Ryan Holiday

Stephen Hanselman

"Holiday and Hanselman present the ... lives of the men and women who strove to live by the timeless Stoic virtues of courage, justice, temperance, [and] wisdom. Organized in digestible, mini-biographies of all the well-known--and not so well-known--Stoics, this book ... brings home what Stoicism was like for the people who loved it and lived it, dusting off powerful lessons to be learned from their struggles and successes. More than a mere history book, every example in these pages, from Epictetus to Marcus Aurelius--slaves to emperors--is designed to help the reader apply philosophy in their own lives"--

The Art of Living from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius

Lives of the Stoics

Mia Caven

Another long essay about philosophy which is cool and well written but nothing incredible or amazing or life changing

Julien Sobczak

Short biographies from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius collected from remaining writings.

Ryan Holiday is one of the leading figures on modern stoicism, distilling the lessons from the past for modern lives. I loved his previous trilogy. I loved his newsletters. But I was a little disappointed by this book. I was hoping for more depth.

Lives of the Stoics presents short biographies (~10 pages) of 26 ancient Stoics over the five first centuries of Stoicism.

What the authors succeeded is in showing how Stoicism contributed to shaping the lives of the protagonists. Not all information outlived the last two millennia, and authors assembled the remaining pieces to create incomplete puzzles, where the main picture can still be observed and appreciated. The authors declare in the introduction, “Our aim in these pages is not to achieve strict scholarly accuracy—which is impossible after so many centuries—but to elucidate the moral lessons that can be drawn from the lives of these complicated figures.”

Reading from so many lives in the same book helped me appreciate how stoic virtues apply in so many different contexts, and in face of so many adversities. This is the kind of book we need during hard times like the current epidemic.

If you are curious about the history of Stoicism or if you want to understand how Stoicism influenced the lives of our predecessors and how it can help you, this book is a must-read. In the end, my disappointment comes from my own expectations. The authors cannot compensate for what history failed to preserve. The book is far from perfect, but I highly recommend it.

Kyle S

I've been an on and off again reader of stoic literature for the past few years and this book was one of the more interesting ones. Usually stoic literature that I've read talks directly of the philosophy along with a few quotes and examples from famous early stoics, or are straight up translations of the original text. This book was great at providing the historical context of these famous philosophers and wasn't afraid to criticize them at times. I picked up the book because I wanted a refresher on stoicism but honestly by the end the main thing that hooked me was seeing their lives play out against the fall of the Greek & Roman Republics and the rise of the Roman Empire. The book is one part philosophy, one part biography, and one part history. Overall I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anybody interested in the historical context of stoicism.

Stefan Imhoff

I’ve read most of Holidays books and loved most and also a fair share of the original Stoics. I also love history books (Histories by Herodot is one of my favorites). But this book just didn’t feel interesting. I have the feeling reading a Wikipedia page of an individual Stoic from the book would have been more interesting. Also the font of the paperback is seriously too small, I regret buying the paperback.

Abdul Rafay

For millennia, Stoicism has been the ancient philosophy that attracts those who seek greatness, from athletes to politicians and everyone in between. And no wonder: its embrace of self-mastery, virtue and indifference to that which we cannot control has much to offer those grappling with today's chaotic world. But who were the Stoics? In this book, Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman offer a fresh approach to understanding Stoicism through the lives of the people who practiced it. Through short biographies of all the famous, and lesser-known, Stoics, this book will show what it means to live stoically, and reveal the lessons to be learned from their struggles and successes. The result is a treasure trove of insights for anyone in search of living a good life.

Lives of the Stoics The Art of Living from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius

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