How to Think Like Benjamin Graham and Invest Like Warren Buffett

by Lawrence A. Cunningham

Timeless insights from history's greatest investors

A Commonsense Investing Approach that Combines 21st Century Technology with the Market-Proven Strategies of Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett

Praise for Lawrence Cunningham's straight-talking analysis:

"Following the herd may seem rational and intelligent—until it stampedes straight off the cliff."

—From Chapter 1

Lawrence Cunningham possesses one of today's clearest, most distinct voices on the inherent irrationality of investors and the stock market. Renowned for his no-nonsense style and straightforward approach, he is also renowned for telling independent investors—better than any other market observer—how and where to find uncommon values in virtually any market environment.

In How to Think Like Benjamin Graham and Invest Like Warren Buffett, Cunningham returns to the basics—by returning to the two legends who established, and then refined, those basics. He shatters many of today's common investing myths, replacing them with the facts and tools needed to thoroughly analyze the investment value of any business.

This remarkable book illustrates how forces that are unique to today's market—including electronic day trading, an overvalued IPO market, and computer-based stock exchanges—are leading to an increasingly wide gap between price and value. It then convincingly explains how to close that gap, and find underpriced stocks poised to recover their value, by using the business analysis approaches and insights of Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett.

In a sophisticated but readable style, How to Think Like Benjamin Graham and Invest Like Warren Buffett discusses how to understand and apply the time-proven tenets of value investing:

* How to value a business—with valuation examples from top companies including GE, Microsoft and others

* How to rate business managers—a key to finding quality long-term investments

* How to know when management is playing with numbers—and understand the games they play

Unlike any financial book you have ever read, How to Think Like Benjamin Graham and Invest Like Warren Buffett wraps a lifetime of investing wisdom into one compelling, insightful, and highly accessible package. An intelligent guide to accurately analyzing and realistically valuing investment targets, it will tell you what questions to ask, what answers to expect, and how to approach every stock as an experienced, skeptical, and commonsense business analyst.

Genres: Finance, Business, Money, Nonfiction

Unknown Binding

First published January 6, 2001

About the author

Lawrence Cunningham, who goes by Larry, has published many books, including:

Berkshire Beyond Buffett: The Enduring Value of Values

The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America

Contracts in the Real World: Stories of Popular Contracts and Why They Matter

The AIG Story

He loves teaching (a prawf at GW), windsurfing, reading, and spending time with his wife and two daughters, preferably at the beach.

On Amazon, Cunningham has been ranked one of the top 100 authors in the category of business and investing.

Reviews

[Arif · Rating 3 out of 5]

First half of the book explains on how value investing still relevant, even now. How some fund managers who applied this paradigm returned very well. And how it evolves through ages, through booms and busts, and how it still achieve something that many intelligent investor knows it is a good road. Larry explains them well. I got some new knowledges, new clues, and reminders of what value investing is.

But the last chapter about evaluating management is a bit of opinion from the author. I guess Buffett can agree with his thinking, even some mentioned managers, were actually under Buffet's holding. But it's too far without giving some related stories on how Buffett or Graham themself think about that. I think it's about Larry's thinking on management rather than Buffett's thinking on management.

I enjoyed most of his writing, and I got some great ideas. Larry knows value investing well, and you get a lot of insight from his thinking, tellings stories of some great managers and prominent financial thinkers: Graham, Fisher, Lynch, Buffett, Keynes, Burr Williams and even Soros.

[Mohit Garg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just Ok kinda book...
Read if u must

[Lucas Remmerswaal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading one Book at a time I got to writing my book "13 Habits that made me Billions"

[Dr Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still relevant today

[hemlet kiai · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good read on how to be a better investor.

[Daniel Gale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full knowledge of both, might have to reread

[Tirath · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reasonable book. I haven't much like Cunningham's work.

It has a bit about how partially stupid the EMH is and how a valuation practice should be conducted.

There is an excellent parable in the 6th chapter which I chose to mark out and apart from that and a few other nuggets of wisdom from WB and BG, the book is thoroughly OK.

In fact, I chose to browse through most of the book because it seemed covered through my prior reads of other books. The last bit is just a drag though. Get it if you wanna get a good gist of how valuation ought to be conducted (practically, not mathematically) and what sets apart a good business from a bad one or from a good stock.

Important Notes:
Ch 6 has a brilliant parable of a man who wants to sell his apple tree
pg 117 about self deceit
150 - EVA and Graham's comments about market price determinations.

[Iyad Atuan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timeless Investment Wisdom: Think Like Benjamin Graham, Invest Like Warren Buffett

How to Think Like Benjamin Graham and Invest Like Warren Buffett is an absolute must-read for anyone looking to dive into the world of intelligent investing. This book offers timeless investment advice, blending the wisdom of two legendary investors into a comprehensive guide. Gain a profound understanding of value investing and learn to navigate the markets with confidence. Don't miss out on this exceptional resource for financial success!

[Hundeschlitten · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some interesting ideas here, but there is also a lot of dross. While Cunningham was correct to criticize those buying into the internet craze, much of his commentary is already dated. Also, the entire section raving about superior corporate managers is pretty much a waste of ink. Cunningham is best when discussing abstract market and mathmatetical concepts, which unfortunately comprises only about 20% of this book.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice overview of how to think about stock valuation and when to buy. Does a good job of illustrating the difference between price and value. Doesn't do such a great job of highlighting finance metrics.

[D'em]

mantap