The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, Third Edition

Product Description

• By arranging Buffett's lengthy writings thematically, Cunningham's classic book makes clear and coherent the principles and logic of Buffett's philosophy of business, investing and life. 
• When first published in 1997, many knew Buffett's writings were gems, but this book's novelty was to lay out exact principles and their relationship to each other.  The central discovery is that the philosophy pivots around one core concept: the vast difference between price and value.  From that core radiate the other themes that the book's arrangement clarifies.  
• The Essays of Warren Buffett is a unique book that takes the raw material of Buffett's 700+ pages of letters and renders them into a finely-woven 270-page narrative, fulfilling Buffett's hope that Cunningham would "popularize" his writings. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
Introduciton
Prologue
I.   Corporate Governance
II.  Finance and Investing
III.  Investment Alternatives
IV.  Common Stock
V.   Mergers and Acquisitions
VI.  Valuation and Accounting
VII.  Accounting Shenanigans
VIII.  Accounting Policy
IX.  Tax Matters
Epilogue
Index
Concept Glossary
Disposition Summary

Amazon.com Review
Buffett, the Bard of Omaha, is a genuine American folk hero, if folk heroes are allowed to build fortunes worth upward of $15 billion. He's great at homespun metaphor, but behind those catchy phrases is a reservoir of financial acumen that's generally considered the best of his generation. For example, in an essay on CEO stock options, he writes, "Negotiating with one's self seldom produces a barroom brawl." This is his way of saying that an executive who can give himself compensation totally disproportionate to his performance surely will. There are uncountable gems of financial wisdom to be harvested from these essays, taken from the annual reports he writes for Berkshire Hathaway, his holding company. Just to pick one more, here's a now-famous line about those he competes with when making stock-market investments: "What could be more advantageous in an intellectual contest--whether it be chess, bridge, or stock selection--than to have opponents who have been taught that thinking is a waste of energy?"

While Buffett has a policy of seldom commenting on stocks he owns--he feels public pronouncements will only lead to the public's expectation of more public pronouncements, and he likes to keep his cards close to his vest--he loves to discuss the principles behind his investments. These come primarily from Ben Graham, under whom Buffett studied at Columbia University and for whom he worked in the 1950s. First among them is the idea that price is what you pay and value is what you get--and if you're a smart investor, the first will always be less than the second. In that sense, the value of the lessons learned from Buffett's Essays could be far greater than the book's price. --Lou Schuler