Morgan Bulkeley first saw the Berkshires on a golden fall day in 1928. A day's outing from school had brought him up Bear Mountain where he ate a sandwich while his eyes feasted on the natural beauty spread around him. He was fourteen and had fallen in love with a place. Seven years later, after college, leaving behind the hurly-burly of commercial life, he went to live Thoreau-like in a small cabin on the shores of Plantain Pond on Mount Washington.

Berkshire Hathaway, the $300 billion conglomerate that Warren Buffett built, is among the worldÕs largest and most famous corporations. Yet, for all its power and celebrity, few people understand Berkshire, and many assume it cannot survive without Buffett. This book proves that assumption wrong. In a comprehensive portrait of the distinct corporate culture that unites and sustains BerkshireÕs fifty direct subsidiaries, Lawrence A. Cunningham unearths the traits that assure the conglomerateÕs perpetual prosperity. Riveting stories recount each subsidiaryÕs origins, triumphs, and journey to Berkshire and reveal the strategies managers use to generate economic value from intangible values, such as thrift, integrity, entrepreneurship, autonomy, and a sense of permanence. Rich with lessons for those wishing to profit from the Berkshire model, this engaging book is a valuable read for entrepreneurs, business owners, managers, and investors, and it makes an important resource for scholars of corporate stewardship. General readers will enjoy learning how an iconoclastic businessman transformed a struggling shirt company into a corporate fortress destined to be his lasting legacy.

In this engaging collection of stories, 43 veterans of the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting explain why throngs attend year after year. Beyond the famous Q&A with Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, these experts reveal the Berkshire Meeting as a community gathering of fun, fellowship and learning. The contributors whisk readers through the exciting schedule of surrounding events--book signings, panel discussions and social gatherings--and share the pulse of this distinctive corporate culture. Spanning decades, the book offers glimpses of the past and ideas of what lies ahead. To learn about what makes Buffett’s shareholders tick and all the happenings at the Berkshire Meeting, and to reminisce about past Meetings, make this delightful book your companion. Includes work by these bestselling authors: - Robert Hagstrom - Robert Miles - Jason Zweig - Joel Greenblatt - Vitally Katsenelson - Jeff Matthews - Charlie Tian - Whitney Tilson - Prem Jain - Karen Linder

A collection of short stories by sixth-grade students of Berkshire Middle School. (2009)

A trenchant analysis of how public education is being destroyed in overt and deceptive ways—and how to fight back In the “vigorous, well-informed” (Kirkus Reviews) A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door, the co-hosts of the popular education podcast Have You Heard expose the potent network of conservative elected officials, advocacy groups, funders, and think tanks that are pushing a radical vision to do away with public education. “Cut[ing] through the rhetorical fog surrounding a host of free-market reforms and innovations” (Mike Rose), Jack Schneider and Jennifer Berkshire lay bare the dogma of privatization and reveal how it fits into the current context of right-wing political movements. A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door “goes above and beyond the typical explanations” (SchoolPolicy.org), giving readers an up-close look at the policies—school vouchers, the war on teachers’ unions, tax credit scholarships, virtual schools, and more—driving the movement’s agenda. Called “well-researched, carefully argued, and alarming” by Library Journal, this smart, essential book has already incited a public reckoning on behalf of the millions of families served by the American educational system—and many more who stand to suffer from its unmaking. “Just as with good sci-fi,” according to Jacobin, “the authors make a compelling case that, based on our current trajectory, a nightmare future is closer than we think.”

Warren Buffett is a legend primarily for his investment philosophy. He isn’t concerned about the intricacies of the market, but instead focuses on the quality of the companies Berkshire Hathaway stands behind. Yet we know little about the leaders of the companies that Buffett handpicks. In Behind the Berkshire Hathaway Curtain: Lessons from Warren Buffett’s Top Business Leaders, author Ronald W. Chan — founder and CEO of Chartwell Capital — offers a behind-the-scenes look into the careers of Berkshire Hathaway executives who have both directly and indirectly contributed to the conglomerate’s success. Drawing on exclusive interviews from Berkshire leaders, Chan vividly describes how an exceptional group of managers has built a culture of achievement. With a keen eye for detail, he shows how their lessons can be applied for career success and personal fulfillment. Brimming with practical advice, the book will appeal to both executives and employees wanting to improve their leadership skills and work performance. Covering the career and life decisions of David Sokol of MidAmerican Energy, Cathy Baron-Tamraz of Business Wire, Dennis Knautz of Acme Brick, Randy Watson of Justin Brands, Stan Lipsey of Buffalo News, and many more, the book offers a wide range of business insights, philosophies, and strategies directly from leaders at the top of their fields.

"Before it became a haven for arts and culture, the Berkshires was a rugged, sparsely populated frontier. From the early days of Revolutionary fervor and industrial enterprise to today's tourism, many chilling stories remain. A lost girl haunts a cemetery in Washington, and mysterious spirits still perform at Tanglewood. From the ghostly halls of the Houghton Mansion to the eerie events at the Hoosac Tunnel, residents and visitors alike have felt fear and awe in these hills, telling tales of shadow figures, disembodied voices and spectral trains. Author Robert Oakes, who has given ghost tours at The Mount in Lenox for more than a decade, leads this spirited journey through history."--Page 4 of cover.