Poor Charlie's Almanack


Poor Charlie's Almanack is a collection of speeches and talks by Charlie Munger, compiled by Peter D. Kaufman. First published in 2005, it was released in an expanded edition three years later.

Overview

is the long-serving vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. This book brings together his investing thoughts beyond his famous statement "I have nothing to add."
Munger is an admirer of Benjamin Franklin, and the book's title is a tribute to Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack.
Net proceeds from sales of the book go to the Munger Research Center at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California.

Contents

Munger propounds the 'Multiple Mental Models' approach to decision making. This collection of 'Big Ideas from Big Disciplines' contains an iconoclastic checklist for decision-making.
The book is written in an unconventional style. The ideas are not listed in an orderly fashion but just touched upon lightly, with pictures given alongside - in line with Munger's idea to "make the mind reach out to the idea" thereby increasing the idea's retentiveness in memory. The pictures serve to make the idea vivid by increasing their retentiveness and add a bit of geeky humor to the book.
The "Lollapalooza Effect" is Munger's term for the confluence of multiple biases; according to Munger, the tendency toward extremism results from such confluences. These biases often occur at either conscious or subconscious level, and at both microeconomic and macroeconomic scales.
The 25 Cognitive Biases is also explained in the book. Munger explains why we're so psychologically flawed, leading to mistakes in our decision.

Eleven talks

The book includes some talks given by Munger:
In November 2005, Kiplinger's Newsletter wrote "Munger, 81, has always been media shy. That changed when Peter Kaufman compiled Munger's writing and speeches in a new book, Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger "
In August 2006, The Motley Fool wrote: "With 512 pages, there is something for everyone, and Poor Charlie's Almanack is an impressive and thorough tribute to one of the brightest, most pragmatic, and iconoclastic investment minds ever."