Update 2020-12-04:
Lesson 1 fear and greed:

“Occasional outbreaks of those two super-contagious diseases, fear and greed, will forever occur in the investing community. The timing of these epidemics will be unpredictable. And the market aberrations produced by then will be equally unpredictable, both as to duration and degree. Therefore, we never try to anticipate the arrival or departure of either disease. Our goal is more modest: we simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.”


• "Inactivity strikes us as intelligent behavior. Neither we nor most business managers would dream of feverishly trading highly- profitable subsidiaries because a small move in the Federal Re- serve's discount rate was predicted or because some Wall Street pundit had reversed his views on the market. Why, then, should we behave differently with our minority positions in wonderful businesses?"
t• "To suggest that this investor should sell off portions of his most successful investments simply because they have come to dominate his portfolio is akin to sug- gesting that the Bulls trade Michael Jordan because he has become so important to the team."
t• "Let me add a few thoughts about your own investments. Most investors, both institutional and individual, will find that the best way to own common stocks is through an index fund that charges minimal fees. Those following this path are sure to beat the net results (after fees and expenses) delivered by the great majority of investment professionals."
t• "If you buy a stock at a sufficiently low price, there will usually be some hiccup in the fortunes of the business that gives you a chance to unload at a decent profit, even though the long-term per- formance of the business may be terrible. I call this the "cigar butt" approach to investing. A cigar butt found on the street that has only one puff left in it may not offer much of a smoke, but the "bargain purchase" will make that puff all profit."
t• "Unless you are a liquidator, that kind of approach to buying businesses is foolish. First, the original "bargain" price probably will not turn out to be such a steal after all. In a difficult business, no sooner is one problem solved than another surfaces-never is there just one cockroach in the kitchen. Second, any initial advan- tage you secure will be quickly eroded by the low return that the business earns."
t• "It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price. Charlie understood this early; I was a slow learner. But now, when buying companies or common stocks, we look for first-class businesses accompanied by first-class managements."
t
t• "A further related lesson: Easy does it. After 25 years of buy- ing and supervising a great variety of businesses, Charlie and I have not learned how to solve difficult business problems. What we have learned is to avoid them."
t"If your actions are sensible, you are certain to get good results; in most such cases, leverage just moves things along faster. Charlie and I have never been in a big hurry: We enjoy the process far more than the proceeds-though we have learned to live with those also."
t"In the final chapter of The Intelligent Investor Ben Graham forcefully rejected the dagger thesis: "Confronted with a challenge to distill the secret of sound investment into three words, we ven- ture the motto, Margin of Safety." Forty-two years after reading that, I still think those are the right three words. The failure of investors to heed this simple message caused them staggering losses as the 1990s began."
t• "We only want to link up with people whom we like, admire, and trust."
t• "One of the ironies of the stock market is the emphasis on ac- tivity. Brokers, using terms such as "marketability" and "liquid- ity", sing the praises of companies with high share turnover (those who cannot fill your pocket will confidently fill your ear). But in- vestors should understand that what is good for the croupier is not good for the customer. A hyperactive stock market is the pick- pocket of enterprise."
t• "Charlie and I feel totally comfortable with this eggs-in-one- basket situation because Berkshire itself owns a wide variety of truly extraordinary businesses. Indeed, we believe that Berkshire is close to being unique in the quality and diversity of the busi- nesses in which it owns either a controlling interest or a minority interest of significance."
t• "Whenever Charlie and I buy common stocks for Berkshire's insurance companies (leaving aside arbitrage purchases, discussed [in the next essay]) we approach the transaction as if we were buy- ing into a private business. We look at the economic prospects of the business, the people in charge of running it, and the price we must pay. We do not have in mind any time or price for sale. In- deed, we are willing to hold a stock indefinitely so long as we ex- pect the business to increase in intrinsic value at a satisfactory rate. When investing, we view ourselves as business analysts-not as market analysts, not as macroeconomic analysts, and not even as security analysts."
t• "In fact, the true investor welcomes volatility. Ben Graham ex- plained why in Chapter 8 of The Intelligent Investor. There he in- troduced "Mr. Market," an obliging fellow who shows up every day to either buy from you or sell to you, whichever you wish. The more manic-depressive this chap is, the greater the opportunities available to the investor. That's true because a wildly fluctuating market means that irrationally low prices will periodically be at- tached to solid businesses. It is impossible to see how the availabil- ity of such prices can be thought of as increasing the hazards for an investor who is totally free to either ignore the market or exploit its folly."
t• "Is it really so difficult to conclude that Coca-Cola and Gillette possess far less business risk over the long term than, say, any com- puter company or retailer? Worldwide, Coke sells about 44% of all soft drinks, and Gillette has more than a 60% share (in value) of the blade market. Leaving aside chewing gum, in which Wrigley is dominant, I know of no other significant businesses in which the leading company has long enjoyed such global power."
t• "Moreover, both Coke and Gillette have actually increased their worldwide shares of market in recent years. The might of their brand names, the attributes of their products, and the strength of their distribution systems give them an enormous com- petitive advantage, setting up a protective moat around their eco- nomic castles. The average company, in contrast, does battle daily without any such means of protection. As Peter Lynch says, stocks of companies selling commodity-like products should come with a warning label: "Competition may prove hazardous to human wealth."
t• "On the other hand, if you are a know-something investor, able to understand business economics and to find five to ten sensibly- priced companies that possess important long-term competitive ad- vantages, conventional diversification makes no sense for you. It is apt simply to hurt your results and increase your risk. I cannot understand why an investor of that sort elects to put money into a business that is his 20th favorite rather than simply adding that money to his top choices-the businesses he understands best and that present the least risk, along with the greatest profit potential. In the words of the prophet Mae West: "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful."
t• "Our stay-put behavior reflects our view that the stock market serves as a relocation center at which money is moved from the active to the patient."
t• "John Maynard Keynes, whose brilliance as a practicing inves- tor matched his brilliance in thought, wrote a letter to a business associate, F.e. Scott, on August 15, 1934 that says it all: "As time goes on, 1 get more and more convinced that the right method in investment is to put fairly large sums into enterprises which one thinks one knows something about and in the management of which one thoroughly believes. It is a mistake to think that one limits one's risk by spreading too much between enterprises about which one knows little and has no reason for special confidence .... One's knowledge and experience are definitely limited and there are seldom more than two or three enterprises at any given time in which I personally feel myself entitled to put full confidence. "
t• "Our equity-investing strategy remains little changed from what it was ... when we said in the 1977 annual report: "We select our marketable equity securities in much the way we would evaluate a business for acquisition in its entirety. We want the business to be one (a) that we can understand; (b) with favorable long-term pros- pects; (c) operated by honest and competent people; and (d) avail- able at a very attractive price." We have seen cause to make only one change in this creed: Because of both market conditions and our size, we now substitute "an attractive price" for "a very attrac- tive price."
t• "
tIf a business is complex or subject to constant change, we're not smart enough to predict future cash flows. Incidentally, that short- coming doesn't bother us. What counts for most people in invest- ing is not how much they know, but rather how realistically they define what they don't know. An investor needs to do very few things right as long as he or she avoids big mistakes.
Second, and equally important, we insist on a margin of safety in our purchase price. If we calculate the value of a common stock to be only slightly higher than its price, we're not interested in buy- ing. We believe this margin-of-safety principle, so strongly empha- sized by Ben Graham, to be the cornerstone of investment success."

These were mostly letters to buffett's share holders. There is humor, and good naturedness. Some common sense investing knowlege. Of course he is a master. I don't know if I would read this knowing what I know now. But I am not discouraging others from it. It has some worth for anyone wanting to read what Buffett has to say in any case.

The book is an encyclopedia to investors, analysts and entrepreneurs and throws light on various aspects of investing in a business with the means to generate “Growth” and not just “Value” in the investments that you are making. The author shares his experiences of years that consists of his strategies of investing into business be it a new venture, subsidiaries or acquiring the shares of a well established firm. Warren Buffet emphasizes on investing in business at a sensible prize rather than buying the business at a bargain able price whose outcomes may or may not be favorable in the long run. Businesses can be misread as quoted by Buffet and choosing a controlled company is favorable as the capital allocation in such company’s is done by the investors. Investing in a business depends on investor’s understanding of business and favorable long term prospects with competent & honest people and the one that is being offered at an attractive price. Growth in investing can be a positive or a negative component, growth is beneficial only when the business in point can give incremental returns.
Investing in subsidiaries or common stocks in businesses or industries that won’t undergo major changes will always prove to be competitive in a long run, since rapidly changing environments may offer a chance for huge wins as well as uncertainties. While investing in a business of an outstanding company the investor needs to understand the fact that the returns of such an investment might take excess amount of time to give the expected returns. Investing in a successful business is not rocket science as quoted by Buffet, the goal of an investor should be to purchase at a rational price, a part interest in an easily understandable business whose earnings are virtually certain to be materially higher 5 to 20 years from now. Common investor should put together a portfolio of companies whose aggregate earnings march upward over the years and so will the profit market. Allocation of capital is also crucial to business and investment management, restricted earnings are seldom valueless to owners, but they often must be discounted heavily. These earnings may be retained with equal feasibility or distributed. Many corporations have consistently shown good returns on equity and overall incremental capital, when a large portion of these retained earnings are employed on economically unattractive basis.
Shareholders are better off if earnings are retained only to expand the high return business, with balanced dividends payouts or repurchase of stocks. Shareholders of a public corporation prefer consistent and predictable dividend payouts. These payments should reflect the long-term expectations on earnings and return on incremental capital.
The main discussion of this book is that the best business to own is the one which gives high return rate for extended period of time. The Author gives insight on American economy and culture over the years and how it has changed in the last 25-30 years.

I was searching for the hardcopy book of Buffet's letters to the shareholders, and landed with this book in library. But this is a good summary from all those letters organised like your corporate finance chapters. I should have read this book along with my Corporate Finance course text book during my course. This is just pure rational thought process of buffet, (even if he does not follow all those mentioned for the criticisms against him) gave a better idea of various concepts of running , owning a company. Loved this book to the core, got me glued to this for last one week.

Good read filled with lot of Buffet wisdom and humor. But much of it goes into arcane financial accounting rules that is a little dry and maybe not as relevant to an individual investor. Depending on your level of interest, those parts are easy enough to skim.

It is difficult to judge this as a book, because it really is just a collection of Warren Buffet's letters to the shareholders. There is a very nice introduction that sums up Buffet's views, and is great for people who have not been exposed to, or are not very familiar with value investing.

The books lacks flow, with the order that the letters are listed in sometime jumping back and forth by a decade and two without preparing the reader to make the appropriate context switch. Since these are letters to shareholders, there is also an underlying assumption that the reader has some knowledge/experience on the matter at hand, making it slightly more difficult to read. To some extent, it is analogous to picking up a newspaper from three decades ago. While it is an unbiased look into the past, showing that history does repeat itself, the book does a poor job at preparing the reader from entering the proper mindset.

This shouldn't be the first book any value investor picks up, but it should still be read early into one's "investment career" since there are invaluable lessons directly from one of the world's greatest investors.

Nice book explained the way warren looks at business

An absolute gem, too many learning's but the key ones:

intangible goodwill is true economic value
be fearful when others are greedy, be greedy when others a fearful
logic around buyback vs issuing shares
stock options: definitely an expense
don't be afraid of concentration
every dollar spent has to generate more than a dollar of value
roll ups aren't all that bad (cap cities, Berkshire, Washington Post... list goes on)

I thought this "book" was more direct advice on investing and personal finance. Through reading this book, I found out that it's about:

- High volume investing
- Operating a (public) business

But what I loved about the book is that it's not direct. Warren won't tell you how to be rich. He just lays out his philosophy and thinking about money, businesses and people.

I think it's not a very useful information for people looking to make small trades in the market, but a gold mine for those going in the finance world (think hedge fund managers).

Brilliant book. Lots of great fundamentals, challenging the status quo, and hilarious analogies. Recommended read, one I plan to re-read at some point

One of the best book on finance I've ever read!
Buffett's great writing style which is simple and easy to understand makes it pleasurable to read. His wisdom, reasoning and sense of humour will make you look at different aspects of finance from a different perspective. It's nicely broken down to areas of finance such as management, M&A, investments and even options. Buffett expresses his views and opinions through the lenses of his personal experience.
Educational, fun and interesting to read. I'd recommend it to anyone interested going beyond what's taught by academics and to anyone who is passionate about finance.

Cunningham organizes the essays within seven sections between Buffett's Prologue (Pages 27-28) and his Epilogue (Pages 273-282):

I Corporate Governance
II Corporate Finance and Investing
III Alternatives to Common Stock
IV Common Stock
V Mergers and Acquisitions
VI Accounting and Valuation
VII Accounting Policy and Tax Matters

As Buffett explains in his Prologue, members of Berkshire Hathaway's shareholder group receive communications directly "from the fellow you are paying to run the business. Your Chairman has a firm belief that owners are entitled to hear directly from the CEO as to what is going on and how he evaluates the business, currently and prospectively. You should demand that in a private company; you should expect no less in a public company. A once-a-year report of stewardship should not be turned over to a staff specialist or public relations consultant who is unlikely to be in a position to talk frankly on a manager-to-owner basis."

Those who share my own keen interest in Warren Buffett's leadership and management principles will learn a great deal from a careful reading of these essays. They are quite literally "from the horse's mouth." The substantial value-added benefits include the fact that Buffett thinks and writes so clearly, duly acknowledges bad decisions and personal regrets (yes, there were several), explains what he learned from them, and meanwhile reveals a playful (albeit dry) sense of humor. He also includes a number of personal observations about America, especially about its culture and economy, at various times throughout the last 25-30 years. The two aforementioned biographies indicate that throughout his life, Buffett thoroughly enjoyed each and every opportunity to increase others' understanding of sound business principles that include but are by no means limited to investments.