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| Dear Mr. Buffett: What An Investor Learns 1,269 Miles From Wall Street | 
 enlarge | Author: Janet M. Tavakoli
Publisher: Wiley
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $16.47
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (5 reviews)
Sales Rank: 435
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 282
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.3
ISBN: 047040678X
Dewey Decimal Number: 332.6
EAN: 9780470406786
ASIN: 047040678X
Publication Date: January 9, 2009 (New: Today)
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Janet Tavakoli takes you into the world of Warren Buffett by way of the recent mortgage meltdown. In correspondence and discussion with him over 2 years, they both saw the writing on the wall, made clear by the implosion of Bear Stearns. Tavakoli, in clear and engaging prose, explains how the credit mess happened beginning with the mortgage lending Ponzi schemes funded by investment banks, the Fed bailout and its impact on the dollar. Through her narrative, we hear from Warren Buffett and learn how his enduring principles caused him to see the mess that was coming well in advance and kept him and his investors well out of the way.
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| Customer Reviews:
An education in finance with a refreshing dose of logic and insight January 9, 2009
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Most of us will never get a lunch invitation from Warren Buffett, but Janet Tavakoli did. What does it take to earn one of those?
Well, for starters, it doesn't hurt to be the kind of person who persists in pointing out the flaws in our financial system until BUSINESSWEEK calls you "The Cassandra of Credit Derivatives." Warren Buffett has amassed one of the largest fortunes the world has seen by making his own way, independent of Wall Street's herd mentality. When one independent mind meets another, there is an unmistakable thrill of recognition. After reading Tavakoli's book, CREDIT DERIVATIVES AND SYNTHETIC STRUCTURES, Buffett responded to that feeling of recognition by inviting her to join him for lunch.
Tavakoli's account of her meeting and subsequent correspondence with Buffett gives us a sense of their respectful cameraderie. Even better, it gives the rest of a us a chance to learn about the financial markets that affect us all, right at a time when those markets seem to be disintegrating before our eyes.
If at any time in the past few months, you've found yourself reading the newspaper and thinking, "I'm no financial wizard, but I believe I have better sense than to loan a lot of money to someone who obviously can't pay it back," this book offers a glimpse of a man whose success is based on a deep understanding of the marketplace, rather than a mystical trust in computer models that seem to do a pretty poor job of predicting value. I recommend DEAR MR. BUFFETT to anyone who'd like a better understanding of how our economy has arrived at this difficult point and how the individual investor can best survive and thrive in today's marketplace.
Mary Anna Evans
Piercing insight January 7, 2009
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
An entirely different kind of book that not only tells the story of the mortgage meltdown but shows HOW it was foreseeable, real-time, at least by some. Reading this book will give every intelligent reader the confidence to trust their own judgment in the future and not be sold a bill of goods. NINJA loans? Come on, we all knew that loans given to people with no job and income verification weren't a good thing. Tavakoli tells it like it was, is, and will (sadly) probably be again -- and with some pretty funny lines along the way ("It's great to have an open mind, but don't leave it so open that your brains fall out," in reference to a Stan O'Neal op ed). Outrage tends to go down better when it's coated with a sense of humor. Juxtaposed against the story of the meltdown is maybe the most important Buffett lesson of all that Tavakoli expertly teases out for the reader: first do no harm and stay out of danger's way. That may be the most important take-away of all. This book is a real service and was an absolute delight to read.
A Unique and Critical Perspective on the Financial Crisis January 6, 2009
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
To find a perspective on the global financial crisis that is intelligent and insightful on the one hand and yet free of positive spin on the other is a tall order. In Dear Mr. Buffett, Janet Tavakoli has achieved this.
Some years back, Ms. Tavakoli wrote the first book on credit derivatives (before notional was significant enough for most industry professionals to give these instruments the time of day) based largely on her extensive experience working at various banks and investment banks. In Dear Mr. Buffett, she combines this deep knowledge with compelling recent experience as a consultant in the field in order to provide a frank and gripping account of recent debacles. (There were definitely chapters that were so gripping that I did not want to put the book down even though there were other things that I had to do.) Ongoing communications with Warren Buffett during this period serve to anchor the discussion to the perspective of a rational and prudent long-term investor and provide a strong contrast to recent industry excesses.
Identification of the possible motivations for these excesses and the myriad of conflicts of interest within the industry are particularly compelling, and the author's prescient observations and warnings prior to the crisis and in its early stages are remarkable. From this viewpoint alone the book is a must read, as it aids readers in formulating views as to what may be next for global financial markets. In short, despite whether one agrees with every point, understanding Ms. Tavakoli's perspective is critical as the financial markets continue their seismic shift to a new and uncertain regime.
Great analysis of the decade of financial insanity December 31, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This insightful and very readable book juxtaposes Buffett's philosophy, as taught to the author by the master himself, against the myriad financial manias, misteps, and scandals of the 2000's. Tavakoli is an expert in structured finance, and her book would be valuable just for its easy-to-follow explanations of subprime mortgage CDO's, auction-rate securities, Bear Stearns' meltdown, and other elements of the financial crisis. But its triumph is in viewing the components of the crisis through the lens of Buffet's principles. Poor lending standards, excessive complexity, focus on short-term profits, "mark-to-myth" accounting (encouraged by the SEC) -- all are anathema to Buffett, and in his correspondence with Tavakoli, we see that both he and the author foresaw that things would not end prettily.
Even as she exposes the dark side of finance in the 2000's, Tavakoli is amusing and full of anecdotes. Her experience as a woman on Wall Street shines through in lines like this: "(Warren) seems to enjoy women, without enjoying them too much. It is the difference between spending time with an art connoisseur and a cat burglar. One makes you feel like a national treasure; the other makes you feel as if you are about to be snatched and stuffed in a bag, never to be heard from again."
Readers will come away from this book feeling as though the financial meltdown we are living through would have been avoided if more people in positions of power had applied the kind of financial common sense and moral standards that guide Buffett. The financial crisis is no Black Swan, but rather a natural consequence of financiers and regulators turning their backs on sound principles of the type that have served Buffett and his investors so well for so long.
The Liar's Poker of Our Era December 27, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The Liar's Poker of Our Era
DEAR MR. BUFFETT is the "Liar's Poker" of our era, except that this book has the appropriate level of moral indignation regarding recent events in the financial industry.
Janet Tavakoli reveals how we arrived at the current credit crisis, and shows how both trusted financial institutions and the current regulatory system failed to provide the necessary safeguards that allowed for such a crisis to occur.
Through her conversations with legendary investor, Warren Buffett, Tavakoli provides a direct and insider-view into the credit crisis and engages the reader with her sharp, matter-of-fact style. Tavakoli contrasts Buffett's intelligent-investing approach with the unfortunate developments in the securitized finance industry.
The book is definitely an eye-opener for readers who have not been directly involved in securitized finance. For those outside this industry, it is confusing as to why the credit markets so nearly completely unraveled in 2007 and 2008. This book provides the answer with fact after indicting fact.
After reading Tavakoli's book, one realizes that the challenges of rebuilding our frayed financial system may be, unfortunately, on par with the challenges of rebuilding the U.S.'s physical infrastructure. Let the work begin, post-haste!
[This review is based on an advance galley of the book.]
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