[.ca] Damn Right!: Behind the Scenes with Berkshire Hathaway ... (ISBN 0471244732)

Priceless:
I read a lot of both fiction and non-fiction, and I've read a great deal about Warren Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway. I know in my life I always search for people I can look up to, people I can learn from and try to emulate. Charlie Munger is one such fella. This isn't a technical book about valuing stocks or putting together corporate acquisitions. This is, however, a book about Charlie Munger. He is a smart, honest, practical, hard-working man and I learned a lot from this. I am better off having read this book.

Mistaken Facts:
Exept for the chapter "Doing Good at Good Samaritan Hospital" I only scanned this book rapidly but I hope that Mr Munger's recollections of his dazzling successes in the world of finance are more accurate than those relating to his early tenure at Good Samaritan Hospital.His and his stepson's opinions about the quality of the hospital and its medical staff at that time may be insulting but are their privilege.I was Chairman of the Medical Staff when Mr Munger became Chairman of the Board of Trustees,and I was a member of that Board for for about 18 years as well,and I am well aware of what transpired then.For Mr Munger to state that "decisions of the medical staff frequently protected the economic interests of certain doctors,rather than that of the patients or of quality medicine" ,and "a ruling of the organized medical staff was endangering the health and safety of our patients" is simply untrue and libelous.I would like very much to see him provide proof for these allegations At that time,he expressed to me the view that doctors are motivated mainly by financial considerations (greed),presumably based on his own experience in finance as described in this book.

Insightful!:
Charlie Munger's life story is a version of the classic American Dream: a hard-working young man builds a billion-dollar fortune through hard work and honest business deals, all the while raising eight children with the help of an intelligent, devoted wife. Author Janet Lowe brings this story and Munger's personality to life with well-chosen anecdotes from family, friends and business associates. These include, most notably, Warren Buffett, with whom she already enjoyed a rapport thanks to her work on a previous bestseller, Warren Buffett Speaks. Because Munger's business history is so complex, the chapters are organized thematically rather than strictly chronologically, which can be a bit confusing. Thankfully, Lowe provides a handy timeline in an appendix. We suggest this book to investors, Buffett fans (who may underestimate the contributions others such as Munger have made to the Berkshire Hathaway empire) and to those dismayed by corporate corruption who could use this tale of honest success to renew their faith in capitalism.

If you have read any book on buffett then dont read this:
Overall the book is ok, probably a good fast read for someone who wants background information on munger. Unfortunately the book is nothing more than background information source. And if you have read a book on warren buffett then you are going to have a strong feeling of deja vu. The book seriously misses its main subject and for too long (it gets irritating at times) just talks about mungers family history, his wife's family history and his uncle, aunts and what have you. This is done pretty in-depth so if you are looking for a munger family history - this is going to be a good start. Unfortunately when you come to the main topic - munger himself - the book looses its sense of depth. It becomes like reading a newspaper - you get to know all the infortanr events that happened but there is no analysis, no attempt to show what factors influenced munger's decision to invest in a particular stock. To compound matters furhter in the midst of some good gripping investment decision janet lowe has the habbit of squezing in some dog and cat story - at times i looked forward to finishing the dog and cat story to read more about the investment decision but guess what - there was nothing more on it - it left me with a feeling of wanting more - a whole lot more.

Great Background on the Buffett-Munger Team:
While there's too much genealogy of the Mungers from the 1600's on, the book does give a thorough grounding in what makes Charles Munger tick. While this book provides no easy investment answers, Mr. Munger's values and wise quotes* make this book a winner. It makes me want to go to a Berkshire (or to hear more from Mr. Munger, a Wesco Financial) annual meeting. * "Good businesses throw up one easy decision after another; bad businesses throw up painful decisions time after time." This is both a wonderful quote and a very Berkshire Hathaway way of looking at businesses in which to invest.