John C. Bogle: Don't Count on It!: Reflections on Investment Illusions, Capitalism, "Mutual" Funds, Indexing, Entrepreneurship, Idealism, and Heroes

In December of 2010, Seeking Alpha, a premium financial newsletter, wrote this about the book and author: Don't Count on It!: Reflections on Investment Illusions, Capitalism, "Mutual" Funds, Indexing, Entrepreneurship, Idealism, and Heroes (Wiley, 2011) is an anthology of recent writings and speeches by John C. Bogle, the venerable founder of Vanguard. It is a substantial book, over 600 pages long, and, as its subtitle indicates, covers a range of topics. Here I'm going to confine myself to two. I'll begin by exploring three principles that underlie Bogle's well-known case for low-cost passive index funds. Then I'll jump to the lecture he gave to the Risk Management Association in October 2007: "Black Monday and Black Swans." Read the full review and article here. The WNYC Radio program, The Brian Lehrer Show, recently aired a show, "Vanguard of Finance," in which the author was a guest. See also: Common Sense on Mutual Funds: Fully Updated 10th Anniversary Edition, The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns (Little Books. Big Profits), Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life.