Even Buffett Isn't Perfect

Of all the titles on Warren Buffett's financial wizardry, this is perhaps the most balanced and comprehensive, presenting the wild successes and also the lesser-known challenges in Buffett's career. Kent Cassella's delivery has a movie-announcer quality that enlivens an otherwise pedantic examination of each of Buffett's key decisions over a range of decades. But such is the nature of Buffett's legendary patience and common-sense investing style. His adherence to an established method, irrespective of trends, has none of the sensationalism that the technology bubble or real-estate debacle have exhibited in recent years. Overall, Cassella's straightforward delivery is a good match for this carefully researched text. M.R. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

March 10, 2008
In his introduction, Janjigian notes that “to become a successful investor you must be an educated investor, and the best place to start is by examining Buffett’s strategies.” The author—vice president and executive director of the Forbes Investors Advisory Institute—doggedly follows Buffett’s investment trail, scrutinizing the successes and failures of the world’s pre-eminent investment celebrity. Janjigian’s readable, engaging style carries the reader painlessly through the fundamentals and finer points of investing, assaying Buffett’s buying strategies and research methods, while clarifying investment terms and summarizing key points. Although frankly admiring, Janjigian is never fawning and takes pains to make his material clear and compelling; his book is a rounded evaluation of the investment guru’s strategies and a useful primer for business neophytes.