Enough.: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life

by John C. Bogle

Book Overview

John Bogle puts our obsession with financial success in perspective

Throughout his legendary career, John C. Bogle-founder of the Vanguard Mutual Fund Group and creator of the first index mutual fund-has helped investors build wealth the right way and led a tireless campaign to restore common sense to the investment world. Along the way, he's seen how destructive an obsession with financial success can be. Now, with Enough., he puts...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0470398515
• ISBN13: 9780470398517
• Release Date: November 2008
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.3" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Impatient behavior creates tremendous opportunities

We live in an era of "instant gratification," where people want more, and they want it now. The line between investing and speculating is almost nonexistent. As the author points out, "Today we live in the most speculative age in history." This creates high volatility. He says: "When our market participants are largely investors, focused on the economics of business, the underlying power of our corporations to earn a solid return on the capital invested by their owners is what drives the stock market, and volatility is low. But when our markets are driven, as they are today, largely by speculators, by expectations, and by hope, greed, and fear, the inevitable counterproductive swings in the emotions of market participants - from the ebullience of optimism to the blackness of pessimism - product high volatility, and the resultant turbulence that we are now witnessing became almost inevitable." Reading this book can make one angry with how things have become in the world and in the world of investing. Instead of being angry, I look at it differently - if speculators are driving the markets, then they do not care about the underlying companies. They treat stocks as pieces of paper that they buy and sell. As a result of that, they might sell stocks at prices either way too low or way too high in comparison to the underlying values. As a value investor, this type of behavior creates tremendous opportunities to buy good businesses at ridiculously low prices. I highly recommend reading this book to any investor. If you are a value investor, read it, think differently about the opportunities that impatient behavior produces, and you will make money long-term. - Mariusz Skonieczny, author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market

A Must Read!

One of the most important books you'll ever read. There is a message to be absorbed that can be life-changing. As a former Vanguard employee I already admired Jack for his contributions to his company, its employees, our industry, and our society. That admiration has grown after reading this book. Jack admits to repeat many of the same things he has written about in the past. But as he writes in the book, if he said it well the first time, why change it. Jack is a leader. In business and in life. He sets an example we should all follow. "Enough" is inspiring and one of those books I know I'll pick up many times down the road.

Bogle at His Best

With this gem of a book, one gets a tough-minded analysis of the recent financial meltdown along with a bracing talk from the heart and mind of a major historical figure in the world of American finance. I have given this wise book to three children and six older grandchildren.

Can't Get Enough Of Mr. Bogle

This book was a joy to read. The dedication Mr. Bogle has to the common investor comes shining through in this book. Chapter 10 is a pure treasure and had me reflecting back on my life. This isn't just an investment book but a book on values and accountability. I don't know how he'll top this book but I hope he trys.

Our insatiable desire for more

The seemingly insatiable Wall Street desire for more, combined with look-the-other-way regulators, has landed the U.S. in financial crisis. In Jack Bogle's latest book, Enough, you can read it thinking about the current pickle we find ourselves in and you will understand why it happened. He does a great job of explaining why there has never been a better time to learn individually, and as a country, when enough is enough. This book delves into the perfect storm of investing created by costs, speculation, and complexity. It examines the folly of a business paradigm that focuses on the short-term bottom line; where business conduct and management becomes all about the sale, no matter what the cost. In life we often seem to define our success by the material possessions we have amassed. The "he who dies with the most stuff, wins" philosophy dictates that somehow this will make us a happier person. Jack Bogle puts such a philosophy in perspective by reminding us that being the richest person in the graveyard shouldn't be our goal. Enough is engaging and thought-provoking, and offers practical insights that extend beyond investing and business into life itself Jack Bogle clearly could have been a billionaire had he founded Vanguard as a for-profit entity. I suspect he must have realized far earlier than I did that there is more meaning to life than the accumulation of money. Personally, what I can't get ENOUGH of are the insights from Jack Bogle. Simple and obvious though they may be, sometimes life gets too busy to see what is right in front of our faces. And what's right in front of our faces in Enough, is common sense.