艾丽斯·施罗德，曾任摩根士丹利的董事总经理，因撰写伯克希尔·哈撒韦公司的研究报告而与巴菲特结识，而巴菲特也因为赏识她的洞察力、和掌握主题的能力，授权施罗德撰写他的人生故事。生于德州，在得克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校获得学士及MBA学位。拥有会计师执照，目前与丈夫居住在康涅狄格州。

《滚雪球: 沃伦·巴菲特和他的财富人生》这本巴菲特生平唯一授权的官方传记，以从未有过的视角，揭开了巴菲特的真实人牛。许多年来聚光灯下高大的“股神”终 于走下神坛，以他最平实的语言、最真诚的心，娓娓道来，讲述了他78午人生巾最触动人心的故事，分享了他60多年商业和投资生涯中最宝贵的经验。

1939午的冬天，9岁的巴菲特在院子里玩雪。他把少量的积雪铲到一块，揉成一个雪球，然后把它放在地上慢慢滚动，雪球越滚越大……

从此，巴菲特再也没有停下脚步，目光投向白雪皑皑的整个世界……

沃伦·巴菲特，我们这个时代硕果仪存的商业领袖和投资大师，甚至在死后还会影响后世50年的伟大人物，终于向我们敞开了他的心扉。

Here is THE book recounting the life and times of one of the most respected men in the world, Warren Buffett. The legendary Omaha investor has never written a memoir, but now he has allowed one writer, Alice Schroeder, unprecedented access to explore directly with him and with those closest to him his work, opinions, struggles, triumphs, follies, and wisdom. The result is the personally revealing and complete biography of the man known everywhere as “The Oracle of Omaha.”

Although the media track him constantly, Buffett himself has never told his full life story. His reality is private, especially by celebrity standards. Indeed, while the homespun persona that the public sees is true as far as it goes, it goes only so far. Warren Buffett is an array of paradoxes. He set out to prove that nice guys can finish first. Over the years he treated his investors as partners, acted as their steward, and championed honesty as an investor, CEO, board member, essayist, and speaker. At the same time he became the world’s richest man, all from the modest Omaha headquarters of his company Berkshire Hathaway. None of this fits the term “simple.”

When Alice Schroeder met Warren Buffett she was an insurance industry analyst and a gifted writer known for her keen perception and business acumen. Her writings on finance impressed him, and as she came to know him she realized that while much had been written on the subject of his investing style, no one had moved beyond that to explore his larger philosophy, which is bound up in a complex personality and the details of his life. Out of this came his decision to cooperate with her on the book about himself that he would never write.

Never before has Buffett spent countless hours responding to a writer’s questions, talking, giving complete access to his wife, children, friends, and business associates—opening his files, recalling his childhood. It was an act of courage, as The Snowball makes immensely clear. Being human, his own life, like most lives, has been a mix of strengths and frailties. Yet notable though his wealth may be, Buffett’s legacy will not be his ranking on the scorecard of wealth; it will be his principles and ideas that have enriched people’s lives. This book tells you why Warren Buffett is the most fascinating American success story of our time.

From the Hardcover edition.