Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life

by John C. Bogle

book data

64 ratings, 3.64 average rating, 23 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		14%
4		40%
3		40%
2		4%
1		0%

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published

November 10th 2008 by Wiley

binding

Hardcover, 288 pages

isbn

0470398515 (isbn13: 9780470398517)

description

Enough! is a piece of work that simply has not been seen by the likes of Jack Bogle before. Sure, the world knows of his legendary financial mind. He ...more

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 144)

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01/13/09

Carmen rated it:

Read in January, 2008

Bogle, with an elegant simplicity, cogently explains why the current financial crisis is far more than "a bunch of people who didn't really qualify got a bunch of bad mortgages." The prevailing news stories seem to cast the pickle we're all in on the backs of the working poor and those trying to move into home ownership for the first time, ever.

Bogle explains how we have transitioned from an agricultural economy to an industrial to a service to finally, a finance economy....more

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02/19/09

getAbstract rated it:

Read in February, 2009

An inspiring reflection on money and more

This inspiring work by John C. Bogle, one of the great financial innovators in American history, sounds like an echo of the distant past. Indeed, he calls for a return to 18th century values, and uses such words as “virtue” and “character” to describe his vision of how the financial system should be constituted. Many of the themes Bogle strikes will be familiar to readers acquainted with his other works. However, with the American fina...more

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11/25/08

Karen rated it:

bookshelves: current-events, economics, ethics, philosophy

Read in December, 2008

The best part about this book is the story that inspired the title. At a party, Kurt Vonnegut tells Joseph Heller that their host (a hedge fund manager) had made more money in a day than Heller made from his book, Catch-22. Heller says, "Yes, but I have something he will never have . . . enough." That interaction is a little revelation in itself. But it's also a fabulous premise for a book. Just not this book. I expected the book to be for a general audience and to go into more d...more The best part about this book is the story that inspired the title. At a party, Kurt Vonnegut tells Joseph Heller that their host (a hedge fund manager) had made more money in a day than Heller made from his book, Catch-22. Heller says, "Yes, but I have something he will never have . . . enough." That interaction is a little revelation in itself. But it's also a fabulous premise for a book. Just not this book. I expected the book to be for a general audience and to go into more depth about what constitutes enough. Instead, I suppose not surprisingly, Mr. Bogle's intended audience seems to have been fellow financial marketeers.

As a consequence, much of the lingo goes right over the head of a simple investor. I actually found the book kind of terrifying. You see, I understood enough of it to realize that I've been had as an investor. And not just because the market tanked. It's the "why" it tanked that turns my hair white. Wall Street seems more foreign than ever after reading this book. That is due, in part, to Mr. Bogle's very effective description of the moral turpitude and crass greed that motivates hedge fund managers and various other financial market types. The fact that Mr. Bogle finds it necessary to remind his Wall Street cohorts that investors and people they work with are human beings just like they are leaves me speechless. Don't get me wrong, he shares good advice for the apparently otherwise immoral majority who control our investments. But the advice is quite elementary in terms of ethics and humanity.

There were some quotes that are keepers. For example, from Goethe, "Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute; What you can do, or dream you can do, begin it; Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." Of course, the tip of the hat is owed to Goethe. I thank Mr. Bogle for sharing it with me though.

If you work in the financial market and feel you need to be reminded that investors are fellow human beings, then, for Pete's sake, read this book. If, however, you are an average investor and you go to church on a regular basis, you may find the lessons in this book to be a little old hat, other than the lesson that investors should expect little more from the market than a continual sucker punch. (less)

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03/13/09

Kip rated it:

Read in March, 2009

My first time with a Bogle book, so some may have taken issue with the repetition he acknowledges from his previous work. It was great to read his thoughts and understanding his thinking. Got a bit out "preachy" in spots, with a yearning for the "good old days" but some real pearls throughout.

His skewering of the financial advisory and investment firms is priceless, classic Bogle. Made me go back and review my own investment ideas and strategies to see how far I'...more

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05/06/09

Scott rated it:

bookshelves: 2000s, money

Read in May, 2009

I like Jack Bogle ... and so does Jack Bogle. He's read widely and culled a lot of good ideas -- no-load index funds, fiscal responsibility, frugality, liberality -- and he's made them his own. After reading Enough. you may be left with the impression that Bogle invented not only the mutual fund business, but also the alphabet, the Enlightenment, and chicken soup. In other words, Bogle takes a lot of credit for others' ideas: he's sort of the Al Gore of the financial world.

Still, I ...more

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03/02/09

Sergei rated it:

Read in March, 2009

This book can be a real eye-opener for an average person who invests in his or her 401(k) and then wonders at puny returns while the likes of Fidelity manage to make multi-billion dollar profits. The executives of most corporations together with the financial industry managed to transform capitalism from a system of value-creation for the shareholders and society into one of value-extraction from them. I was aware of these problems before I picked up this book, but still was glad to read it and ...more

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03/03/09

Anthony rated it:

Read in January, 2009

Great read. Jack Bogle never fails to communicate a broader vision of life while talking finance. This is no exception. The idea of an entire industry/profession as contributing no additive value and being basically parasitic is timely considering current circumstances. Enough is a call to simplicity and modesty on the one hand and an invitation to live a life of service to a grand vision on the other. Highly recommended.

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03/22/09

Mc rated it:

Read in March, 2009

Great book and something for everyone, especially during these times. Bogle has a message we all should think about . . . "What is enough?" In today's times it seems we have lost sight of that question.

Bogle gets a little heavy handed at times and self-indulgent, which is the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars. That aside it was still worth the read.

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11/28/08

Scott rated it:

It'll come as no surprise that the mutual fund industry isn't run for the benefit of its customers. What does come as a surprise is the accusation is being made by one of its leading founders - Jack Bogle. Bogle has lots of wisdom on the speculator-driven financial services industry, as well as life, investing and how values have changed in his 79 years.

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11/25/08

Lynn rated it:

Read in November, 2008

recommends it for: everyone

Not a particularly easy read unless you're familiar with financial languaging; but it's a very informative book from a Wall Street insider who focuses on the need to return to true investing rather than the speculation and greed that has been on the increase since the 70's, leading to the current collapse of the financial industry.

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01/18/09

Ravi rated it:

Read in January, 2009

A late-in-life musings of one of the wealthiest people in the world about what is important in life. He thinks he has found the answer(s), which is good for him. Though, he comes to conclusions that are still somewhat worldly, and others may not agree. Specially relevant for people studying or working in finance.

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05/03/09

Bryce Beattie rated it:

Does a great job of defining some of the biggest problems in American business today, and particularly the financial industry. The hope of fast profits really does turn investors into speculators (gamblers).

He also makes some valid points about returning to classic values that made not only businesses, but families and nations strong.

Enough is a very interesting book, but it seemed like if I didn't already have a bit of investing literacy, I wouldn't have understood every...more

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04/13/09

Nancy rated it:

bookshelves: personal-finance

Read in May, 2009

A book that pays philosophical, moral and financial dividends. I've been meditating lately on the concept of "enough," so Bogle's new book is timely, both on a personal and a national level, as Main Street becomes mired in Wall Street's excesses. There may not be much you can do about the financial and moral bankruptcies of former Wall Street titans, but you can decide what constitutes "enough" in your own life.

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12/05/08

Andrew rated it:

bookshelves: non-fiction

Read in December, 2008

I really liked chapters 5, 8, 9, 10, and the wrapping up section. I felt the early chapters were mostly about the financial industry, and I found them less interesting.

Be bold, be persistent, and read Benjamin Franklin's autobiography.

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02/11/09

Reed rated it:

Read in February, 2009

Good insight to why index funds will work best for most people unable to spend much time on the financial markets.

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04/27/09

Kiri rated it:

Read in May, 2009

I am not nearly as articulate (or as knowledgeable) as John Bogle on the subject, but he does a great job of making the argument that the driving force behind our economy needs a make-over.

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11/24/08

Lori rated it:

bookshelves: 2009

Read in February, 2009

This is the first book I've ever read that has business and investing as its theme. I learned a great deal. What I particularly liked was Bogle's no-nonsense ideas about sound investment practices, and his clear explanations about why (and how) the US financial world has gone amok... and what might be done about it.

The latter, and more philosophical, parts of the book become repetitive. And, though I heartily agree with his belief that we need more character and integrity in busin...more

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04/16/09

Jeff rated it:

Read in April, 2009

Another book full of insight about the financial system in light of the crash of 2008, and also life wisdom. Invest in index funds.

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11/13/08

Tina rated it:

Read in December, 2008

While I have a lot of respect for John Bogle, there's a lot of ranting and raving (with due cause) about how messed up the financial industry is, with way too much speculation and costs in the mutual fund industry. You can read the first section on money and then the last section on life (which includes values, persistence, integrity) and you will have all you need from this book.

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12/13/08

Alyce rated it:

Read in January, 2009

This was great. Worth the read... and it was a quick read, I did it in one sitting. I also recommend his "Battle for the Soul of Capitalism."

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