The Snowball_ Warren Buffett and the Business of Life - Alice Schroeder [593]
A Personal Note About Research
To write The Snowball, I spent more than five years interviewing Warren Buffett, both in person and on the phone. For weeks on end I sat in his office or traveled with him observing him work. Some of my most valuable insights came from my own experiences with him. I also interviewed his family, friends, former classmates, business associates, and others—250 people in all. Some of these interviews continued for days and I interviewed many people several times.
Warren gave me virtually unlimited time, and let me roam with surprising freedom among the files and correspondence in his exhaustive collection; it was especially fortunate that he and many of his friends and family members were letter-writers. Berkshire Hathaway’s files contained material that helped establish a timeline and flesh out details. I also relied on my own growing understanding of Warren, and at times on my direct knowledge of events. Certain disagreements among sources are aired in the endnotes.
Quotes appear throughout the book to illuminate the narrative. Most quotes are from recorded interviews, and have been edited only for clarity and length. Sources were cited unless the interviewee asked not to be named.
During their interviews, many people recalled remarks from past conversations. Sometimes the events they were describing had taken place decades earlier. It would be naive to assume that all of these quotes are verbatim recollections of every word spoken. Nevertheless, I found them very helpful in conveying the substance of an incident or conversation. Their sources can be found in the endnotes.
In the end, my own extensive experience with Warren and the thousands of jigsaw puzzle pieces given me by so many sources came together in this portrait of a fascinating and deeply complex man.
Photo Credits and Permissions:
Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity National Archives:Image 22
Bryson Photo: Image 65 © 2007, Bryson Photo
Buffalo News: Part 3 and Part 4, Image 36, Image 75
Doris Buffett: Image 5, Image 7, Image 84
Howard Buffett: Image 80
Susie Buffett Jr.: Image 1, Image 6, Image 3, Image 9, Image 13 Image 15, Image 17, Image 23, Image 28, Image 29, Image 33, Image 34, Image 38, Image 39, and Image 41, Image 64, Image 88
Warren Buffett: Image 8, Image 2, and Image 4, Image 10, Image 11, Image 14, Image 16, Image 19, Image 25, and Image 26, Image 30, Image 40, Image 43, Image 45, Image 46, Image 49, Image 55, Image 58, Image 63, Image 90
Capp Enterprises, Inc.: Image 18: © Capp Enterprises, Inc. Used by permission
C. Taylor Crothers: Image 91
Lauren Esposito: Image 92
Katharine Graham Collection: Image 42
Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce: Image 72: Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce and A Better Exposure; the Chamber Annual Meeting on Feb. 20, 2004
Lynette Huffman Johnson: Image 67
Arthur K. Langlie: Image 52
Magic Photography, Sun Valley: Part 5, Image 59, Image 62
Jack L. Mayfield: Image 77: Photo by Jack L. Mayfield
Munger family: Image 35, Image 76: courtesy of the Munger family
Charles Munger Jr.: Image 50
Museum of American Finance/Graham-Newman Collection: Image 31
The Nebraska Society of Washington, D.C.: Image 27
Omaha World-Herald: Part 1, Image 44, Image 47, Image 60: Reprinted with permission from The Omaha World-Herald
Sharon Osberg: Part 6, Image 51, Image 53, Image 81, Image 82, Image 83, Image 87
REUTERS/Peter MacDiarmid: Image 85
Ruane, Lili: Image 56
Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports: Image 24: The image of Pudgy Stockton on the cover of Strength and Health magazine was provided by the Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports at the University of Texas in Austin—where the Pudgy and