Warren Buffett should be applauded for allowing such open access to his life. Alice Schroeder, who interviewed friends and family, pored over Buffett's personal archive, and spent thousands of hours with Buffett, comes away with an unprecedented look at the hidden life of an American icon. At more than 900 pages (100 of which are notes), The Snowball—the title is a metaphor for the relentless growth of Buffett's portfolio—sets the bar high for future efforts. Schroeder's account is comprehensive and her eye for the telling detail keen; while she explains the financial deals, she also explores Buffett's childhood quirks and his unconventional marriage. Enough is enough, though, and John Mark Eberhart of the Kansas City Star speaks for several critics when he points out, I just could have done with a little less bang for my buck.

THE SNOWBALL is the much anticipated book recounting with intimate detail the life experience and life-wisdom of the man known as "The Oracle of Omaha": Warren Buffett. Though writers have penned thousands of pages about Mr. Buffett and his extraordinary gifts as a businessman and investor, THE SNOWBALL offers an unprecedented portrait of Buffett's life, of his values and his strategies, of his total experiences—all of which combine to tell a great American story.

PART ONE / The Bubble

1: The Less Flattering Version

2: Sun Valley

3: Creatures of Habit

4: Warren, What's Wrong?

PART TWO / The Inner Scorecard

5: The Urge to Preach

6: The Bathtub Steeplechase

7: Armistice Day

8: A Thousand Ways

9: Inky Fingers

10: True Crime Stories

11: Pudgy She Was Not

12: Silent Sales

13: The Rules of the Racetrack

14: The Elephant

15: The Interview

16: Strike One

17: Mount Everest

18: Miss Nebraska

19: Stage Fright

PART THREE / The Racetrack

20: Graham-Newman

21: The Side to Play

22: Hidden Splendor

23: The Omaha Club

24: The Locomotive

25: The Windmill War

26: Haystacks of Gold

27: Folly

28: Dry Tinder

29: What a Worsted Is

30: Jet Jack

31: The Scaffold Sways the Future

32: Easy, Safe, Profitable, and Pleasant

33: The Unwinding

PART FOUR / SusieSings

34: Candy Harry

35: The Sun

36: Two Drowned Rats

37: Newshound

38: Spaghetti Western

39: The Giant

40: How Not to Run a Public Library

41: And Then What?

42: Blue Ribbon

PART FIVE / The King of Wall Stre

43: Pharaoh

44: Rose

45: Call the Tow Truck

46: Rubicon

47: White Nights

48: Thumb-Sucking, and Its Hollow-Cheeked Result

49: The Angry Gods

50: The Lottery

51: To Hell with the Bear

52: Chickenfeed

PART SIX / Claim Checks

53: The Genie

54: Semicolon

55: The Last Kay Party

56: By the Rich, for the Rich

57: Oracle

58: Buffetted

59: Winter

60: Frozen Coke

61: The Seventh Fire

62: Claim Checks

Afterword

Notes

A Personal Note About Research

Photo Credits and Permissions

Acknowledgments

Index