Warren Buffett: The Early Years

The Snowball, the first authorized biography of Warren Buffett, has been one of the most eagerly anticipated business books of the year. Published on Monday, the book is particularly timely because of Buffett's role in the credit crisis now roiling Wall Street.

A team of Portfolio.com writers, continuing today with Portfolio.com managing editor Daniel Colarusso, are reviewing the book in sections this week, and will be commenting on each other's reviews (the first part is available here). Readers are invited to add their thoughts in the Comments section.

Part Three of The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life takes readers from the early 1950s and his work with Ben Graham and his marriage to Susie through the late 1960s, when he moves to dissolve his own investing partnership. Along the way, his revered father Howard died, he and Susie had three kids of their own, and his wealth grew to $9 million.

Driven by his monastic dedication to the market and amassing wealth, he bought a battered textile maker (Berkshire Hathaway), a troubled retailer, and even dabbled in publishing.

Here are some key passages from the section and our translation and analysis.

On Buffett’s father’s support of William Howard Taft in 1952:

[Howard Buffett] broke with the party by refusing to support Eisenhower. This was an act of political suicide…He was left standing on principle—alone. Warren recognized that his father had “painted himself into a corner.” Now Howard’s struggles branded three principles even deeper into his son: that allies are essential; that commitment are so sacred by nature they should be rare; and that grandstanding rarely gets anything done.”

Uh-oh, sounds like the stage is set for revenge. Will young Warren go to New York, make his fortune, and return to Omaha to get even? Well, no. He does go to New York. He does make his fortune. But he’s too busy counting his money to exact revenge on anyone.

On Susie:

“I needed her like crazy. I was happy in my work but I wasn’t happy with myself. She literally saved my life. She resurrected me. She put me together. It was the same kind of unconditional love you would get from a parent.”

Yeesh. It's always about our mothers, isn't it? Even for Buffett. And we thought he was different.

On going to work for Ben Graham:

Warren was so excited about being hired that he arrived in New York on August 1, 1954, and showed up at his new job at Graham-Newman on August 2, a month before his official starting date. Okay, lemme get this straight. He needed Susie “like crazy” but skipped town a month early to pore over S&P stock guides?

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