Enough

I highly recommend the book Enough by Vanguard's founder,Jack Bogle, who eloquently outlines many of the frustrationsinvestors have. ( USA Today) <p> Vanguard Group founder Bogle expounds on the hidden costs ofour current financial system (primarily driven by speculation andcomplexity) and suggests that a deeper understanding of what istruly enough will help foster more sustainableinvesting and better living. (Library Journal Best of 2008Selection) <p> Why don t people publish pamphlets any more.I m not talking about the slim-jims handed out at tradeshows, but rabble-rousing, world-changing works like CommonSense and The Communist Manifesto. John Bogle, thefounder of Vanguard, follows in the footsteps of the greatpamphleteers Central to the effective functioning ofcapitalism, he writes, was the fundamental principleof trusting and being trusted and that isdisappearing. The problem now: No one is satisfied with having enough money or enough success. If pamphletswere still the rage, 48 pages distilled from the contents of thisbook could be something as powerful to our age as anything writtenby Thomas Paine or Marx and Engels. In our more bookish time,though, Bogle has fleshed his ideas out to an interesting, 266-pageoverview of his life and his views. (Barron s) <p> What have I created? [Bogle] asks in mockhorror in his new book his cry reflects a deeper personaldilemma, one that jags like a scar through this thoughtfulmeditation on the excess and greed that created the worst financialcrisis since the Great Depression. I applaud his enthusiasmand don t doubt his wisdom and sincerity. Enough with the period is aworthy addition to the canon, a variation of his familiar sermon onthrift, simplicity, and the superiority of low-cost indexfunds. James Pressley, Bloomberg News <p> Jack Bogle s passionate cry of Enough.contains a thought-provoking litany of life lessons regarding ourindividual roles in commerce and society. Employing a seamless mixof personal anecdotes, hard evidence, and all-too-often-underratedsubjective admonitions, Bogle challenges each of us to aspire tobecome better members of our families, our professions, and ourcommunities. Rarely do so few pages provoke so much thought.Read this book. David F. Swensen, Chief Investment Officer, YaleUniversity <p> We live in a time that values achievement over character. Whenthe two collide, character often takes a back seat andrelationships of all kinds are shattered. Bogle observes that whilethe financial represents the worst of it, what we see today is notjust a financial sector problem, but a societal problem. There isreally just too much greed everywhere. Enough isreally about discovering what is really important in our lives. Michael McKinney, LeadingBlog <p> Bogle is a rarity - a true captain of industry who speaks aboutcomplex economic issues in a language comprehensible to thelayperson. Michael Smerconish, The Philadelphia Enquirer <p> Enough shines a light on Bogle's sense of despair overthe state of the financial industry, and perhaps industry ingeneral. From CEOs who implode their companies and floataway on golden parachutes, to financial companies who createinstruments so complex they themselves have trouble understandingthem, to mutual fund companies that market rosy returns whilesugarcoating their fees, Bogle sees a lack of integrity and awillingness to play fast and loose with ethical rules in order tomake a buck. (Or, maybe more accurate, 150 billion bucks.) Justin McHenry, BlogCritics Magazine <p> It's hard to imagine a better time to publish a book thatadvocates moderation, balance and integrity in the business world.In this wise meditation, Bogle, the folk-hero creator of the firstindex mutual fund and founder of the Vanguard Mutual Fund Group,deplores our worship of wealth and the growing corruption ofour professional ethics but ultimately the subversion of ourcharacter and values. Directly in his sights: CEOs andhedge-fund managers who draw obscene compensation. Atthis time of plunging portfolios, it is a relief to be told that enough is within reach. (TIME Magazine) <p> I will simply say that it is one of the best business books('life' books?) I have ever read, an easy All-time Top 10. And itstiming is, well, read it yourself ... Tom Peters <p> This is an impressive message from a distinguishedbusinessman. It will challenge all decision makers to consider thesufficiency and direction of their lives and work. What do we meanby Enough? Enough of what? Enough for whatpurpose? Feast here and reflect. Robert F. Bruner, Dean and Charles C. Abbott Professor ofBusiness Administration, Darden Graduate School of Business <p> From one battler to another: Thank you forputting in one little book the premise for an active, long life. Aprimer for those who will abjure complacency and just wanting more,who d rather focus on the joy of trying to move some balldownfield. Ira Millstein, Senior Partner, Weil Gotshal & MangesLLP <p> The balances one must create in investing, in running abusiness, and in life more generally are simply and clearly statedin Jack s most recent book, Enough. Unfortunatelythere are not enough Jack Bogles around in today s world ofinstant gratification. Enough. should be must reading forbusiness students and corporate board members. David L. Sokol, Chairman, MidAmerican Energy HoldingsCompany <p> Although Enough. is presented in a small volume, JohnBogle's wisdom is writ large and profound. The messages areparticularly meaningful as we all reel from the moral, economic andfinancial meltdown that confronts us today. William H. Donaldson, Former Chairman, U.S. Securities andExchange Commission <p> [an] engaging, highly readable new book on what wentwrong in financial markets in recent years. In the growing canon of what went wrong books, Bogle's offering holds a unique place...readers will value the common sense packed in these pages. Jared Bernstein, Philadelphia Inquirer <p> Throughout his legendary career, John C. Bogle-founder ofthe Vanguard Mutual Fund Group and creator of the first indexmutual fund-has helped investors build wealth the right way and leda tireless campaign to restore common sense to the investmentworld. Along the way, he s seen how destructive an obsessionwith financial success can be. Now, with Enough., he putsthis dilemma in perspective. Inspired in large measure by thehundreds of lectures Bogle has delivered to professional groups andcollege students in recent years, Enough. seeks,paraphrasing Kurt Vonnegut, to poison our minds with alittle humanity. Page by page, Bogle thoughtfully considerswhat enough actually means as it relates to money,business, and life. * Reveals Bogle s unparalleled insights on money and whatwe should consider as the true treasures in our lives * Details the values we should emulate in our business andprofessional callings * Contains thought-provoking life lessons regarding ourindividual roles in society <p>Written in a straightforward and accessible style, this uniquebook examines what it truly means to have enough inworld increasingly focused on status and score-keeping. (Jack Canfield Review) <p> Enough. conveys an especially poignant message inthis time of financial crisis... The book presents a collectionof inspirational truths and values by which to live. (TheJournal of Investment Management) <p> In Enough, Bogle isn t interested only in betterinvesting. He s moved by morals, which he finds sorelylacking in business and finance today. - Jane Bryant Quinn, authorof Making the Most of Your Money Now <p> Enough.deals with how we got in this hole and how we getout. Nobody gets off the hook, including you and me Realchange starts with individuals, Bogle says. If each of us takes apart, that will be enough. Terry Bibo, columnist, Journal Star <p> Enough. is a call for the return to core values or towhat Bogle refers to as the old-fashioned liberal humanitarianismthat was the hallmark of the Age of Reason. The title has a doublemeaning: Enough as in fed up, and enough as a reflection onwhat people value and how they define success and satisfaction .The Street.com (June 2010) <p> John Bogle's fantastic book about measuring what counts inlife. (Motley Fool)