Tap Dancing to Work
by Carol J. Loomis · 2013
A Fortune editor and personal friend of Buffett's for over 40 years compiles every major article the magazine ran on him, with new commentary, into the closest thing to a career-spanning Buffett archive.
Worth reading? Loomis wasn't just Buffett's magazine editor, she was a personal friend for over four decades and the person who edits his famous annual shareholder letter before it's published, which gives this anthology a level of access and trust most Buffett books don't have. Compiling Fortune's coverage of him from 1966 to 2013, with her own connecting commentary, it shows his thinking evolve in real time rather than retrospectively smoothed into a single narrative. Read it if you want to see Buffett's actual reasoning as it was reported in the moment, market crashes and mistakes included. Skip it if you want one continuous biography instead of a curated anthology of period journalism.
| Full Title | Tap Dancing to Work: Warren Buffett on Practically Everything, 1966-2013 |
|---|---|
| Author | Carol J. Loomis |
| Published | 2013 |
| Category | Business & Money |
The Verdict
Loomis has a level of access to Buffett that no outside biographer can match, decades of friendship plus decades of editing his own shareholder letters. This anthology shows his thinking as it was actually reported, mistakes included, not smoothed into hindsight.
readers who want Buffett's evolving thinking traced across five decades of real-time journalism, not a single retrospective account
you want a single narrative biography, this is a curated anthology of articles written as events happened
Book Summary
Because this collects articles written as events actually unfolded, rather than a retrospective account written with the benefit of hindsight, it captures Buffett's genuine uncertainty and course-correction in real time, including pieces written during his mistakes and underperforming periods, not just the triumphant ones a single biography might emphasize.
Loomis's unique position, editing Buffett's own shareholder letters for decades while also covering him journalistically, means her connecting commentary carries a level of direct insight into his actual thinking process that outside biographers, however well-researched, can't fully replicate.
Top 7 Lessons from Tap Dancing to Work
- Real-time journalism captures genuine uncertainty and course-correction that retrospective biography tends to smooth over.
- Buffett's investment philosophy evolved meaningfully over five decades, it wasn't fixed from the start.
- Reading coverage of both Buffett's mistakes and his successes gives a more honest picture than success-only narratives.
- Direct personal access over decades produces insight a well-researched outside account can't fully replicate.
- Buffett's own shareholder letters and his public journalism coverage reinforce and clarify each other when read together.
- An anthology format lets you trace how an investor's stated reasoning actually changed as markets changed.
- Trust built over 40 years of friendship shows up in how directly a subject will speak to a journalist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Tap Dancing to Work worth reading?
Yes, especially for the real-time view of Buffett's thinking across five decades, including his mistakes, from a journalist who had rare, decades-long personal access.
What is Tap Dancing to Work about?
A compilation of Fortune magazine's coverage of Warren Buffett from 1966 to 2013, curated and connected by longtime friend and editor Carol Loomis, tracing his evolving investment philosophy as it happened.
Who is Carol Loomis?
A longtime Fortune editor and personal friend of Warren Buffett for over 40 years, who has also edited his annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letter before publication for decades.
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