I feel like the skunk at the party here. I have no argument with the authors, per se. They came up with their concept and executed it adequately. No one else that I know of has done a book of their notes from Berkshire Hathaway annual meetings, in this case extending over 30 years.

But the bar for writing Buffett books is low, because they sell so well. Many marginal concepts get written about that aren’t as good as simply reading the writings of Buffett and Munger themselves. This is true of this volume in two ways. 1) It is notes, not a transcript. Notes aren’t as good; if I want Buffett, I want him unfiltered, unless the person has a significant interpretation of an aspect of Buffett that is consistent with what Buffett has said, but brings a lot more to the table. This doesn’t bring much more to the table.

2) Buffett and Munger are at their best when they are prepared. What I found interesting going through the book was how many things Buffett and Munger got wrong hazarding guesses on the future. Some were in areas of expertise, most weren’t. The annual meeting is a lot less valuable than the things that Buffett and Munger have prepared for people to read or hear.

So, I got partway through the book, found it tedious, and scanned the rest to see if it was similar. It was, so I set the book aside.

Thus, I fault the publisher for this book. You are much better off reading Buffett and Munger directly, and you can do it for free.

Quibbles

Already stated. Again, I don’t fault the authors.

Summary / Who Would Benefit from this Book

You are much better off reading Buffett and Munger directly, and you can do it for free. If you want a feel for the annual Berkshire Hathaway meetings over time, it might be worth purchasing, but I don’t think that is a desirable goal. If you still want to buy it, you can buy it here: University of Berkshire Hathaway.

Full disclosure: The publisher kind of pushed a free copy on me, after I commented that there are too many marginal Buffett books out there.

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