Fantastic Quotes from Berkshire's Letters

I picked up the following book from a neighborhood Goodwill a few days ago. The book is titled - The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons from Corporate America- by Warren Buffett and Lawrence Cunningham. I flipped through the first few pages while I was there and decided that it is a book I very much would like to read. The copy I have is the very first revised edition published in 1997 so it preceded the financial meltdown of 2008. The latest 4th edition is available on Amazon and from the reviews I gathered it covered Subprime crisis and financial meltdown of 2008. You can read the reviews or get a copy here 4th edition here on Amazon . I highly recommend you get a copy. I am only 1/5th through the book and I already know this is a book I would read and re-read many times (just so that I do not forget all the good advice when I invest and trade my own money and we humans have short memories and impulsive). I would definitely equate this book to my old time favorite - "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator" in quality/entertainment. Here is the link to a copy on Amazon if you wish to get one.

The most important thing this book has done for me is to remind me of what risk is when it comes to putting my hard earned money in shares of companies run by people you don't know, risks one should not be taking most of the time. I wish I had come across this book 20 years ago but it is better late than never.

1. Valuation is counting cash, not hopes and dreams. Page 22 of my copy of the book if you want to read the context

2.The challenge here is for us to generate ideas as rapidly as we can generate cash. In this respect, a depressed stock market is likely to present us with significant opportunities. Page 30
3. Indeed, we think very few large businesses have a chance of compounding intrinsic value at 15% per annum over an extended period of time. Page 29

4. The financial calculus that Charlie and I employ would never permit our trading a goodnight's sleep for a shot of a few extra percentage points of returns. I've never believed in risking what my family and friends have and need in order to pursue what they don't have and don't need. Page 32

5. The intellect should be the servant of the heart, but not its slave - Comte. Page 46

This book and its latest edition is a MUST READ. I would strong recommend whether you invest your money yourself, work with an adviser, have an interest in the stock market and value investing or just want a sensible good read from one of the greatest investors of this century