Warren Buffett Recommended Books

Warren Buffett is one of, if not THE most successful investors of all time. He’s seen the market go up and down numerous times, which has led him to create some of the most successful investment techniques that are still used today.

He’s also attracted a number of different groups of followers wanting to emulate his success. Over the course of his life, Warren Buffett has donated $31 billion to charity. The reason he has so much money to give is that his investment company, Berkshire Hathaway, has grown exponentially over the decades.

Here are 5 books Warren Buffet recommends, with reviews from avid readers like me and you.

If you want to purchase any of the books listed below, click on the titles. They are affiliated links that will take you directly to the store.

Influence, by Robert B. Cialdini, PhD

Like other seasoned readers of books about human behavior, I’ve grown justifiably skeptical about “new editions” of these works, suspecting a light update or even just a new forward. But Robert Cialdini’s Influence, New and Expanded shatters these expectations.

Cialdini has grown his original system of six types of persuasion, adding Unity (at 73 pages, nearly a book within the book) to Reciprocation, Liking, Social Proof, Authority, Scarcity, and Commitment and Consistency. With these “power tools” that increase compliance, Cialdini masterfully blends lessons drawn from academic research with examples, many of them provided by readers of his earlier works, to disclose the inner mechanics of persuasion. Avid readers of Cialdini’s prolific and acclaimed writings, close students of human behavior, and those new to the topic of persuasion have much to gain from this revision that includes the latest findings from social psychology.

Even better, Cialdini’s friendly writing style establishes a sense of comradeship with readers. He confesses to being a sucker himself for the influence strategies he authoritatively dissects. Along the way, he shares collateral insights into wide swaths of human nature. His footnotes at the end are stuffed with added details that will please the most eager readers.

Cialdini is sensitive to the ethics of persuasion and shares practical ways for influence-merchants to wield their powers in socially responsible ways. It’s no accident that this book is recommended by two Nobel Prize laureates.

Tools and Weapons, by Brad Smith

The technologies that we use every day didn't appear out of nowhere. They were built by people who made decision after decision. All too often, those decisions are quite opaque to people on the outside and yet these decisions have significant implications for all of us. What makes this book special is that the President of Microsoft (Brad Smith) and his colleague (Carol Ann Browne) invite readers to go with them on a journey through a handful of issues that present both business and ethical challenges. They describe different encounters that shape their thinking and then lay out various trade-offs that they're navigating. As an employee of Microsoft Research,

I'm grateful for this public accounting. While I don't agree with every decision that they have made, I deeply respect the thought and consideration that go into those decisions. And I'm delighted to see that put on display for employees, customers, and users. The executive leadership of Microsoft are systematically and intentionally aiming to prioritize social responsibility and ethical decision-making as pillars in the company's transformation. This book offers a window into this process. My hope is that other technology leaders will start to share their thinking as well.

Business Adventures, by John Brooks

The book details twelve stories from the business world, mostly occurring in the 1950s and 1960s. These stories cover such subjects as the infamous failure of the Ford Edsel, the experience of a few large companies' stockholders meetings, the rise of Xerox, a particularly fluctuating market in May 1962, among others.

For the most part, I found this book to be quite an interesting look at various business and financial stories. The author is quite thorough in his descriptions and also looks at several of the people involved. In some cases, he seems to have actually interviewed several of the individuals involved in these stories.

The only real criticism I have is that the twelfth story, covering attempts by bankers to save the British pound in the 1960s, was extremely long-winded and somewhat difficult to follow.

Overall, I thought this book was a good look at some interesting stories from the business world. I would recommend this book to those interested in business.

The Little Book of Common Sense Investing, by John C. Bogle

This book was an awesome read to a new-comer in the scene of investing. I'm not sophisticated in finance. Nor am I wanting to become too knowledgeable in this topic. I just needed to understand the basic to plunge in and invest in an easy, simple portfolio. But doing so takes a whole lot more understanding than just following a simple portfolio recipe. To make my simple portfolio, I dived into Mr Bogle's book. He explained how things work in the finance world, at least enough for me to feel confident about the decisions I'm now making in the finance department. I would recommend this to any beginner investor seeking more knowledge in the field of finance.