There are a lot of books out there on Warren Buffett but, if the Oracle of Omaha had to choose his favorite, he would say Lawrence Cunningham's "The Essays of Warren Buffett."

It's "the most representative book on my views," Buffett said at the 2000 Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting, "because he essentially has taken my words and rearranged them."

In the book, Cunningham arranges Buffett's letters to shareholders, which explain his basic principles on investing and business, by theme. That organizational scheme, says Buffett, "makes it a lot easier to read than trying to go through year after year."