About the book
This is not precisely a book, but a compilation of all the essays written by Warren Buffett in his Berkshire Hathaway annual reports. The good thing about this work however, is that the author, Lawrence Cunningham, arranged the essays according to more organized subjects, as I will discuss in the Contents section. This book is also one of the standard textbooks in a course being taught at Cardozo Law School.
Contents
After the introduction and prologue, the book is arranged and separated into seven chapters that cover the topics of: corporate governance; corporate finance and investing; alternatives to common stock; common stock; mergers and acquisitions; accounting and valuation; and accounting policy and tax matters. Several essays discuss each and every topic.
Review
Unlike works of fiction wherein one can summarize the story in just one sentence or paragraph, books on finance and investing are much harder to compress because they deal with various investment viewpoints. The good thing about finance books however, and particular this book, is that one gets to learn a lot of knowledge. This type of knowledge can be applied in the real world.
Moving on, Warrren Buffett is able to explain his investment policies and decisions in a very conversational dialogue. You will not be faced with monologue while reading his essays. Many of his insights may go against the usual teachings of academe. However, his lessons are very much valuable, especially since he has a proven investment track record, by using the same principles that he espouses.
Difficulty Level = 2.0/5
Most of the essays were written for the benefit of the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway. Hence, it is very understandable. Comprehension of some of the terms that Buffett uses however, may require more repetition in order to better know their true meaning.
Personal Rating = 5/5
Related link:
Nice book about essays.
ReplyDelete