 to cover production, postage and handling costs. Requests should be submitted to the Company at 3555 Farnam St., Suite 1440, Omaha, NE 68131." from the 2000 and until 2003 Berkshire Hathaway annual reports (see the last page). Moreover the following documents are included in this three volume set of compilations (These documents are not available in the website of Berkshire Hathaway) : "Blue Chip Annual Letter - 1981 and 1982"; "Letter of November 26, 1980 explaining Illinois National Bank Divestiture"; "Letter of June 30, 1983 explaining Blue Chip Merger"; "Chairman's Letter of August 5, 1988 regarding NYSE Listing"; "Annual Report Letter WESCO Financial Corporation - 1989 and 1990"; "Mutual Saving's Letter of Resignation from U.S. League of Savings Institutions".


"The essays of Warren Buffett : Lessons for Corporate America by Warren E. Buffett - Third Edition" Selected, Arranged and Introduced by Lawrence A. Cunningham. 320 pages, 03/2013 (Cover 1998 Cover 08/2000 Cover of the first revised edition 03/2001 Cover of the second edition 2008). Carolina Academic Press.

"The most representative book on my thinking is what Larry Cunningham put together" - Warren Buffett - 2000 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting . Contains some of the best parts of Berkshire Hathaway's annual reports.

Trick : You can order this book and 500 pages more of Buffett's essays Here. Please note that these 500 pages are intense academic writings! (It is quite the same price as the book alone). Note: Mr Cunningham is now a Professor of Law and Business at the George Washington University Law School.

BONUS 1:  You can find other essays by the same author here.

BONUS 2:  An interview with the Author : here

BONUS 3:  2013 Third Edition details : here

Buy this book here (amazon.com) (Kindle link) or here (amazon.co.uk) (Kindle link)


"The Warren Buffett Business Factors : Selected articles from the Letters of Warren E. Buffett to the Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. " Editor of this free ebook : Cesar Labitan, Jr. 100 pages, 08/2002

Readers are encouraged to email Cesar Labitan (clabitan@juno.com) additional sections for future updated versions. His only requirement is that sections must be from publicly viewable "pure documented Buffett writings with link and date of issuance". Thank you ;-)

You can read this free ebook online : Html format or Word Format (recommended for printing)


"The Compounding Success Theory : Behavioral Finance Factors that Contribute to the Successful Investment Decisions made by Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger." Editor of this free ebook : Cesar Labitan, Jr. 89 pages, 01/2003

Readers are encouraged to email Cesar Labitan (clabitan@juno.com) additional sections for future updated versions. His only requirement is that sections must be from publicly viewable "pure documented Buffett writings with link and date of issuance". Thank you ;-)

You can read this free ebook online : Html format


 

 

2) Basic books recommended by Warren Buffett :

Kindle Link

"The intelligent investor" by Benjamin Graham. 354 pages, 11/1997. Translation of the last edition (1971) (First edition in 1949).

This best-seller of Value investing shows the reader the basis of the wisdom in the Stock Exchange. Highly recommended by Warren Buffett.: "...The most important investment book, especially chapters 8 and 20" (1994 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting ). The appendix contains the 1984 speech by Warren Buffett : "The Superinvestors of Graham & Doddsville."

You may also be interested with this revised edition (annoted by Jason Zweig) released in 2003. "(...)Jason Zweig last year did a first-class job in revising The Intelligent Investor, my favorite book on investing." - Warren Buffett (2003 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report). You can buy this book here

 BONUS : You can find more discussions about this book : Here

Buy this book here (amazon.com) or here (amazon.co.uk) (You may also find another book description with a table of contents and a free excerpt)


Kindle Link

"Common stocks and uncommon profits"by Philip Fisher. John Wiley & Sons. 200 pages, 05/2000. (First edition in 1958).

Note: The last edition (1996) contains two other texts by Philip Fisher : "Conservative investors sleep well" (1975) and "Developing an investment philosophy" (1980) [= 2/3 pages more !].

 "I highly recommend his books , especially the early ones" Warren Buffett - 2000 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting .

Contains the basics of an investment strategy encouraging the research about a company and its environment.

 BONUS 1:  You can read a financial column written by his son, Kenneth L. Fisher , here

 BONUS 2:  Book Review : here

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


Kindle Link

"Paths to wealth through common stocks" by Philip Fisher. (213 pages, 08/2007). [Original edition by Prentice-Hall Inc. 211 pages, 1960. Cover here].

 "I'd also recommend the first two books that Phil Fisher wrote back around 1960 - Common stocks and uncommon profits and his second one - Paths to wealth through common stocks. Those are very good books." Warren Buffett - OID 1996 .

IMHO, only some parts of this book will interest you.


Warren Buffett also recommended the book: "Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger" Edited by Peter D. Kaufman (2005 and 2006 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meetings). More info here


 

 

3) Biographies :

 

"Of Permanent Value: the Story of Warren Buffett : 2011 Travel and Adventure Edition" - in one single (big) volume by Andrew Kilpatrick. Andy Kilpatrick Publishing Empire. 1,250 pages, 04/2011. This new edition also contains more than 1500 photos (200 of which are in color)! ;)

"Puny, but at least it's a start" - Warren Buffett

This is a great biography which is very detailed (look at the number of pages). For me it is like a "Bible". Each time I need a detailed story about Warren Buffett or his company, Berkshire Hathaway, I utilize this book. Example : you can find some extracts of old Berkshire Hathaway annual letters (1970, 1974, 1975, 1976,...).

Personal Note: I would like to thank the author of this book, Andy Kilpatrick, for giving me the permission to use some data from his book here.

Andy Kilpatrick has this time self published its book. It is available at Amazon.com and also directly at : Andy Kilpatrick Publishing Empire, 17 Office Park Circle/Suite 1,  Birmingham, Al 35223 USA. Phone&Fax: (205) 251-2828. Email: ANDYAKPE@gmail.com Andy Kilpatrick has also his website : http://www.andykilpatrick.net/

 BONUS : Here are the covers of the previous editions : The first two editions of this big book were released under the name "Warren Buffett, the good guy of Wall Street". It contained no photo and had a tiny amount of pages (around only 300) compared to "Of Permanent Value".

09/1992 (Hardcover) and 01/1995 (Paperback) - 304 pages : "Warren Buffett, the good guy of Wall Street" - (Big cover)

The following editions were published under the current name "Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett":

09/1994 - 626 pages - (Big cover)
09/1996 : "Revised Expanded Edition" - 759 pages - (Big cover)
09/1998 : "1998 Edition" - 884 pages - (Big cover)
 12/1999 - 890 pages - (Big cover)
07/2000 : “Monster Millennium Edition” - 1162 pages - (Big cover)
02/2001 : "Updated and Expanded Edition" - 1178 pages - (Big cover)
08/2002 : "Abridged Edition". Warren Buffett commented on the back page: "A bit skimpy" ;-) - 1460 pages & 568 photos - (Big Cover)

The size of this book increased again starting in 2003: Here is a comparison for 2002 / 2003 editions

12/2003 : "More in '04, California Edition". Warren Buffett commented on the back page: "I'm waiting for more complete coverage" ;-) - 1500 pages & 750 photos - (Big cover)
07/2004 : "2005 Edition" (Note: "The front cover features a photo of the 15.8 people who work at Berkshire Hathaway headquarters in Omaha"). Warren Buffett commented on the back page: "I'm waiting for more complete coverage" ;-) -1542 pages & 850 photos - (Big cover)
08/2005 : "2006 Literary Edition" - 1682 pages & 1000 photos - (Big cover)

The size of this book increased again. It is now a 2 volumes book !

&

12/2006 : " 2007 International Edition - in 2 Volumes" - 1816 pages & 1200 photos. "I'm waiting for more complete coverage." - Warren Buffett - Bigger picture : Volume 1 (Copyrighted - Used with permission) Note: The back cover photo is of Buffett and NBA's LeBron James.  BONUS: Audio interview here for the release of the 2006 Literary Edition.

&

03/2008 : " 2008 Cosmic Edition - in 2 Volumes" - 1476 pages & 1400 photos (100 of which are in color). "Needs Fleshing out." - Warren Buffett - Bigger picture : Volume 1 (Copyrighted - Used with permission).  BONUS: More details (TOC,...) here (BRKNEWS Member only)

&

04/2009 : " 2009 Woodstock Edition - in 2 Volumes" - 1972 pages & 1500 photos (200 of which are in color). "A bit skimpy" - Warren Buffett - Bigger picture : Volume 1 (Copyrighted - Used with permission).  BONUS: More details (TOC,...) here (BRKNEWS Member only)

The size of this book increased again. It is now a 3 volumes book !

& &

04/2010 : " A Trilogy / 2010 Edition - in 3 Volumes" - 2000 pages & 1600 photos (200 of which are in color). "Puny, but at least it's a start" - Warren Buffett

You can also buy the current edition of this book here (You may also find another book description with a table of contents and a free excerpt)


"Buffett : The making of an American Capitalist" by Roger Lowenstein. (old covers). Orion Publishing Co. 512 pages, 08/1995 (reprinted in 08/1997 & 04/2008).

Another great biography. This book is becoming a little old, but it is still a very interesting book. April 2008: the new reprint contains a new afterword by the author.

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


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"The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life" by Alice Schroeder. Bantam. 976 pages, 09/2008.

Another great biography. The author had access directly to Warren Buffett, his family, his friends and ... his personal archives. ;)

 BONUS : Full coverage of this book is available for BRKNEWS Members here

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


 

 

4) Books related to Berkshire Hathaway :

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"101 Reasons to Own the World's Greatest Investment: Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway" by Robert P. Miles. 240 pages, 03/2001 (Old Cover). Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN : 0-471-41123-X.

"Robert Miles clearly understands the company well" - Warren Buffett

This is a revised edition of the book which was written in the end of 1998.  Frankly, the year doesn't matter as it is still extremely enlightening ! The author post some messages, from time to time, with the nickname of "SimpleInvestor" on the "The Motley Fool" site.

 BONUS : You can find an old version (not updated) of this book for free here. In my humble opinion, it is a better idea to buy the revised edition of this book. ;-)

Note : The website of Robert Miles is http://www.robertpmiles.com/

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


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"The Warren Buffett CEO: Secrets From the Berkshire Hathaway Managers" by Robert P. Miles. 308 pages, 10/2001. Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN : 0-471-44259-3.

"I recommend Robert Miles's book, The Warren Buffett CEO: Secrets of the Berkshire Hathaway Managers. I know you couldn't have a better group of people. You'll like your investment better after reading it." - Warren Buffett - 2002 Wesco Annual Meeting (Extracted from here)

"Mr Buffett "...does think that Bob Miles did a very good job on the (new) book,..." said Debbie Bosanek, Buffett's personal assistant" (Extracted from here)

In my humble opinion, it is just another "one of a kind book" by Mr. Miles. It is the only book which contains interviews with the business managers of Berkshire Hathaway. Moreover when you know that these CEO manage businesses which are not listed on the Stock Exchange (*) and rarely make interviews with journalists, you understand why you will like this book. ;-)  Finally here is a quote by Jack Welch : "Everyone knows Warren is the greatest investor of our time .... This book, for the first time, captures his genius as a manager".

(*) The Washington Post excepted.

 BONUS : Book reader comments : here (follow the thread) ; or there

Note : The website of Robert Miles is http://www.robertpmiles.com/

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


"Pleased, but Not Satisfied" by David Sokol. 05/2008 ISBN : B0017OFXOQ

Foreword by Warren Buffett and Preface by Walter Scott, Jr.

 

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


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"Behind the Berkshire Hathaway Curtain: Lessons from Warren Buffett's Top Business Leaders" by Ronald Chan. 178 pages. 04/2010.

"Berkshire is where it is today because of the all-stars running our various operating businesses. This book captures what makes them special." - Warren Buffett (from the book cover)

 

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


 

 

More Books related to Berkshire Hathaway subsidiaries and main stock holdings are available here


 

5) Other books recommended by Warren Buffett :

"The Money Masters" by John Train. 320 pages. Publisher: Viking Penguin Pub.11/1981. ISBN: 014005944X [Re-issued : Harper Business Pub. 09/1994. ISBN: 0887306381 ] Note: This book is not the same as "The new money masters" or "Money masters of our time".

Recommended by Warren Buffett - (August 8, 1996).

The only chapter which talks about Warren Buffett, is worth reading. [Extracts from the 1978 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report are also available in the appendixes].

[Charlie Munger gave his opinion of this author during the 2001 Wesco annual meeting : "Asked to comment on John Train's books (The Money Masters, etc.), Munger said, "He's a gifted writer with moderate insights into the investment process." from here]

 BONUS :  A summary : here


Kindle Link

"Essays in Persuasion" by John Maynard Keynes. Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc. 373 pages, 11/1990 reprint. ISBN : 0393001903

"I especially recommend Keynes' essays on persuasion. Reading Keynes will make you smarter about securities and markets. I'm not sure reading most economist would do the same." - Warren Buffett - (OID June 23, 1989).

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


"Science of Hitting" by Ted Williams and John Underwood.. Fireside. 96 pages, 04/1986.

"Ted Williams, in his book The Science of Hitting, talked about how he carved up the strike zone into different zones and only swung at pitches that were in his sweet spot. Investing is the same way." - Warren Buffett - 2003 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting.

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


"The People V. Clarence Darrow : The Bribery Trial of America's Greatest Lawyer" by Geoffrey Cowan. Times Books. 546 pages, 1993. ISBN: 0812921798

Recommended by Warren Buffett - (OID June 23, 1994).

 BONUS 1: Biographies : Clarence Darrow Number 1 and Number 2

 BONUS 2: WikiQuotes Link and Wikipedia link

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


"The General Theory of Employment Interest and Money" by John Maynard Keynes. Prometheus Books. 419 pages, 1997 reprint (first edition : 1935). ISBN : 1-573-92139-4

Chapter 12, "The State of Long-Term Expectation", is recommended by Warren Buffett (OID June 23, 1994).

You will be pleased to read powerful financial ideas about valuations. They were written by Keynes in 1935 and are still valid today.

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


"Benjamin Graham on Value Investing : Lessons from the Dean of Wall Street" by Janet C. Lowe. Penguin USA. 246 pages, 03/1996 reprint (First edition 10/1994). ISBN : 0140255346

"One of the luckiest events in my life was when I met Ben Graham...and anyone with an interest in investments will relish this book" - Warren Buffett (from the front cover of the book)

A great small book which relates the life of Benjamin Graham with the financial perpective in mind. Interesting!

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


"A Piece of the Action: How the Middle Class Joined the Money Class" by Joseph Nocera. Touchstone Books. 468 pages, 11/1995 (first edition 10/1994). ISBN: 0684804352

Recommended by Warren Buffett - (OID August 10, 1995).

 BONUS 1: Interview

 BONUS 2: Small review : here ; Note: This book was on the list of the "Best Business books of 1994" by Business Week

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


"Will America Grow up Before it Grows Old : How the Coming Social Security Crisis Threatens You, Your Family and Your Country" by Peter G. Peterson. 237 pages, 10/1996.

"Send it to your congressman" - Warren Buffett (Source: Of Permanent Value, Literary Edition page 197)


"Father, Son & Co : My Life at IBM and Beyond" by Thomas, Jr. Watson. Bantam Doubleday Dell Pub. 480 pages, 2000 reprint. ISBN: 0553380834

I don't know for sure if Warren Buffett truly recommended this book. Anyway, he often talked about it during some old Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meetings.

 BONUS 1: Short biographies : Thomas J. Watson Jr. (son) here, Thomas J. Watson (father) here

 BONUS 2: A few sound files here

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


"Memos from the Chairman" by Alan "Ace" C. Greenberg. John Wiley & Sons, 160 pages, 04/1996. ISBN : 0761103465.

"Many years ago, Where are the customers' Yachts?, through a humorous look at Wall Street, dispensed some of the best investment advice ever written. In this book, Ace has applied the same treatment to managerial advice with equal success." - Warren Buffett (from the Foreword)

This book gives you an example of interesting Chairman letters to its employees all along the years of a Bearn Stearn's life.

 BONUS :  More about the author : Here

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


"Where Are the Customers' Yachts? or A Good Hard Look at Wall Street (Wiley Investment Classics)" by Fred Schwed, Jr. Wiley. 170 pages, 01/2006 (First edition - 1940). Introduction by Jason Zweig.

Read the comments of the book above. ;-)

"This book was first published in 1940 and is now in its 4th edition. The funniest book ever written about investing, it lightly delivers many truly important messages on the subject." - Warren Buffett (2006 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report)

 BONUS :  Book review by TMT Selena : here & Quotes here.


Kindle Link

"Only the Paranoid Survive : How to Exploit the Crisis Points That Challenge Every Company" by Andrew S. Grove. Bantam Books. 224 pages, 1999 reprint (first edition 1997). ISBN: 0385483821

Recommended by Warren Buffett - (OID August 8, 1997).

The business world is continually evolving. CEOs : Be ready to adapt your company or die!

 BONUS 1: Homepage here

 BONUS 2: Various articles here

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


"Jack Welch Speaks: Wisdom from the World's Greatest Business Leader" by Janet Lowe. 256 pages, New edition 02/2001 (First edition 02/1998).

"From the back cover : "Jack Welch has long been one of my heroes. When you read this book you will understand why." - Warren Buffett


Kindle Link

"Personal History" by Katharine Graham. Vintage Books. 642 pages, 03/1998. ISBN: 0375701044

" It is very honest. I know if I were writing my autobiography, I'd make myself look like Arnold Schwartzneger."- Warren Buffett - 2001 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting.

 BONUS 1: Interviews with Katharine Graham : Number 1 and Number 2

 BONUS 2: Book Review : here (follow the historical links at the bottom of the page)

 BONUS 3: Various Links Here

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


"The Expanded Quotable Einstein" by Albert Einstein. 456 pages. Publisher: Princeton Univ P. 5/2000 Enhanced edition. ISBN: 0691070210

"I read a little easier book. I'm not sure of the title, but it's something to the effect of The Quotable Einstein. It's a lot of his commentary over the years. Great reading." - 1998 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting.

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


"The Farmer From Merna: (State farm)" by Karl Schriftgeisser. Random House. 235 pages, 1996 reprint (first edition 1955). ISBN: 0394424425

"State Farm was launched in 1922,... In the end, however, State Farm eclipsed all its competitors. In fact, by 1999 the company had amassed a tangible net worth exceeding that of all but four American businesses. If you want to read how this happened, get a copy of The Farmer from Merna." - Warren Buffett - 2000 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report.

 BONUS : An article here (PDF File)

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


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" Common sense on mutual funds : New imperatives for the intelligent investor " by John C. Bogle. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 468 pages, 02/2001 (First edition 03/1999).

In this book you will learn that the index funds (*) have better results than 85 % of the funds managed in the world ! The author shows you new great stock exchange statistics in the very long term. Warren Buffett's comment on this book is : "A must read for every investor".

(*) ( No-load fund. Fund that follows the result of an index. Example : a fund on the Dow Jones 30. The stocks inside this fund represent the 30 stocks of the Dow Jones 30. Moreover, these 30 stocks do not change really often. So, the fees of these funds are really low which means more money to be invested for shareholders of the fund ! ).

 BONUS :  The author is the founder of the Vanguard Group, the world's largest no-load mutual fund group (More).

You will find more information on and by John C. Bogle himself here : http://www.vanguard.com/bogle_site/bogle_speeches.html , http://leadership.wharton.upenn.edu/l_change/Interviews/bogle.shtml and his blog http://johncbogle.com/wordpress/

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


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"John Bogle on Investing: The First 50 Years" by John C. Bogle. McGraw-Hill. 455 pages, 09/2000. ISBN: 0-071-36438-2

"Any investor who owns or is thinking of owning shares in a fund should read this book cover to cover" - Warren Buffett (from the back cover of the book)

 BONUS : Look at the book above !

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


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"Quality Financial Reporting" by Paul B. W. Miller & Paul R. Bahnson. 304 pages, 07/2002.

"Accounting is the language of business. In recent years, too often language has been distorted to the point of becoming unintelligible. This book is a step toward restoring its usefulness." - Warren Buffett (from the front cover of the book)

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


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"Take on the Street: What Wall Street and Corporate America Don't Want You to Know. What you can do to fight back" by Arthur Levitt. Pantheon Books. 288 pages, 10/2002. ISBN: 0375421785

"During my lifetime, the small investor has never had a better friend than SEC chairman Arthur Levitt. His goal was unwavering: To have markets that served the interests of investors, both large and small.."- Warren Buffett (from the back cover of the book)

"...The details of this sordid affair [expensing stock-options] are related in Levitt’s excellent book, Take on the Street." Warren Buffett - 2002 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report

This book will give the average investor ideas of conflict of interests that exist on Wall Street. Alas, mostly things you already know IMHO.

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


"Jack: Straight from the Gut" by Jack Welch. Warner Books. 496 pages, 09/2001. ISBN: 0446528382

"Jack is the Tiger Woods of management. All CEOs want to emulate him. They won't be able to, but they'll come closer if they listen carefully to what he has to say." - Warren Buffett (from the back cover of the book)

In this autobiography, you will get an idea of what Mr.Welch was feeling when he was leading the transformation of General Electric.

 BONUS 1: Website of the book here

 BONUS 2: Small Book Review

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


"Sam Walton: Made in America: My Story" by Sam Walton. 346 pages. Publisher: Bantam Books.6/1993 reissue. ISBN: 0553562835

"Buffett answered students' questions, talked about his investing philosophy over Cherry Cokes, and recommended the autobiography of former Wal-Mart Chairman Sam Walton, Auxier said" Bloomberg News April 03, 2003

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


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"Bull! : A History of the Boom, 1982-1999: What drove the Breakneck Market--and What Every Investor Needs to Know About Financial Cycles" by Maggie Mahar. 512 pages. 10/2003.

"A 2003 book that investors can learn much from is Bull! by Maggie Mahar" - Warren Buffett (2003 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report)

 BONUS : Audio interview here


"Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron" by Bethany McLean & Peter Elkind. 464 pages. 10/2003.

Recommended by Warren Buffett (2003 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report)

 BONUS 1: Wikipedia link

 BONUS 2: DVD


Kindle Link

"Epidemic of Care : A Call for Safer, Better, and More Accountable Health Care" by George C. Halvorson. 304 pages. 05/2003.

"(...) by far the clearest explanation of how we have gotten to where we are in health care, and what is likely to happen." - Warren Buffett (Source)

"There’s a good book that just came out by the guy that runs Kaiser (...)." - Warren Buffett (Source thanks to Sanjeev)

 BONUS : More in BRKNEWS here


Kindle Link

"A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson. 560 pages. 05/2003.

Recommended by Warren Buffett - 2004 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting.

 BONUS 1: More in BRKNEWS here

 BONUS 2: Special Illustrated Edition available here


"Running On Empty: How The Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do About It" by Peter G. Peterson. 272 pages. 07/2004.

"Today, too many of our country's key economic decisions are being made with an eye to the next election rather than to the next generation. This book explains in simple but powerful terms why it's imperative that our attention must be refocused now." - Warren Buffett (from the frontcover).


Kindle Link

"Nuclear Terrorism : The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe" by Graham Allison. 272 pages. 08/2004.

"(...) A must-read for those concerned with the safety of our country." - Warren Buffett - 2004 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report.

 BONUS 1 : Website of the book http://www.nuclearterror.org Also http://www.nti.org/ and Last best chance free DVD

 BONUS 2 : More in BRKNEWS here and here


Kindle Link

"Travels with Barley: A Journey Through Beer Culture in America" by Ken Wells. 320 pages. 10/2004.

Recommended by Warren Buffett - 2005 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting.

 BONUS : More in BRKNEWS here


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"The Man Behind the Microchip: Robert Noyce and the Invention of Silicon Valley" by Leslie Berlin. 440 pages. 05/2005.

"Leslie Berlin does an excellent job of capturing the Bob Noyce I knew: part small-town boy, part big-time genius and always a wonderful friend and citizen." - Warren Buffett - (from the back cover).

 BONUS : More in BRKNEWS here


"Speculative Contagion: An Antidote for Speculative Epidemics" by Frank Martin. 316 pages. 11/2005.

"For many years I've enjoyed reading Frank Martin's letters. This collection contains much investment wisdom and, just as important, sets a standard for the advisor-client relationship." " - Warren Buffett - (from the front cover).

 BONUS : Website of the author here


Kindle Link

"The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns (Little Book Big Profits)" by John C. Bogle. 240 pages. 03/2007.

"Most investors, both institutional and individual, will find that the best way to own common stocks is trough an index fund that charges minimal fees" - Warren Buffett - (from the front cover).

 BONUS : More in BRKNEWS here


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

Recommended by Warren Buffett (2006 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report)

In my humble opinion this an outstanding book. It is probably the best on 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".


Kindle Link

"Supermoney (Wiley Investment Classics)" [Edition with a new foreword by John Bogle and a preface by Adam Smith (aka George J. W. Goodman)] by Adam Smith. 298 pages. Wiley. 05/2006 (First edition : cover - Random House New York. 300 pages, 1972. ISBN : 0-394-47993-9).

"In this book, Adam Smith says I like baseball metaphors. He's right. So I will just describe this book as the equivalent of the performance of Don Larsen on October 8, 1956. For the uninitiated, that was the day he pitched the only perfect game in World Series history." - Warren Buffett - (from the front cover).

Recommended by Warren Buffett - 2007 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting.

My Comments for the first edition (1972): Only the chapter III.5 talks about Warren Buffett (pages 173 to 199). Note: The investor called "Herbert" is Walter Schloss. (See the "Super investors of Graham and Doodsville" in the annex of the book "The intelligent investor").[Note: Personal thanks to Metalminer]. More infos here, there and here

Note: The original first edition can be bought here and the new one there.


"Foods You Will Enjoy - The Story of Buffett`s Store" by Bill Buffett. 230 pages. Capital Offsett Company. 05/2008 ISBN : 0981658903.

Recommended by Warren Buffett - 2008 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting.

 BONUS: Author's website http://buffettstore.com

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



Kindle Link

"Showing Up for Life: Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime" by Bill Gates
Sr. & Mary Ann Mackin. 208 pages. Broadway Business. 04/2009.

Bill Senior is as wise as his son is brilliant. I’ve learned a lot from both of them and believe everyone can benefit from the insights Bill Senior shares in this book." - Warren Buffett (from the back cover)

Recommended by Warren Buffett - 2009 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting.

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


 

 

 

 

 

6) Some "How to invest like Warren Buffett" books for beginning investors:

Kindle Link

"Wall Street on sale : How to beat the market as a value investor : The techniques used by master investor Warren Buffett and others" by Timothy P. Vick. Mc Graw Hill. 289 pages, 12/1998. ISBN : 0-071342-05-2.

In my humble opinion this is a sound book for starting investing.

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


"How to pick stocks like Warren Buffett : Profiting from the bargain hunting strategies of the world's greatest value investor" by Timothy P. Vick.(Old Cover) Mc Graw Hill Professional Publishing. 224 pages, 08/2000. ISBN : 0-071357-69-6. [Note: Personal thanks to "The Sandman"]

This book is a kind of a continuation of the preceding one. So, some parts of the beginning may appear to be a little bit repetitive. The last chapter is devoted to the use of arbitrage by Warren Buffett. ;)

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


Kindle Link

"The Warren Buffett portfolio" by Robert G. Hagstrom. 240 pages. (First edition in 1999). Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN : 0-471-24766-9.

This book is the logical sequel of the "Warren Buffett Way". It talks more about the investment philosophy of Warren Buffett than technical details for investing like Warren Buffett. This book is more interesting than the previous one. Moreover, it is the first one to put a name on the investment strategy of Warren Buffett : the "Focus investing". This book is recommended by Charlie Munger (Friend and associate of Warren Buffett) as "an excellent introduction to investing".

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


Kindle Link

"How to Think Like Benjamin Graham and Invest Like Warren Buffett" by Lawrence A. Cunningham. 267 pages, 01/2001. Mc Graw Hill.. ISBN : 0-071369-92-9.

I haven't read the first part of this book (because I agree that Markets are not always efficient). The others parts are interesting because they show some accounting tricks used by some companies and the importance of owner oriented managers.

 BONUS :  Listen to a 30 minutes interview (03/13/01) with the author : Real audio link here (from here)

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


"Do Business with People You Can Trust: Balancing Profits and Principles" by L. J. Rittenhouse. "Fifth-Year Anniversary Edition". 166 pages 05/2007 AndBEYOND Communications Inc. (old cover - 144 pages, 04/2002. Old ISBN : 0971935602)

A good small book which will helps the reader to have a better idea of the shareholder letters that CEOs publish in annual reports. The "Fifth-Year Anniversary Edition" has an updated chapter. The author is also selling on her website a map called: The "Rittenhouse ModelSM of a Stewardship-Based Business".

 BONUS: Author's website http://www.rittenhouserankings.com

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


Kindle Link

"The New Buffettology: The Proven Techniques for Investing Successfully in Changing Markets That Have Made Warren Buffett the World's Most Famous Investor" by Mary Buffett & David Clark. 288 pages, 09/2002.

You may have in mind like myself their first book (released in 1997) which was criticized (see below).
In 2002, they wrote a new one which is better. Anyway, you can have a look yourself! ;)


Kindle Link

"The Real Warren Buffett: Managing Capital, Leading People" by James O'Loughlin. 282 pages, 10/2002 uk and 01/2003 US. Nicholas Brealey Publishing Ltd. ISBN : 185788308X

I found this book really good! ;-) It contains many quotes from Berkshire Hathaway annual reports. So you may say : "again?"! Ok. But when you know that there are also some quotes from OID, the desire to buy this book is increasing. ;-) So, all right. The sources are great. But that's not all! IMHO, the Author, James O'Loughlin, did a great job by linking these quotes and his own ideas. I must acknowledged that I was surprised by the result. This book is a kind of a very good summary of Warren Buffett's structuration of mind in the management of Berkshire Hathaway. And yes. This books talks also about some of Charlie Munger "mental models". ;-)

The website of this book is: http://www.therealwarrenbuffett.com

Here is an online review made by "Texirich" [Note : he didn't like the last part of this book. Anyway, even if you don't like that last part, the first two parts deserve IMHO to be read ;-)] : http://boards.fool.com/Message.asp?mid=18373896&sort=whole

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


Kindle Link

"Warren Buffett Wealth : Principles and Practical Methods Used by the World's Greatest Investor" by Robert P. Miles. 272 pages, 03/2004. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN : 0471465119

A good book for a beginning investor.

 BONUS: Author's website http://www.robertpmiles.com/

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


 

 

7) Small nice books or only a part of a book :

"The Focus Investor" by Richard M. Rockwood. 230 pages, 2004. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN : 1413472265.

An interesting book about Focus & Value Investing by Rich Rockwood (who is also known over the online BRK Community for maintaining the Focus Investor website).

 BONUS : Hardcover/Paperback choice is available directly here

You can also buy this book here (You may also find another book description with a table of contents)


"The Midas Touch : The Strategies That Have Made Warren Buffett 'America's Preeminent Investor'" by John Train. 208 pages, 1987. Harper & Row Publishers, Inc. ISBN : 0-06-091500-5.

Pages 1 to 100 : The book. Even if it contains some small errors, it gives you an interesting idea of Berkshire Hathaway during the 70's & 80's. Pages 100 to 174: S&P NYSE reports of companies in which Berkshire Hathaway had invested during this time. Pages 175 to 187: Extracts from Berkshire Hathaway's Annual reports (1970-1976).

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


Kindle Link

"Warren Buffett speaks : Wit and wisdom from the world's greatest investor (Second Edition: Completely Revised and Updated)" by Janet Lowe.(Covers). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 272 pages, 08/2007. [First edition: 193 pages, 1997. Old Cover. ISBN : 0-471-16996-X].

This little book is a good collection of Warren Buffett's quotes.

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


"Warren Buffett : The man who made billions with an unique investment strategy" by Robert Heller. Dorling Kindersley (DK) "Business Masterminds". 112 pages, 2000. ISBN : 0-7513-0819-6

This little book gives you a view of Warren Buffett through a business approach. Instructive ! Note: the author has the habit of making best-sellers out of management books.

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


"The company you keep : A commonsense guide to value investing" by Patrick Terrion. The Terrion Group, 231 pages, 08/1999. ISBN: 0-967414-80-6.

This book is a compilation of the 'Intrinsic Partner Interletters' (Volumes 1-12) that you can find for free in this web site (http://www.terrion.com/) , plus a few additional chapters, 'What To Look For In A Company' and 'Leonardo da Vinci And The "Kiss" Method Of Investing'.

This is a nice small book which contains some principles of Mr. Buffett (but also some small errors).

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


Kinlde Link

"J. K. Lasser's Pick Stocks Like Warren Buffett" by Warren Boroson. 304 pages, 10/2001.Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN : 0-47-139774-1

Small book which contains some principles of Mr. Buffett (but also some small errors) and interviews with some fund managers who try to invest "à là" Buffett.

Website: http://www.warrenboroson.com

 BONUS : More infos here : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brknews/message/704


"Lessons from the Legends of Wall Street : How Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Phil Fisher, T. Rowe Price, and John Templeton, can help you grow rich" by Nikki Ross. Dearborn Trade. 269 pages, 09/2000. ISBN : 0-793-137152

This book is a good summary of the thinking of those famous investors (Only one part talks about Warren Buffett). Tip : Don't forget to read the amazon review of this book by Timothy Vick. ;-)


Kindle Link

"Value Investing: From Graham to Buffett and Beyond" by Bruce C. N. Greenwald, Judd Kahn, Paul D. Sonkin, Michael van Biema. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 312 pages, 06/2001. ISBN : 0-471-38198-5.

Only pages 161 to 290 are related to : Warren Buffett, Mario Gabelli, Glenn Greeberg, Robert Heilbrunn, Seth Klarman, Michael Price, Walter & Edwin Schloss and Paul Sonkin. Alas, the only part related to Warren Buffett is just a copy of some extracts of Mr. Buffett Letters to Shareholders (see at the top of this page). ;-(


Kindle Link

"The Book of Investing Wisdom: Classic Writings by Great Stock-Pickers and Legends of Wall Street" edited by Peter Krass. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 498 pages, 04/1999. ISBN : 0471294543.

IMHO the writing part by Warren Buffett will mostly interest you. You can find it for free here : "Track Record Is Everything" by Warren E. Buffett (scroll down and start reading at "Track Record Is Everything" here


"Knights, Raiders and Targets: The Impact of the Hostile Takeover" Edited by John C. Coffee, Louis Lowenstein and Susan-Rose Ackerman. Oxford University Press. 547 pages, 06/1988.

This book contains a small transcript of an old speech (November 13, 1985) by Warren Buffett (only 5 pages long out of 547) among other panelists. Discussion about "the increasing level of takeover activity."

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


"Warren Buffett Has Spoken. The Question Is, Who Is Listening?" by James Pardoe. 250 pages, 01/2004.

 


Kindle Link

"Warren Buffett: An Illustrated Biography of the World's Most Successful Investor" by Ayano Morio. Wiley. 120 pages, 12/2004. ISBN : 0470821531.

The first and a nice small comic book about Warren Buffett.


Kindle Link

"Trade Like Warren Buffett" by James Altucher. Wiley. 246 pages, 02/2005.

IMHO you will be only interested with the 11 pages interview with Mohnish Pabrai.

BONUS : The author has created this website http://www.stockpickr.com/


Kindle Link

"The Tao of Warren Buffett: Warren Buffett's Words of Wisdom: Quotations and Interpretations to Help Guide You to Billionaire Wealth and Enlightened Business Management" by Mary Buffett and David Clark. 192 pages, 11/2006.

 BONUS : More in BRKNEWS here


"Habits of the Master Traders: Use Their Mental Models to Become One of Them" by Krisztian Fekete. 88 pages, 02/2007.

Tiny book written by a BRNEWS Member from Humgary. Maybe only some parts will interest you.

BONUS : TOC available here


Kindle Link

"A Weekend with Warren Buffett: And Other Shareholder Meeting Adventures" by Randy Cepuch. Thunder's Mouth Press. 272 pages, 03/2007.

BONUS : Website of the book : http://www.shareholdermeetingadventures.com


"The Four Filters Invention of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger" by Bud Labitan. 97 pages, 05/2008.

Bud already compiled in the past two great ebooks called "The Warren Buffett Business Factors" and "The Compounding Success Theory" (see above). This small self-published book details four filters used for buying companies at Berkshire Hathaway.

BONUS : Many infos about the book are available on its website : http://www.frips.com/


Also :

"The Business of Value Investing: Six Essential Elements to Buying Companies Like Warren Buffett" by Sham Gad (Kindle Link)

"Buffett Beyond Value: Why Warren Buffett Looks to Growth and Management When Investing" by Prem Jain (Kindle Link)

"Dear Mr. Buffett: What An Investor Learns 1,269 Miles From Wall Street" by Janet Tavakoli (Kindle Link)

"Warren Buffett Invests Like a Girl: And Why You Should, Too" by Louann Lofton (Kindle Link) [“You’ll have to read her book to see the criteria she used, but I’d say I probably plead guilty. - Warren Buffett]

"Pilgrimage to Warren Buffett's Omaha : A Hedge Fund Manager's Dispatches from Inside the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting" by Jeff Matthews (Kindle Link)

"Secrets in Plain Sight: Business & Investing Secrets of Warren Buffett, 2012 Edition" by Jeff Matthews (His blog) (Kindle edition only Note: see end of book for receiving for free updates)

"Buffett's Bites: The Essential Investor's Guide to Warren Buffett's Shareholder Letters" by Laura Rittenhouse (Kindle Link)

"Moats : The Competitive Advantages Of Buffett And Munger Businesses" by Bud Labitan

"The Warren Buffett Stock Portfolio: Warren Buffett Stock Picks: Why and When He Is Investing in Them" by Mary Buffett & David Clark (Kindle Link)

"Warren Buffett and the Art of Stock Arbitrage: Proven Strategies for Arbitrage and Other Special Investment Situations" by Mary Buffett & David Clark (Kindle Link)

"The Tale of Tortoise Buffett (13 Habits)" by Lucas Remmerswaal (Note: for children !)

"Creating a Portfolio like Warren Buffett: A High Return Investment Strategy" by Jeeva Ramaswamy (Kindle Link)

 

 

 

8) Books criticized :

Kindle Link

"The Warren Buffett way" by Robert Hagstrom. 435 pages, 10/1997. (First edition in 1994).

One of the first books devoted only to Warren Buffett. It describes how Mr. Hagstrom thinks Mr. Buffett chooses his investments. This book has been criticized. ["After criticizing Robert Hagstrom's first book about Buffett, The Warren Buffett Way, as "not much of a contribution to human knowledge," Munger (the friend and partner of Warren Buffett) had nothing but praise for Hagstrom's recent volume, The Warren Buffett Portfolio, which he described as an excellent introduction to investing - From here ]

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


Kindle Link

"Buffettology : the previously unexplained techniques that have made Warren Buffett the world's most famous investor" by Mary Buffett & David Clark. "Pocket Books": 320 pages, 1999. ISBN :0-671-03248-8. Note: it exists another old version (1997) of this book.

Even if this book was partly written by the former daughter-in-law of Warren Buffett, it is criticized because it describes some mathematical techniques for evaluating companies "in the Buffett way". "Buffettology" seems to reduce Buffett's thinking to mathematical formulas. And, this is not really right. It is not his way of investing. [Be careful : I have not yet read this book ! I am only relying on the ideas of some people (e.g.) who have already read it. However, two good things in this book seem to be chapters 43 and 45. Anyway read all the reviews from Amazon and judge by yourself !] More information here : http://www.geocities.com/WallStreet/Market/7379/ (Excel Files) and http://www.buffettwatch.com/

The summary thinking of this book by Warren Buffett was : No quarrel with theory. Not the book (he) would have written. Get more philosophy from reading Berkshire annual reports. - 1998 Berkshire Hathaway Meeting. (from here)

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


 

Finally, in my humble opinion (worth just that!), I am aware that the following books exist, but I don't think it is a great idea to buy them ! :
"Thoughts of Chairman Buffett : Thirty Years of Unconventional Wisdom from the Sage of Omaha" by Simon Reynolds.
"Warren Buffett : Master of the Market" by Jay Steele.
"Invest Like Warren Buffett, Live Like Jimmy Buffett : A Money Manual for Those Who Haven't Won the Lottery" by Luki Vail. (First edition: here)
"Buffett Step By Step: An Investor's Workbook" by Richard Simmons. 
"The Essential Buffett: Timeless Principles for the New Economy" by Robert G. Hagstorm.
"Money Masters of Our Time" by John Train.
"The Best Investment Advice I Ever Received: Priceless Wisdom from Warren Buffett, Jim Cramer, Suze Orman, Steve Forbes, and Dozens of Other Top Financial Experts" by Liz Claman
"Value Investing Made Easy: Benjamin Graham's Classic Investment Strategy Explained for Everyone" by Janet C. Lowe.
"How Buffett Does It" by James Pardoe
 "Rule #1: The Simple Strategy for Successful Investing in Only 15 Minutes a Week!" by Phil Town (More in BRKNEWS here)
 "What Do I Do with My Money: Answers to Any Market from Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch, and Other Investors You Can Trust" by Clint Willis
 "Warren Buffett Stocks - A Guide to Investing In Stocks Like Warren Buffett Does" by The Editors of SmithRiley
"The Winning Investment Habits of Warren Buffett & George Soros" by Mark Tier. Note: The hardcover version has a different title: "Becoming Rich : The Wealth-Building Secrets of the World's Master Investors Buffett, Icahn, Soros". (More in BRKNEWS here)

Still More books:

"Buffett and Beyond" by Dr. J.B. Farwell

"Even Buffett Isn't Perfect: What You Can--and Can't--Learn from the World's Greatest Investor" by Vahan Janjigian

 

 

Books related to Charlie Munger can be found here

 

More books are available here

 

Some other books:

http://www.geocities.com/WallStreet/Exchange/5144/ ; http://www.focusinvestor.com/bookreview.htm and http://www.focusinvestor.com/store.htm (Out-of-print business books)

Recommended Books for BRK by TMF Selena http://boards.fool.com/Message.asp?id=1070060001065000

http://www.ticonline.com/books.html and http://www.ticonline.com/books2.html

Other recommendations :

By Delilama :  on his blog here (and previously Number 1 and Number 2).

By the team of Financial Sense : http://www.financialsense.com/resources/buffett.html

And by the author of this website : http://www.numeraire.com/library.htm (A lot of books related to Value investing)

 

 

If you want to help me, just click here. Thank you ;-)

Note: It would be great if you could give me more links. Thank you in advance.

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