Rating: 
Summary: A Fantastic Biography
Review: Janet Lowe wrote an excellent biography of Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's longtime friend and partner. Ms. Lowe indeed had a wonderful subject. What a rich (not just financially) and colorful life Mr. Munger had and continues to enjoy.What he accomplished in law alone(being a founding partner in a prominent Los Angeles firm) would have made a satisfying career for most, but Mr. Munger was driven to become wealthy. To achieve this goal he turned to investing, first real estate, then equities,and along the way we learn how he met Mr. Buffett.To say Mr. Munger was sucessful in achieving this goal is an incredible understatement. But despite his financial success, and his acknowledged positive influence on Mr. Buffett, in moving him to pay up for a truely wonderful business, his raising and educating eight children,his numerous charitable contributions both financially and in personal effort, his greatest achievement is to be a teacher not only of how to think about investing but of how to conduct yourself during lifes twists and turns.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended reading for all focus investors
Review: Mr. Charlie Munger, Vice-Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, is the partner/sidekick of Mr. Warren Buffett and is considered the man behind the scenes at Berkshire Hathaway. Charlie is a very entertaining guy, and this book shows why Warren Buffett calls him "one of a kind." Janet Lowe provides readers with an in-depth look at the full and interesting life of Mr. Munger. Many useful lessons on life and investing can be uncovered by a thorough reading of this excellent book. The book also includes two excellent speeches by Mr. Munger in the appendix: Multidisciplinary Skills: Educational Implications and Practical Thought about Practical Thought?
Rating:
Summary: Recommended reading for all focus investors
Review: Mr. Charlie Munger, Vice-Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, is the partner/sidekick of Mr. Warren Buffett and is considered the man behind the scenes at Berkshire Hathaway. Charlie is a very entertaining guy, and this book shows why Warren Buffett calls him "one of a kind." Janet Lowe provides readers with an in-depth look at the full and interesting life of Mr. Munger. Many useful lessons on life and investing can be uncovered by a thorough reading of this excellent book. The book also includes two excellent speeches by Mr. Munger in the appendix: Multidisciplinary Skills: Educational Implications and Practical Thought about Practical Thought?
Rating: 
Summary: Typos galore!
Review: On the whole, a very good book and entertaining. Janet Lowe writes well and gives us a look into Charlie as a biography, which is what was intended. Those who are wanting an investment book need to look elsewhere. The book does have a MAJOR flaw. Through no fault of Lowe the book has an over abundance of typos and grammar mistakes. This must have to do with the publisher and very poor proofreading (or the lack therof!). At times it was so disturbing I had a hard time reading the book. I went through and marked the places, sometimes 2-3 on the same page, as many as 5-6 on facing pages. This is the worst I have seen in a book after publication. I wrote the publisher concerning this and have received no reply at all. If you can overlook these glaring mistakes the book is a joy to read.
Rating:
Summary: Typos galore!
Review: On the whole, a very good book and entertaining. Janet Lowe writes well and gives us a look into Charlie as a biography, which is what was intended. Those who are wanting an investment book need to look elsewhere. The book does have a MAJOR flaw. Through no fault of Lowe the book has an over abundance of typos and grammar mistakes. This must have to do with the publisher and very poor proofreading (or the lack therof!). At times it was so disturbing I had a hard time reading the book. I went through and marked the places, sometimes 2-3 on the same page, as many as 5-6 on facing pages. This is the worst I have seen in a book after publication. I wrote the publisher concerning this and have received no reply at all. If you can overlook these glaring mistakes the book is a joy to read.
Rating: 
Summary: If you have read any book on buffett then dont read this
Review: Overall the book is ok, probably a good fast read for someone who wants background information on munger. Unfortunately the book is nothing more than background information source. And if you have read a book on warren buffett then you are going to have a strong feeling of deja vu. The book seriously misses its main subject and for too long (it gets irritating at times) just talks about mungers family history, his wife's family history and his uncle, aunts and what have you. This is done pretty in-depth so if you are looking for a munger family history - this is going to be a good start. Unfortunately when you come to the main topic - munger himself - the book looses its sense of depth. It becomes like reading a newspaper - you get to know all the infortanr events that happened but there is no analysis, no attempt to show what factors influenced munger's decision to invest in a particular stock. To compound matters furhter in the midst of some good gripping investment decision janet lowe has the habbit of squezing in some dog and cat story - at times i looked forward to finishing the dog and cat story to read more about the investment decision but guess what - there was nothing more on it - it left me with a feeling of wanting more - a whole lot more.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful
Review: Splendid research and writing as usual from Janet Lowe gives sharp glimpses of Charlie Munger. A foreword from Warren Buffett, Munger's alter business ego, and an endorsement from Lawrence Cunnignham, compiler of The Essays of Warren Buffett based on the Cardozo conference where Munger spoke and quoted here, led me to buy and read it. Lowe/Munger/Buffett/Cunningham--well worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: Personal Values and Investment Success
Review: The writer did an excellent job of presenting a picture of Charlies's life and the values that he thinks are important. Your personal values will be reflected in how financially successful you are. One should reflect on Charlie's life and values and apply them in his or her own life.
Rating: 
Summary: Learn more about the man
Review: This book gives a fascinating look at Warren Buffett's less well known partner. You learn quite a bit about Charlie Munger's life and his personal values. However, if you are looking for much insight into his investment analysis process this may not be a good book to choose. I believe Hagstrom's last book on Buffett is much more beneficial.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Personal Details of a Famous Investor
Review: This book is a standard, well-written biography of Mr. Munger, Berkshire Hathaway's vice chairman. From this book, you will learn a great deal about how Mr. Munger became a billionaire, his relationship with Mr. Warren Buffett (Berkshire's more famous chairman), his family life, and his charitable activities. This book is a very enjoyable read from those perspectives. On the other hand, it lacks a full exposition of Mr. Munger's investment philosophy and his interesting ideas about what an ideal education is. Since Mr. Munger is famous for being quite voluble in private and he made himself available for this biography, I was puzzled why both areas are sketchily covered. As a result, this book falls far short of what readers will want to know. Conversely, I suspect that this is the best available book on Mr. Munger, so you may well want to read it until a more complete one emerges. To me, the most interesting part of the book came in Appendix D where two of Mr. Munger's speeches describe the need for a generalist perspective for applying modern scientific ideas to making good decisions. One talks about the scientific principles that explain Coca-Cola's long-term success. Obviously, this has a nice connection to investing since Berkshire Hathaway is a large investor in Coca-Cola. Presumably, this describes some of the thinking that went into the decision to purchase that stock. But that is never made explicit. I immediately wanted to know more. How had Mr. Munger analyzed each of the major investments that Mr. Buffett and he had made together? What were the things that turned out to be right about these analyses and what wrong? What are the lessons? You get a great deal about the relationship between Mr. Munger and Mr. Buffett, including how they met, but very little on these kinds of important questions. I had to grade the book down for this because I found this like writing a biography of Michelangelo without discussing his art or creative process. In these same speeches, Mr. Munger is eloquent about what is right and what is wrong about education and how people apply it. Apparently, he considers himself mostly self-educated despite having a law degree from Harvard. All of us who believe in self-education would have benefited from knowing more about what he believes should be read and how to apply it. I graded the book down a second star for that. This is like writing a biography of Gandhi without considering his ideas on nonviolence. The book also leaves some loose ends. Mr. Munger is described as a very fine decision maker throughout. Yet in many personal situations, he seems impulsive rather than a good decision maker. The book recounts how he ended up losing his vision in one eye as a result of complications he would not have experienced if his surgeon had used the most modern laser procedure to remove a cataract. Most people would spend quite a bit of time getting the information ahead of time, and opt for the safer surgery. Apparently, Mr. Munger did not take the time to investigate. The book also recounts family tales of Mr. Munger (who doesn't see well, of course) running his boat into the plants and getting stuck, even after being warned that he is about to do so. On another occasion, he swamped a boat by turning backward rapidly in a boat he was unfamiliar with that was not designed for that maneuver. These apparent contradictions are there in the material, but are not developed. Is he someone who is trigger happy and shoots 19 times to hit 3 targets, is he just oblivious to anything except making money, or is he a cautious, careful thinker in all areas? I cannot tell. The book describes him as Mr. Buffett's "Mr. No" so it may be that Mr. Buffett does not rely on him for ideas, but for checking out Mr. Buffett's ideas. But that doesn't seem right either, because most of Berkshire Hathaway's successful early investments are ones that came from California and related to interests of Mr. Munger's. So it seems likely that he was the source of those ideas. Perhaps Mr. Buffett turns down a lot of Mr. Munger's ideas. You cannot really tell. You can see my frustration with trying to get a whole picture. It's like reading about George Burns without explaining much about Gracie Allen. Clearly, one lesson of this book is that a team of complementary investors should do better than a lone eagle investor. Consider all of the people you know. Who would be the most complementary to you in finding opportunities, assessing potential investments, and solving problems that arise in the course of the investments? I encourage you to discuss combining your ideas and talents with that person or those persons. When you read this book, watch carefully for how Mr. Munger did that. May you enjoy the investment and personal results you would like to have!
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