Product Description
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 this dilemma in perspective. … More >>
Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life
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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.
Rating: 5 / 5
While I do like John Bogle and “Enough” is a worthwhile book with a lot of thought-provoking material, after a while the first half of the book becomes predictable:
A moral shortcoming of today is discussed and compared to the situation 30-60 years ago (when apparently everything was fine!), there is a bit of outrage and a plea to change, and then Bogle steps back and says that not everyone is really that bad, but we still have a problem.
After a few hours of this on audiobook it got a bit old. The ideas are definitely solid and I’ve liked it overall, but some parts do end up sounding like a rant.
Rating: 3 / 5
Index fund pioneer Jack Bogle has always marched with confidence to the beat of a drummer different from that followed by his competitors. His approach of charging the lowest possible fees for mutual funds led him toward building Vanguard as a market leader, and put less money in his own pocket that that received by his peers whose fees enriched their personal fortunes. In his latest book, Enough: True Measures of Money, Business and Life, Bogle describes the good fortune of his own life, and presents a manifesto of sorts for financial executives to lead through a return to fundamental personal values, a return to trust, and the foundation of strong moral character. The title refers to a reported conversation between Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller while they were attending a party hosted by a billionaire. After Vonnegut tells Heller that their host earns more in a day that Heller ever earned from his successful novel Catch-22, Heller replied that he has something that the billionaire will never have: enough. Enough is a preachy treatise that may alienate some readers, while for others it may be inspirational. Because of Bogle’s straightforward writing style, I highly recommend Enough to any reader willing to consider alternative ways of measuring success and achievement.
Rating: Four-star (Highly Recommended)
Rating: 4 / 5
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.
Rating: 5 / 5
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.
April 15, 2010 at 12:40 amRating: 5 / 5