Buffett - The Making of an American Capitalist
By Roger Lowenstein
Random House Trade Paperbacks | April 2008 | ISBN-10: 0812979273 | 512 pages | PDF | 20.6 mb


Starting from scratch, simply by picking stocks and companies for investment, Warren Buffett amassed one of the epochal fortunes of the twentieth century--an astounding net worth of $10 billion, and counting. His awesome investment record has made him a cult figure popularly known for his seeming contradictions: a billionaire who has a modest lifestyle, a phenomenally successful investor who eschews the revolving-door trading of modern Wall Street, a brilliant dealmaker who cultivates a homespun aura.
This illuminating biography reveals a man whose conscientiousness, integrity, and good humor exist alongside an odd emotional isolation. Buffett also masterfully traces his life: his enormously successful partnership; his early, inspired investments in American Express and Geico; his companionship and investment with Katharine Graham of the Washington Post; his role in the Capital Cities purchase of ABC; his unique relationship with his wife and mistress; and his rescue of the scandal-ridden Salomon Brothers.
Since its hardcover publication in August of 1995, Buffett has appeared on the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Seattle Times, Newsday and Business Week bestseller lists. The incredible landmark portrait of Warren Buffett's uniquely American life is now available in paperback, revised and updated by the author.

Journalist Roger Lowenstein draws on three years of unprecedented access to Buffett's family, friends, and colleagues to provide the first definitive, inside account of the life and career of this American original. Buffett  explains Buffett's' investment strategy--a long-term philosophy grounded in buying stock in companies that are undervalued on the market and hanging on until their worth invariably surfaces--and shows how it is a reflection of his inner self.

Contents
INTRODUCTION xi
1. OMAHA 3
2. RUNAWAY 21
3. GRAHAM 36
4. BEGINNINGS 60
5. PARTNERS 78
6. GO-GO 96
7. BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY 121
8. RETURN OF THE NATIVE 140
9. ALTER EGO 162
10. WASHINGTON REDUX 181
11. PRESS LORD 203
12. PARTNERS, REDUX 224
13. THE CARPET WOMAN 246
14. THE EIGHTIES 257
15. PUBLIC AND PRIVATE 275
16. CRASH 292
17. A BRIF.P INTRODUCTION TO DAR IS
18. SECRETS OF THE I^MPLE 329
19. HOWIE BUFFETT'S CORN 354
20. RHINOPHOBIA 351
21. THE KING 368
22. SALOMON'S COURT 386
23. BUFFETT'S TROLLEY 411
AITERWORD: JANUARY 2008 427
NOTES 433
INDEX 469