Reading can be broken into 3 levels: skimming, reading, & absorbing. Each level represents an increasing amount of interaction. Ideally, the more thought that’s put into the process – the more you should get out of it in the end.
Although a short read at 250+ pages, John Bogle’s Enough fell under the last category as: each, individual word was read, breaks were taken between sections, and some were even re-read in an effort to fully grasp the concepts.
Following the book’s structure, this review will be segmented throughout the week with one, new post each day and the outline for the week below.
Monday, May 31st – Review & Introduction
Tuesday, June 1st – Money (Ch 1 – 3)
Wednesday, June 2nd – Business (Ch 4 – 7)
Thursday, June 3rd – Life (Ch 8 – 10)
Friday, June 4th – Wrapping Up: What’s Enough?
Overall, the book’s structure was well-laid out. The sections are broken into chapters which are then broken further down into mini-segments. The heaviest section, obviously, is the Business Section as Bogle has a lot to say here.
He must love word plays, because there’s countless transposed sentences to emphasize his points. He writes very eloquently and had me going to the dictionary every so often, which I wasn’t quite expecting.
If you are left with one image of this book, let it be this.
John Bogle writes like a scolding grandfather, firm yet nurturing.
Don’t misinterpret – this is a positive trait.
It just may make you feel slightly ashamed while learning the lesson.
Introduction
This [ancient Persia] story was a special favorite of Dr. Russeell Conwell, who founded Philadelphia’s Temple University in 1884. The story inspired his classic lecture, “Acres of Diamonds,” which he delivered more than 6,000 times, all over the world. The moral of the story: “Your diamonds are not in far distant mountains or in yonder seas; they are in your own backyard, if you but dig for them.” P 8-9
In our financial system, we focus our expectations on the returns that the financial markets may deliver, ignoring the exorbitant costs extracted by our financial system, the excessive taxes engendered by record levels of speculative trading, and inflation borne of a government that spends (our) money beyond its means, grossly devastating these returns. P 22