Rating: 
Summary: A Biography, NOT an Investment Guide
Review: This well written biography of Warren Buffett is just that, a biography. Those readers seeking Mr. Buffett's investment advice need to look elsewhere. "The Warren Buffett Way" written by Hagstrom or Mr. Buffett's shareholder letter in Berkshire Hathaway's annual reports would be an excellent place to start. In this book Lowenstein descriptively documents the events that shaped Buffett's life beginning with childhood. The reader gains an in depth understanding and appreciation of Mr. Buffett's business acumen. Any disappointment that the reader encounters is probably a result of the fact that Mr. Buffett leads an exceptionally mundane life. As a result, the reader at times will feel compelled to put the book down. If you are fascinated with Mr. Buffett's ability to consistently outperform the market or are a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder this is a must read.
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Summary: Read about Buffett and be inspired.
Review: I honestly can't say what drove me to read this book: all I know is that at some point, I knew I had to read about Warren Buffett. So I picked this book up at a bookstore (I had not had the forethought to order it online) and was immediately thrown into the life of the Oracle. I cannot imagine anyone reading this book and not immediately becoming a disciple of Warren Buffett. In a way, Lowenstein's biography reads like a legend - Buffett is the messiah of capitalism. Imagine having an average return on investments of 29% for one solitary year. Now imagine making that same average return for 40 years! Finally, throw out any notion that making such massive amounts of money was done deceitfully or immorally. Lowenstein helps us see Buffett not as somebody who has stolen wealth away from the masses (because if anything, he's created wealth for the masses), but as an investor - someone who recognizes value and buys into that value. It's what we do when we buy stocks or fall in love (is not love simply a statment of value?): we make investments. Lowenstein's portrait shows us of a man who has made billions by making rational and morally correct decisions. Yes, it would seem that Buffett has an ingenious ability to understand the capital markets, but even excluding his knack for money, the bottom line which Lowenstein draws is that Warren Buffett is an avatar for human beings. This is not to say that Buffett is perfect, but we would be hardpressed to find such strength of chracter and mind in another human being. How many billionaires live in the same house they've lived in for 30 years? How many CEOs tell their shareholders that they get to decide where to the company should make its charitable donations? Buffett stands very much as a symbol of Capitalism as an ideal, and Lowenstein paints a portrait of Buffett that beautifully illustrates a life lived under such righteous principal. As such, if you disagree with capitalistic ideals, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK! Otherwise, maybe you'll be like me and find in Buffett an unlikely hero.
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Summary: The Most Comprehensive Biography Yet
Review: This is a superbly interesting look into the life of Mr. Buffett. In my opinion, the most fascinating reading involves Warren's early years, as he learns to craft his genius and begin his life as an allocater of capital. It's especially puzzling that despite being a nerd, Buffett easily charms many of his class mates and others with whom he interacts. These skills were wildly successful as he went out seeking capital to launch his partnership. I have read this book a few times, and recently took to underlining the most interesting anecdotes passages and Buffettisms. After recently finishing the book, I realized that I had practically highlighted each sentence. There are many gems within to be comptemplated If you REALLY want to understand Buffett, ignore the "Invest Like Buffett" books out there (and there are a bunch). It is a lot more worthwhile to learn about the man, and especially his principles. This book in conjunction with his annual letters to his partners / shareholders is the best method by which a student can truly learn from the Oracle of Omaha.
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Summary: Fascinating read!
Review: Lowenstein presents us with a book about Warren Buffett, the greatest investor of the 20th century. The book takes us on a trek through Buffett's life, from his childhood interest in money, to his successful investing and business ventures in college, to his partnership, and then to his days at Berkshire. Through this look at how the 2nd richest man in the world acquired his fortune, we as investors stand to gain a lot. The book is a great look at how prudently selecting stocks and sticking to fundamentals can help us choose the right companies to invest in. And for those finance nerds like myself out there, this book will prove to be a very fascinating read about Buffett's life and the companies he has invested in (and subsequently made successful). Great book!
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Summary: Great reading - but only for those interested in business
Review: "Investment is most intelligent when it is most businesslike", Warren Buffett's teacher, Benjamin Graham, once wrote. This book is a fantastic biography of Warren Buffett. I think anyone who wants to learn about Warren Buffett or his investment techniques etc should first read this book before anything else (including his essays). This book is written time-chronogically, from the time around the early 1930s (Buffett was born in August 1930) to around 1994. Here we can observe how Buffett had a great desire to be rich since he was young, but in his teen years, after being involved in several business ventures, he longed for a method which is more consistent in making money. Meeting Benjamin Graham when he was 19/20 years old solved this longing for Buffett. He became a devoted investor in businesses since then. After working under Graham for several years, Buffett began a partnership (noticed how confident he was, despite his young age, to be successful) when he was 26 years old (in 1956) and achieved a 29.4% compounded annual return in the fund (he dissolved the partnership in 1969). During these 14 years, Buffett learnt which businesses (like those possessing customer franchise - Buffett called these with "Deep moats around the castles") were better than others. He dissolved his partnership in 1969 as he deemed the market to be very overvalued then. From then on, he used the lessons he had learnt to purchase great businesses at reasonable (or cheap) prices, such as Nebraska Furniture Mart, Washington Post, Cap Cities, etc. To fully enjoy this book, the reader should stop at certain chapters, and read other - yes, other - related books. For instance, around after I had finished reading chapter 3, 'Graham', I read Ben Graham's 'Intelligent Investor'. Also, when Phil Fisher was mentioned as one of the strongest influencers in Buffett's life, I read his book 'Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits'. The readers can get more insights from reading it this way. Mr. Lowenstein also took excursions when discussing Buffett to go through discussions about certain business characteristics, to ensure that the readers can fully appreciate Mr. Lowenstein's perceived motivation behind a certain Buffett action etc. Mr. Lowenstein also helped the reader to be more knowledgable about key points about US stockmarket history through interesting dissertations. I found these excursions extremely enlightening. Mr. Lowenstein's writing style is also very 'flowing' - he changed from one topic to another in a very smooth way. You've got to read it to understand what I'm saying. Lastly, I just want to say that the readers should have at least a moderate-to-strong knowledge and interest in business (and investing; but business = investing and investing = business) to fully appreciate this book. Enjoy!
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Summary: Excellent reading
Review: I found that I knew so little about Warren Buffett, and this gave me a wealth of knowledge. Unfortunately, the book was written before the tech boom and subsequent collapse. Therefore, you do not get a sense of what he did during that time of hysteria, but prior to that it gives an insight that most authors aren't capable of relaying.
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Summary: How Buffett Thinks
Review: This book helps you understand how one of the greatest business thinkers of all time got that way. (How would Buffett approach a paper route as a boy, for example?) If you are interested in getting inside his head, this book is a good way to start.
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Summary: Five-Star Book
Review: I am a professional investor and have been following Mr Warren Buffett for a very long time but it was only after I read Mr Lowenstein's Five-Star book that I understood -- as much as one can understand another -- the Great Investor and how his thinking and investment strategies evolved. Great stuff.
Rating: 
Summary: classic business book/bio
Review: Thorough, thoughtful, well-written biography of the greatest investor in last 50 years. Educational, thought-provoking and entertaining. My only criticism is that it is a little slow. That may be an unfair comment in that I had just finished Liar's Poker and The New New Thing by Michael Lewis. This is more of a traditional biography with deep detail.
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Summary: Buffett Unplugged!
Review: I was given this book as a gift from a former assistant when I was a financial advisor many years ago. I just got around to reading it recently. I should have read it at its publication! Through a chronological storytelling framework, Lowenstein does an excellent job of portraying the good, the bad and the ugly. Although he seems to take great pains to paint Buffett in only the most positive light, there are times when he treads lightly over his mistakes and his somewhat strange personal life. There are many lessons to take away from this book beyond its enjoyable read. I'll leave that to you to take what you want from this biography, but certainly Buffett has conviction, confidence and ultimate respect and trust for those he does business with. He invests for what is really the long term: life and maybe even beyond that!
He has taken his mentor, Benjamin Graham (Graham/Dodd)and over the decades moved past analyzing the numbers to factor in the people variable, though never straying too far from the numbers and allowing them to be the ultimate driver of decision making.
Again, a great read, worthwhile...enjoy it!
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