At first a was a bit intimidated to start this very long (707 page) book on a man that I had never followed and only heard about from time to time. What prompted me is the admiration that a friend of mine holds for him, so thought I'd take a closer look. This book certainly did give me much more insight into "The Oracle of Omaha". It was heavy on the business side, but business was and still is his life and what consumes him, so understandable. He always felt himself to be socially awkward, and it's true that his childhood was certainly occupied with other things than the norm. From an early age he took great pleasure in counting things, analyzing them and sorting. As he grew older he put these skills, which by this time had become exceptional, into something that he could make a living from, as he knew physical labour was something he wanted nothing to do with. His aim when young was to become a millionaire by 35, which he did at the age of 31. He credits focus to be his method of success.

He lived his life by what he called his "inner scorecard" as opposed the an "outer scorecard", in other words, for him it was more important to live honestly, with integrity and never think more of yourself than you should. He has weathered some troubled times and downfalls, but has always lived by his inner scorecard and been able to land back on top. He has lived a rather humble life considering his wealth, living in Omaha, were he grew up, in the same home for the last 50 years. A very good read that delves a great deal into his business life, but also his personal and family life. Well researched with an additional 76 pages of footnotes and a 21 page index.

I came away understanding more my friends admiration of Mr. Buffett