Lives of the Stoics

The Art of Living from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius

By: Ryan Holiday, Stephen Hanselman

Narrated by: Ryan Holiday

Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Instant New York Times Advice & Business best seller, USA Today best seller, and Wall Street Journal number one best seller!

A New York Times Noteworthy Pick and a "stellar work" by Publishers Weekly

From the best-selling authors of The Daily Stoic comes an inspiring guide to the lives of the Stoics, and what the ancients can teach us about happiness, success, resilience, and virtue.

Nearly 2,300 years after a ruined merchant named Zeno first established a school on the Stoa Poikile of Athens, Stoicism has found a new audience among those who seek greatness, from athletes to politicians and everyone in between. It's no wonder; the philosophy and its embrace of self-mastery, virtue, and indifference to that which we cannot control is as urgent today as it was in the chaos of the Roman Empire.

In Lives of the Stoics, Holiday and Hanselman present the fascinating lives of the men and women who strove to live by the timeless Stoic virtues of Courage. Justice. Temperance. Wisdom. Organized in digestible, mini-biographies of all the well-known - and not so well-known - Stoics, this book vividly 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, from Epictetus to Marcus Aurelius - slaves to emperors - is designed to help the listener apply philosophy in their own lives. Holiday and Hanselman unveil the core values and ideas that unite figures from Seneca to Cato to Cicero across the centuries. Among them are the idea that self-rule is the greatest empire, that character is fate; how Stoics benefit from preparing not only for success, but failure; and learn to love, not merely accept, the hand they are dealt in life. A treasure of valuable insights and stories, this book can be visited again and again by any listener in search of inspiration from the past.

©2020 Ryan Holiday (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Whether you're a general or a gardener, a stockbroker or a senator, there is much to learn from Ryan Holiday’s excellent Lives of the Stoics." (Senator Ben Sasse)

“Holiday and Hanselman (coauthors of The Daily Stoic) explain in this stellar work the implications of Stoic dedications to truth, wisdom, resilience, and character...This illuminating collection of biographies makes great use of Stoic wisdom to demonstrate the tradition’s values for any reader interested in ancient philosophy.” (Publishers Weekly [starred review])

“An introductory guide to the luminaries of Greco-Roman ethical philosophy.... Thoughtfully complicates Stoicism. Rather than emphasizing Spock-like, unemotional rigor (as pop culture often does), the authors reveal how the philosophy often debated its identity.... At a time when public nobility is hard to come by, this is a good reminder of the power of ethical leadership.” (Kirkus Reviews)

Great Audiobook

Great book. I learned a lot and gave me insight on how connected and the butterfly effect if you will, of the Stoic philosophers and how they're all tied into each other.

this book's value goes up each time you listen

great book that I will listen to over and over again. I'm so glad that Ryan did the reading for his book

The Best

Very good content and delivery by the author. Ryan Holiday is the man, worth the investment.

Wisdom in conversations with the dead

This audiobook is full of the wisdom of the stoics including many I had never heard of before. It’s a well rounded offering, easy to digest yet profound. Pieces of the book keep coming back to me throughout the day, once already today a quote from this book popped into my head and prompted me to stop and think before I reacted to circumstances outside my control. So I am already seeing the benefits of this book helping me live my philosophy. That to me is the mark of a beautiful book, one that serves its purpose: to help people effect positive change in their lives. I highly recommend this book along with the obstacle is the way and ego is the enemy and of course the daily stoic.

Real gold truly amazing book.

I've only gotten through the first three chapters and I absolutely love this book and the stories and the characters of real individuals with amazing lives.

I'm truly blessed to be able to study from the greatest minds.

This book is a life changer!

I know some of the comments complained about Ryan and his voice in the book, but I didn’t hear any issues with it, although he does go a bit fast at times. You can always read and reread or listen at a slower pace. Great overview of how Stoicism as a philosophy began and how it inspired and endured and adapted people and places as the world changed and continues to do so today. It is very straightforward and it ties together nicely the different Stoic philosophers and how their lives are connected by Stoicism. Hope you enjoyed it as I have! Awesome job to the authors!

Spark Interest in the Classics

Holiday and Hanselmann have greatly piqued my interest in the classic philosophers of the Greek and Roman eras with this book. By their own admission, it is by no means an exhaustive study of these pivotal characters in literary and philosophical history, neither is it a surface level dipping of a toe into their respective histories either. I have only recently began reading and pondering the impact on modern life of stoic philosophy and I would highly recommend adding this to anyone who considers them a continual student of life

You and Quincy Jones may have saved my life!

Ryan

I must've needed this and Quincy's 12 Notes to snack me out of my suicidal malaise. I briefly thought the world would be better off without me. Selfish, of course; listening to how Quincy got past his problems, and the stories of the stoics reminded me of my motto. Carpe Momento! Prosecutus Diem! Seize The Moments!; Attack The Day!

Let's just say I'm much better now (said in my John Astin voice). Again, Thanks!

Mo King

A week to learn, a life to master

Just finished, and restarted. So much wisdom and perspective packed into one volume. Glad to have easy access to reread many times to absorb much more.

Real People

The Stoics shown in this book were shown to be real, flawed human beings who just kept doing their best, and sometimes failed. This is a thoughtful and entertaining book, and I will be listening to it again.