Wasnt bad
It wasnt a bad book and it didnt waste my time. But I want more meat from the author. More specifics on what makes this man tick would be appreciated. Its not bad - read it if you want to begin a discussion on Buffett. Don't waste your time if you already know something about Buffett.

Warren Buffett Secrets For Market Success
Hagstrom obtains permission to quote from Berkshire Hathaway reports and provides case studies of Buffet's major investments. His investment and acquistion strategies that have resulted in him winning the market time and time again are reviewed extensively. Buffett does not buy stocks, he buys companies. Not only that, he buys and holds. A good review of the influence of Buffett's mentors like Ben Graham and Philip Fisher is also undertaken. This is a must read for people looking to profit in the market.

Vague and lacking.
This was my first introduction to Value Investing and I was intrigued by the clarity of Buffett's reasoning as expressed through the quotes in this book. However (!) now that I have digged deeper in the world of Value Investing, and have since revisited this book, I see that it is actually little more than a vague overview.

My first problem with this book is that it doesn't tell you how to practice what it preaches. It doesn't tell you where to find the information you need, for instance what parts of the annual reports you should read, and how to interpret them. In a sense, the book assumes you already know what you're doing - but why then pick up this book?!

Second, a most important aspect of Value Investing is that of valuation, naturally. That is, how much is a business really worth? Hagstrom quickly slings out a few calculations but does not properly explain the reasoning behind them. I have been trying to find good books on valuation but without luck so far. I would instead recommend the reader to do an internet search on this subject or a Wikipedia lookup for Discounted Cash Flow.

I debated with myself whether to give this book fewer stars than the three I gave it. But there are some good points for further investigation, if you're already experienced in value investing. Just take this book with a grain of salt.

Simple Message, Interesting Case Study
Invest in solid businesses that are undervalued, don't invest in 'stocks' or try to play the market. For non-investors who can't study business fundamentals, just invest in a low-cost index fund and leave the money there.
Warren Buffett is an interesting character and the best part is that he keeps it simple and lo-fi. The book basically uses everything written about Buffett and all his annual letters to create a portrait. Brings new meaning to defining a man by his actions, in this case Buffett's top investments over the years are used to build a philosophy in lieu of talking to the man.
Good book, interesting to get persepective on a business mind, not necessarily the investing mind.

Good Book


I think it is a very good book to understand how the guys thinks about the whole game of investing. You can clearly see the signs of a seasoned investor throughout the book. But how much useful will it be for people like you and me, that's questionable. Imagine if Tiger Woods tells you how he plays golf or Mozart tells you how he composed those lyrics. It is kind of that. I think it is just a knack of things that either you have or you don't have. But do read the book just to get some idea about the financial market and its potholes that you need to be aware of.