Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life |  | Author: John C. Bogle
Publisher: Wiley
List Price: $24.95
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Seller: olimpianbooks
Rating:  47 reviews
Sales Rank: 5269
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 288
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.2 x 1.2
ISBN: 0470398515
Dewey Decimal Number: 650.1
EAN: 9780470398517
ASIN: 0470398515
Publication Date: November 10, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
Amazon.com Exclusive: William J. Bernstein on Enough
William Bernstein, Ph.D., M.D. is the critically acclaimed author, financial theorist and historian whose books include A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World, The Birth of Plenty, The Four Pillars of Investing, and The Intelligent Asset Allocator. Bernstein is frequently quoted in national publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, Money, and Forbes.  If you are wondering about the cause of the current market crisis, then you haven't been reading enough of Jack Bogle.
Because he certainly knows not only where, but why and how. For decades Jack has been communicating his disquiet in previous books, speeches, and public testimony. Years from now, when historians and investors dissect the economic and market meltdowns of 2008, they'll consult this slim, well-written volume. In order to understand the intellectual and moral platform from which he surveys the economic wreckage, you need to know a little of his story. Bogle founded one of the world's great investment companies, the Vanguard Group. Most men in his situation would have levered such success into a multi-billion-dollar net worth; instead, he "mutualized" Vanguard, converting it, in effect, into a nonprofit organization whose only goal was to benefit its fund holders. From an ethical perspective, Vanguard is the only "investment company" worthy of that name. (As opposed to most financial firms, which are in fact "marketing companies" whose main purpose is to milk unwitting investors of fees and commissions.) The answer to the conundrum of 2008 lies in the book’s title, "Enough," which is the punch line from a delightful Kurt Vonnegut/Joseph Heller story. Simply put, our nation has been suffering from decades of unchecked financial excess, for which we are now paying the piper: excess in investment company fees; excess in financial speculation masquerading as diversification and innovation; excess in the salaries of top executives; excess in salesmanship; and most importantly, excess in the role played by the financial industry in our national economy and national life. Each of these excesses gets its own chapter, and each one is a tightly written gem. Chapters 2 and 3, which dissect out the frenzy of derivatives, structured vehicles, and layers of intermediation behind the recent collapse, alone justify the book's purchase price. As Bogle states in the book's beginning, in the spring of 2007 the financial services sector--which, after all, produces nothing of substantive value--accounted for one-third of the earnings of the S&P 500. By the time you read this, this outsized influence will have shrunken drastically. Let Enough be your welcome to the brave new world; it will satisfy your curiosity, give you a sense of moral balance in this most materialistic of ages, and even plump up your investment portfolio. --William J. Bernstein
Product Description
Written by John C. Bogle–the legendary founder of the Vanguard Mutual Fund–Enough. offers his unparalleled insights on money, the values we should emulate in our business and professional callings, and what we should consider as the true treasures in our lives. Inspired in large measure by the hundreds of lectures Bogle has delivered to professional groups and college students in recent years, this book will help you discover what it really means to have "enough" and how close you are to really having it.
Product Description
For a critical element of American society, including many of its wealthiest and most powerful, there seems to be no limit today on what "enough" entails.
The excesses are most starkly visible in the continuing crisis in banking and investment, and even in the two enormous government-sponsored (but publicly owned) mortgage lenders, to say nothing of the billion-dollar-plus annual paychecks that top hedge-fund managers draw down and the excessive compensation paid to CEOs, regardless of performance.
Throughout his legendary career, John 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.
Bogle offers his unparalleled insights on money, on the values we should emulate in our business and professional callings, and on what we should consider as the true treasures in our lives. By explaining what "enough" truly is, he demonstrates how close everyone can be to having it.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 47
 Provocative reading for women business owners November 4, 2009
C. Dawes (Aptos, CA)
I wanted to underline almost every sentence in Enough by John C. Bogle. In his 90s, Bogle has had time to accumulate the wisdom of a lifetime and smart enough to use it.
As I read and re-read this book, I wonder at the opportunities for women over the next decades. As we build businesses that grow up to be part of Corporate America, will we fall into the same traps described by Bogle? Enough is a cautionary tale, one every business owner would do well to heed.
Bogle considers what is enough in three areas: finances, businesses and life. Because he is in the financial industry, he has a lot of thoughts about finance and true wealth. (Some of the financial explanations take some thinking through.) There is much to consider about value and virtue. In a country that has lost its way and seen financial ruin of many and financial success for the few, it's a timely book.
For women business owners, it's important to remain in integrity to our core values, most of which are not valued monetarily in the world in which we live. When we try to ignore values important to us, such as family, friends, aesthetics and a spiritual life, women become stressed and unhappy. It is possible to bring these things into our daily work lives and make them important, but only by continuing to live authentic lives.
Enough is a book of big ideas and thoughts. When you are feeling bruised by "the way things are" and stressed by conforming to rules that fit as poorly as an undersized pair of pants, pick up this book to remember that there is another way. While it's not a book that needs to go on the top of your list, it's one to contemplate on a winter's night with a warm cup of tea.
Reaching the top of the mountain October 21, 2009
A. C. Sinclair
Most of us who have spent a great part of our lives in the business world dream of reaching the top of the mountain; very few of us reach it. Whatever kind of mountain it is, it is always increasingly difficult. The air gets thinner, the cliffs get steeper, and at some point nearly all of us realize that we have gone as high as our ability will take us. John Bogle was one of the very, very few who was able to get to the top and stay there. His story is inspirational, and I heartily recommend it to all climbers. Although very, very few will be able to match John Bogle's accomplishments, it is heartening to know that however high you are able to climb, it is still a fine accomplishment, and you have the satisfaction of knowing that you gave it your best shot.
Sound advice September 26, 2009
Bruce Higgins (Tinley Park, Illinois, USA)
... from a very wise man who knows when enough is enough! Mr. Bogle does an outstanding job of reminding us that avarice and mendacity have gotten us to where we are today at the expense of poor saps like you and me who continue to put up with the greedy [expletive deleted] who engineered this whole financial, social, and environmental mess in which we find ourselves today. His thoughts and insights are provocative and on the mark. We all need to ponder such questions as: Does traditional capitalism work? Is this a true democracy? Are we truly free, or are most of us really just slaves? Will our "leaders" ever step forth to solve the truly important issues in time to prevent humanity from destroying itself? When will most of us realize that enough is enough and convince our "leaders," with our votes and support, that this enough-is-enough concept must apply to America, the entire world, and the future of civilization? Will future generations judge us a failure or a success? I recommend this book to anyone who looks for answers to such probing questions, and who may have the energy, ability, and intelligence to work on finding answers -- and solutions -- before it's too late.
 Not Bad September 21, 2009
T. M. Schlotfeldt
This is a good book. I'm not on board with all of Mr. Bogle's investing philosophies -- read: index funds -- but I do think he's hit on a number of problems with today's investors , the investment world, and society in general. He also provides some great examples for how to successfully run a business and motivate employees. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in making money. :)
Impatient behavior creates tremendous opportunities August 13, 2009
Mariusz Skonieczny (ClassicValueInvestors.blogspot.com)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
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
Showing reviews 1-5 of 47
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