The Little Book of Common Sense Investing
John Bogle's short case for owning the whole market cheaply and leaving it alone
Vanguard founder John C. Bogle's 2007 book, updated in 2017, makes one argument and makes it thoroughly: over long periods almost nobody beats the market after costs, so own the entire market through a low-cost index fund and hold it. Each short chapter takes one objection, from star managers to market timing to fancier index products, and answers it with the arithmetic of fees. Usually the first book handed to a beginner who wants to invest and never think about it again.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Warren BuffettRecommends
Investor · Berkshire Hathaway chairman
A few investment managers are very good, he conceded in the 2014 letter, but in the short run it is hard to tell luck from talent. Rather than listen to their siren songs, he wrote, investors large and small should read Bogle's book instead.
Source: Berkshire Hathaway: 2014 Chairman's Letter
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under stress.
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Man's Search for Meaning
Viktor Frankl on surviving the camps and choosing your response
On record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 2 recommend it, 2 have discussed it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
The Daily Stoic
366 short Stoic passages with modern commentary, one per day
On record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 3 recommend it, 1 has discussed it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
Collected thinking on wealth, specific knowledge and happiness
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 3 recommend it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Digital Minimalism
A philosophy for using much less technology, on purpose
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it, 1 has discussed it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Ego Is the Enemy
Ryan Holiday on the ways self-importance wrecks aspiring, succeeding and failing
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 2 recommend it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Slow Productivity
Do fewer things, work at a natural pace, obsess over quality
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it, 1 has discussed it
Book entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.