The personally revealing and complete biography of the man known everywhere as "The Oracle of
Omaha"-for fans of the HBO documentary Becoming Warren Buffett Here is the book recounting the
life and times of one of the most respected men in the world Warren Buffett. The legendary
Omaha investor has never written a memoir but now he has allowed one writer Alice Schroeder
unprecedented access to explore directly with him and with those closest to him his work
opinions struggles triumphs follies and wisdom. Although the media track him constantly
Buffett himself has never told his full life story. His reality is private especially by
celebrity standards. Indeed while the homespun persona that the public sees is true as far as
it goes it goes only so far. Warren Buffett is an array of paradoxes. He set out to prove that
nice guys can finish first. Over the years he treated his investors as partners acted as their
steward and championed honesty as an investor CEO board member essayist and speaker. At
the same time he became the world's richest man all from the modest Omaha headquarters of his
company Berkshire Hathaway. None of this fits the term "simple." When Alice Schroeder met
Warren Buffett she was an insurance industry analyst and a gifted writer known for her keen
perception and business acumen. Her writings on finance impressed him and as she came to know
him she realized that while much had been written on the subject of his investing style no one
had moved beyond that to explore his larger philosophy which is bound up in a complex
personality and the details of his life. Out of this came his decision to cooperate with her on
the book about himself that he would never write. Never before has Buffett spent countless
hours responding to a writer's questions talking giving complete access to his wife children
friends and business associates-opening his files recalling his childhood. It was an act of
courage as The Snowball makes immensely clear. Being human his own life like most lives has
been a mix of strengths and frailties. Yet notable though his wealth may be Buffett's legacy
will not be his ranking on the scorecard of wealth it will be his principles and ideas that
have enriched people's lives. This book tells you why Warren Buffett is the most fascinating
American success story of our time. Praise for The Snowball "Even people who don't care a
whit about business will be intrigued by this portrait. . . . Schroeder a former
insurance-industry analyst spent years interviewing Buffett and the result is a side of the
Oracle of Omaha that has rarely been seen."-Time "Will mesmerize anyone interested in who Mr.
Buffett is or how he got that way. The Snowball tells a fascinating story."-New York Times "If
the replication of any great achievement first requires knowledge of how it was done then The
Snowball the most detailed glimpse inside Warren Buffett and his world that we likely will
ever get should become a Bible for capitalists."-Washington Post "Riveting and
encyclopedic."-Wall Street Journal "A monumental biography . . . Schroeder got the best access
yet of any Buffett biographer. . . . She deals out marvelously funny and poignant stories about
Buffett and the conglomerate he runs Berkshire Hathaway."-Forbes "The most authoritative
portrait of one of the most important American investors of our time."-Los Angeles Times
