Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger

Summary

The 2023 Stripe Press edition is the fourth, abridged edition of Poor Charlie’s Almanack, edited by Peter D. Kaufman. It adds a foreword by John Collison and includes Buffett’s foreword, a portrait of Munger and eleven talks on learning, business and judgment.

Munger draws on ideas from fields such as psychology, mathematics and history to assess decisions. His treatment of human misjudgment explains how incentives and other mental habits can lead people astray. The collection combines practical examples with a case for lifelong learning and testing your own beliefs. Stripe Press also provides a free web edition.

• SourceStripe Press: Poor Charlie’s Almanack, web edition · Title/subtitle; Contents; John Collison foreword; Buffett foreword; Kaufman Introduction/About the book; Chapter3 multiple models; Talk11Checked 2026-10-05
• SourceHelsinki City Library: Stripe Press edition · Title/author/editor; Stripe Press2023; Fourth abridged edition2023; ISBN9781953953230Checked 2026-10-05

Why read it Our view

Read it to build a habit of testing decisions from several angles. A founder can use the discussion of incentives to ask which behavior a pay plan or target will actually reward. The sections on misjudgment also help you separate confidence from evidence. Use the talks as questions for choices about people, products and capital, then check whether the examples fit your setting. The book offers a way to think, not a guarantee that one model will explain every business.