Rating: 
Summary: A tedious read with very little practical application
Review: First let me say that the low rating I'm giving does not reflect my opinion of Warren Buffett and his methods in general, but rather specifically this book by Hagstrom.I was quite disappointed by this book. It seems confused about whether it is an investment guide or historical narrative, and so fails to do an adequate job of either. (For a much more interesting account of Buffett's life and investments, read Roger Lowenstein's biography). I was hoping this book would explain in specific detail HOW Buffett determines whether a company's shares are undervalued by the market and by how much. However I found that the few explanations in this book are too vague to be of any real practical application in analyzing companies and making investment decisions. The book spends more time detailing WHAT Buffett has invested in, as opposed to WHY. And more time discussing what happened to these companies AFTER Buffett had invested in them, rather than what specifically made them attractive to Buffett beforehand. Maybe this would be a good enough book for someone to read as an introduction to Buffett, if it wasn't just so boring!
Rating: 
Summary: good introduction to value investing
Review: I was fascinated when I first read this book. It was during my junior year in college when I struggled to comprehend vague ideas such as covariance between stocks, portfolio variance, beta, etc. This book opened my eyes. It was like a fresh breath of air.
Hagstrom does a good job at introducing Warren Buffet's way of investing. The book is a mandatory reading for everyone who wishes to invest money in stocks.
As other reviewers pointed out, Hagstrom doesn't reveal anything new about Buffet's investment style. You can find the same information, and much more, from the source: The Berkshire Hathaway Annual Reports. Hagstrom, however, offers a well-written and fairly accurate presentation of what can be found in Buffet's letters to shareholders. It is a good introduction to value investing.
Rating: 
Summary: Once Again, Take It With A Grain of Salt
Review: I am not Warren Edward Buffett. Unlike Mr. Buffett, who has the delightful headache of trying to figure out where to put his steadily growing billions, I am a non-investor, sitting on the sidelines, wondering what all the fuss is about. Like most readers of this book, I have been told incessantly to invest for retirement, and not knowing exactly how I should do so, I figured it might be a good idea to glean a few secrets from a proven successful investor. Hence, I read The Warren Buffett Way from cover to cover, hoping to learn a few things. And what did I learn? I learned that I am not Warren Edward Buffett. Unlike Mr. Buffett, whose circle of associates includes all of the Beautiful People of Corporate America, I am surrounded by ordinary people, more than a few of whom are looking for a way to get rich quick. Whereas Mr. Buffett is patient and thoughtful with his investments, most of the people I encounter are thoughtless and reckless with their gambles. These two things, which I increasingly began to ponder as I read this book, distinguish me from the Oracle of Omaha, and quite possibly from most readers of this book. The book consists of nine chapters, and is mostly historical in nature. It details many of Buffett's past exploits in the stock market, mostly the good moves but also some bad ones, and offers some of the principles guiding Mr. Buffett's stock investing strategy, grouped into three classes called Management, Financial and Market Tenets. The first four chapters of the book delve into the early history of Berkshire Hathaway, the key influences on Mr. Buffett which helped to shape his investment philosophy, Mr. Buffett's perspective on the financial markets, and the principles by which he goes about purchasing a business. The last five chapters of the book give example after example of some of Mr. Buffett's past stock moves, and tries to show his Tenets in action. The style of the book is mostly active until the fifth chapter, whereupon it becomes plodding. The book is extremely repetitive at points, and as other reviewers have pointed out, key concepts are not fully explained up front, suggesting that the possible target audience for this book are those having a strong background in the general principles of economics and business. In all honesty, I have previously encountered most of the content of this book in coursework or self-study. I previously read Mr. Hagstrom's The Warren Buffett Portfolio, and found the two books to be similar in some respects. That said, I still found this book to be very interesting and useful, primarily because it exposed me to an investment approach which utilizes these concepts in ways I had not previously considered. I also found it highly interesting on an anecdotal level, given that Mr. Buffett's investment career spans The Go-Go Years, The Nifty Fifty Stocks and the 80s and 90s Tech Stock Boom, and yet he never once participated in these tech-stock manias but handily outperformed tech stock investors nonetheless. Like I said, I am not Warren Edward Buffett and I can not expect or even hope to do what he does, but that does not mean that I can not think like him. Even Mr. Buffett cautions the small investor in this regard, as there are things that he can do that none of little guys can do. Yet, he also has said that there are things the little guy can do that he can not do. That said, the book deserves to be read by any one lacking the ability to reason through the process of investing. However, readers at all levels should not stop with this book. Others have pointed out that one could get even more information straight from the horse's mouth- the Berkshire Hathaway website. On the other hand, as this information details past moves for which the conditions surrounding them are most unlikely to come around again, I believe that the more astute reader looking to learn more should consult The Money Game by Adam Smith for a brief historical look at financial foolishness (albeit the late sixties but the resemblance to Right Now is striking), The Theory of Investment Value by John Burr Williams for Buffett's original basis for valuation, and The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham for a more detailed explanation of the concepts of margin of safety, intrinsic value, and the benefits associated with ignoring the market noise. These three books will help one learn how to reason through the investment problem, as this is the most important step, aside from finding smart people (as Mr. Smith admonishes forcefully in The Money Game and Buffett has consistently done) and thinking more but acting less (as Buffett has said- do a few things right and screw everything else).
Rating:
Summary: one of the most popular investment reads
Review: This book is for anyone whether you are trying to understand investing for the first time or an experienced investor refreshing yourself with the principles of fundamental analysis. Hagstrom answers all the questions of what makes Buffett one of the most successful investors of our time. He talks about Buffett's childhood as a boy ambitious to turn a profit in selling Coca Cola as well as his philosophy behind which he makes his decisions on buying a particular stock. The refreshing part about investing like Buffett is whether you buy millions of dollars worth of stock or just a few shares of stock, you can still use the same principles that Buffett uses in making a decision. The methods are straight-forward and bring common sense approach to picking stocks. In it you buy stocks as if you were buying groceries and not as if you were buying perfume. It is not even necessary to know any complicated formulae about how to determine the value of a stock although some elementary math is required. If you only had to pick one book to read about investing and burn all the other books I would recommend this book. It is more informative that many other textbooks out there read by college students filled with unnecessary math and financial theory.
Rating:
Summary: What if Mr. Market goes really crazy?
Review: If you are reading this book just to be better informed, I think you will get your money's worth. I feel I got a five-star education. But if you are going to read it to make a decision to buy or not to buy Berkshire Hathaway, you should keep these two points in mind: First, almost everyone considers Warren Buffet to be the world's greatest investor. This special attribute of Mr. Buffet might be reflected in the price of Berkshire Hathaway stock. If Warren Buffet were no longer around, what would that do to Berkshire Hathaway? Hasn't Mr. Buffet's greatness built in a premium in Berkshire Hathaway stock? Second, this book proves that Mr. Buffet beat Mr. Market most of the time under normal circumstances. In abnormal circumstances, Mr. Market could beat Mr. Buffet. Abnormal circumstances would exist if Mr. Market went into a long, deep depression (like he did in the 1930's and dropped in value by 90%). And could a second terrorist attack similar to 9/11 cause Mr. Market to panic and create abnormal circumstances in the economy? No matter how good the company, Mr. Market can and will hurt the value of its stock. If there is another terrorist attack like 9/11, Mr. Market will panic and Coca Cola, Washington Post, GEICO, etc., would all suffer terribly.
Rating:
Summary: Value Investing the Proletariat Way
Review: After reading this book, I have seen the errors in my ways.
I have discovered that the only way to real power is becoming a day trader. At any rate, me and buddy Trotsky have founded a new investors club which meets at my crypt each Saturday. Best of luck to my friends the Deaniacs.
Rating:
Summary: Add this book to your investment books library!
Review: For $9.99 this book is a steal. This book is full of good information on buying stocks. When I read a book, I underline any information I think is worth re-reading. I have underlined stuff on about 85% of the pages in the book (very high). This book is definitely a book to add to your investment library. After reading the book, you should go to http://www.quicken.com/investments/strategies/ where you can enter a stock symbol and get an analysis. Choose the "Robert Hagstrom's The Warren Buffet Way" investing strategy to see how Buffet might analyse a particular stock. I am not in any way related to Quicken or the publisher of this book. I just trade stocks for a living.
Rating:
Summary: A good book on fundamental investing...
Review: With "The Warren Buffett Way", Robert Hagstrom attempts to bring the financial genius of the world's greatest investor within reach of the average man on the street. The book is a good overview of Buffett's career, outlining the types of companies he looks for, the calculations he uses to determine a company's value, and the type of earnings history he looks for in an investment. These are basic principles that need to be hammered home to even the most seasoned of investors, and the book serves as a good primer for that reason. I have bought it as a gift on more than one occasion. (Although the "Buffettology" workbook is better.) However, I give the book four stars for the following reason: hindsight is twenty-twenty. Hagstrom seems to believe that returns comparable to Buffett's are attainable to the average investor. But the average investor knows little about interpreting financial statements and little credit is given to Buffett's instincts and ability to see opportunity where others do not. Although it is well within the reach of the average investor to achieve above-average returns, this book should be viewed as a first step in that goal. There is still much to learn. I recommend this book solely for its emphasis on investment in companies with consumer-monopoly products, strong earnings histories, etc. The book helps reinforce the fundamentals of common stock investing, but I like Hagstrom's book "The Warren Buffett Portfolio" much better... Britt Gillette
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Rating:
Summary: Six stars!
Review: This book describes Buffet's investment principles and decisions in a clear, brief and very good way. Especially interesting is the discussion of the tenets that guide Buffet's purchases and the analysis of some of Buffet's investments, following these tenets. Buffet is the most succesful investor of the last decades, so studying his decisions and philosophy is, according to me, one of the best things an investor can do to learn about the business. This book offers an excellent opportunity to do so.
(By the way, if you really want to know how Buffet operates, reading the books of his masters, Fisher and especially Graham, is a requisite too!)
Rating: 
Summary: Great Philosophy, Good Read, Average Practical Use
Review: The "Warren Buffet Way" never ventures too far from common sense but whether that makes it ingeniously sound or blandly uninspired will be left for the reader to decide. The techniques Warren Buffet employed to attain success (and wealth) are well documented here with summaries of his investments from early life to recent times (1994). Each investment in analyzed through the lense of Warren Buffet's economic principles, a blend of widely recognized economic minds and Warren Buffets own basic philosophy, and the result is an appreciation for his business sense and stock selecting ability. This hindsight review of his choices is partially intended to teach you, the reader, how to make equally good investments and turn a profit without extensive risk. The problem lies in the fact that Buffet's confident simplicity is hard to obtain. The crux of his theory is calculating the intrinsic value of a company through research that is probably second nature to long-time professional investors like Buffet but is vague or downplayed in the book. Technological methods and industry readings are turned down in favor of a physical appraisal of the company and its management and an unexplained calculation of its potential. But who has the time or money to visit and interview every possible investment they are considering? And to do so when they are only just starting out with little idea of where to start or what is an important indicator of value and while being told to expect only long-term gains? The book tells you to look past the popular and fickle market at the company itself but it is unclear what to focus on. The idea is good, I'll try to put it to good use in my own investing, but its too general to nail down or check off on a list. Overall though, it will provide an insightful look at one of the richest men in the world. You'll learn some basic investment strategies and a little history. It's not an economic Bible but it may help beat the crowd without going too far over your head.
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