"First class. A great job at collating our philosophy." -- Warren Buffett "Very practical." -- Charlie Munger "One of the top investment books of all time." -- The Motley Fool "A must--read business book." -- JP Morgan Private Banking "As much a business management book as a personal finance book." -- Publisher's Weekly "One of the best books of the year. Two thumbs up!" -- CNN (Financial News) "A serious investment course with entertainment thrown in." -- Investor's Chronicle "The book on Buffett -- a superb job!" -- Forbes "Extraordinary -- full of wisdom, humour and common sense." -- Money "A classic on value investing and the definitive source on Buffett." -- The Financial Times
Buffett’s own favourite book - a neatly edited collection of all the best bits from his must read Annual Reports over the past quarter of a century. Definitely the place to start for anyone new to the Warren Buffett phenomenon. R L Harvey
Contents of The Essays of Warren Buffett
Introduction
Prologue
I. Corporate Governance
Owner-Related Business Principles
Boards and Managers
The Anxieties of Plant Closings
An Owner-Based Approach to Corporate Charity
A Principled Approach to Executive Pay
II. Corporate Finance and Investing
Mr Market
Arbitrage
Debunking Standard Dogma
'Value' Investing: a Redundancy
Intelligent Investing
Cigar Butts and the Institutional Imperative
Junk Bonds
Zero-Coupon Bonds
Preferred Stock
III. Common Stock
The Bane of Trading: Transaction Costs
Attracting the Right Sort of Investor
Dividend Policy
Stock Splits and Trading Activity
Shareholder Strategies
Berkshire's Reputation
IV. Mergers and Acquisitions
Bad Motives and High Prices
Sensible Stock Repurchases versus Greenmail
Leveraged Buyouts
Sound Acquisition Policies
On Selling One's Own Business
V. Accounting and Taxation
A Satire on Accounting Shenanigans
Look-Through Earnings
Economic Goodwill versus Accounting Goodwill
Owner Earnings and the Cash Flow Fallacy
Intrinsic Value, Book Value and Market Price
Segment Data and Consolidation
Deferred Taxes
Retiree Benefits and Stock Options
Distribution of the Corporate Tax Burden
Taxation and Investment Philosophy
Epilogue
Afterword and Acknowledgements
Index of Companies
Index of Names
Concept Glossary