libraryreference45 titles · 1989–2008
Buffett's reading list
Every book Warren Buffett named or praised from 1989 onward. The year is the year of the mention, not the year of publication.
This is a compilation, not something Buffett published. The titles are ones he mentioned or praised, mostly in Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder letters, and the dates are the dates of those mentions. A few entries are loose on their own terms and are marked below: the Financial Times is a newspaper, and Pleased But Not Satisfied carries a foreword by Buffett rather than a recommendation from him.
Kept here rather than as a link because the caveat is the part that gets dropped everywhere else.
the ones I would actually read
Only the Paranoid Survive — Andrew S. Grove
Grove on strategic inflection points — what a company does when it knows the ground has moved under it. The one on this list about operating, not investing.
Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits — Philip Fisher
The source of “scuttlebutt”: go ask the people around a business what is actually true instead of reading the report. Error analysis by another name.
Security Analysis — Benjamin Graham and David Dodd
The canonical pair with The Intelligent Investor, and the heaviest lift on the list. Only worth it if investing turns into a real interest.
The Smartest Guys in the Room — Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind
Enron, and the most readable thing here. A case study in metrics that got reported rather than measured.
Poor Charlie's Almanack — Charles T. Munger
Half of the mental-models pair, with Seeking Wisdom. The closest thing on the list to reasoning about systems rather than markets.
Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger — Peter Bevelin
The other half of the mental-models pair, and the shorter way in.
the full list, by year of mention
- The Essays of Warren BuffettLawrence CunninghamSecond mention.
- Foods You Will Enjoy: The Story of Buffett's StoreBill Buffett
- Pleased But Not SatisfiedDavid SokolBuffett wrote the foreword. Not a recommendation.
- Where Are the Customers' Yachts?Fred Schwed Jr.
- SupermoneyAdam Smith (George Goodman)
- The Audacity of HopeBarack Obama
- Warren Buffett: An Illustrated BiographyAyano Morio
- Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to MungerPeter Bevelin
- F.I.A.S.C.O.Frank Partnoy
- Travels with BarleyKen Wells
- Financial TimesA newspaper, not a book. Listed as-is in the source.
- The General Theory of Employment, Interest and MoneyJohn Maynard KeynesSecond mention.
- A Short History of Nearly EverythingBill Bryson
- Poor Charlie's AlmanackCharles T. Munger
- Nuclear TerrorismGraham Allison
- First A DreamJim Clayton
- Bull: A History of the Boom and Bust, 1982-2004Maggie Mahar
- The Smartest Guys in the RoomBethany McLean and Peter Elkind
- In an Uncertain WorldRobert Rubin
- Sam Walton: Made In AmericaSam Walton
- Take On the StreetArthur Levitt
- The Warren Buffett CEORobert P. Miles
- Security AnalysisBenjamin Graham and David Dodd
- Personal HistoryKatharine Graham
- The Farmer From MernaKarl Schriftgeisser
- Common Stocks and Uncommon ProfitsPhilip Fisher
- The Essays of Warren BuffettLawrence A. Cunningham
- The Expanded Quotable EinsteinAlbert Einstein
- The Science of HittingTed Williams
- Only the Paranoid SurviveAndrew S. Grove
- The Money MastersJohn Train
- Paths to Wealth Through Common StocksPhilip Fisher
- A Piece of the ActionJoseph Nocera
- The Intelligent InvestorBenjamin Graham
- The General Theory of Employment, Interest and MoneyJohn Maynard Keynes
- The People v. Clarence DarrowGeoffrey Cowan
- The Theory of Investment ValueJohn Burr Williams
- Essays In PersuasionJohn Maynard Keynes
- Benjamin Graham on Value InvestingJanet Lowe
- Do Business with People You Can TrustL. J. Rittenhouse
- John Bogle on Investing: The First 50 YearsJohn C. Bogle
- Common Sense on Mutual FundsJohn C. Bogle
- The Real Warren BuffettJames O'Loughlin
- Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren BuffettAndrew Kilpatrick
- Will America Grow Up Before It Grows OldPeter G. Peterson