Lives of the Stoics

The Art of Living from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius

De: Ryan Holiday, Stephen Hanselman

Narrado por: Ryan Holiday

Instant New York Times Advice & Business Bestseller, USA Today Bestseller, and Wall Street Journal #1 Bestseller!

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

From the bestselling 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 in these pages, from Epictetus to Marcus Aurelius--slaves to emperors--is designed to help the reader 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 reader in search of inspiration from the past.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"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

"There is philosophy for school and philosophy for life. This book is about the lives of men and women who lived their words and shows you how to do the same."
--Thomas Tull, founder of Legendary Entertainment

"The Stoics were more than just thinkers. They were athletes and generals and emperors and husbands and daughters and parents. This is a wonderful book that shows you the lives behind the philosophers whose words have shaped the world."
--Chris Bosh, 2x NBA Champion

“In story after page-turning story, Lives of the Stoics brings ancient philosophers to life. And that is exactly what they would have wanted, because Stoicism is not a thought experiment but rather a guide for living. Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman show us how the masters succeeded — and sometimes failed — at turning theory into practice."
--David Epstein, New York Times bestselling author of Range

“In a time of pandemic and economic turmoil, we are all asked to be stoic. Lives of the Stoics is a great place to begin. It entertainingly, and yet thoughtfully, introduces us to the philosophers – and mere human beings – who shaped ideas that guide us over 2,000 years later. A great read, particularly for a tough time.”
--Gen. Stanley McChrystal, author of Team of Teams

“Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman have achieved something remarkable with Lives of the Stoics. It's a gift to the many of us today who are searching for inspiration and sense a deep connection with the thought of Zeno, Cato, Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. At last the story we needed has been told! Indispensable to anyone who genuinely wants to learn about Stoic philosophy."
--Donald Robertson, author of How to Think Like a Roman Emperor

“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.

Love the book. Wish there was another narrator

I love this book. In fact I own all of the stoic writings from Ryan Holiday. The topic is central to my personal journey and Ryan Holiday helps translate these messages and make them more accessible.

My criticism is the narration from the author. I find it distracting or much so that I’m thinking of returning it and just reading the book.

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.

Narrator Needs To Relax

Amazing and timely story, told aloud like an emotional TV Pundit arguing with himself. Narration needlessly exaggerated and harmfully stressful upon anyone who hears it.

Practical examples of Stoicism in daily practice

I loved this book! I will return to it again and again. The author/narrator sounds really rushed though as if he was trying to read the whole book with one breath.

Living As A Stoic

There’s a book in bodies how to live as a stoic. This book taught me a lot about the day-to-day living of a stoic. This book gives an examples on how the stoics became who they were. This book gives examples of how to live as a stoic.

Read this book if you are trying to live as a stoic. The top lesson this book taught me was that all we control is our response to events.

Every event has two handles—one by which it can be carried, and one by which it can’t. If your brother does you wrong, don’t grab it by his wronging, because this is the handle incapable of lifting it. Instead, use the other—that he is your brother, that you were raised together, and then you will have hold of the handle that carries.

If you found this helpful let me know.

Historically relevant

There are some excellent lessons you can take out of this book. I had no idea the various challenges many of the stoics went through. The authors do a great job of detailing this, while expressing some of the best ideas each stoic gave us.

Ryan Holiday is the best

Just another amazing work from the best modern stoic. Great listen if you want to learn about some of the greats and the moments that made them stoic legends. Can’t recommend this work enough, definitely a must read for all those getting read into stoic history. Great stuff!!!

Audiobooks About Stoicism Make People Angry

I follow Ryan Holiday on social media, YouTube, etc and I like the person and his message, and associate his daily, positive, uplifiting messages with his voice. Regardless, I prefer when authors narrate their books because it takes away from the message/content when it's narrated by someone who did not do the work to write it. I find myself as annoyed by trained voice actors narrating non-fiction as the reviewers are here, but I just breathe through it and let it go, cause stoicism and such.

Overall though, I don't have a problem with the narration. For this audiobook it's rhythmic and to the point. I do sense that his style of narrating has changed hopefully not as a result of the negative reviews or pressure from Audible producers, but I am grateful that he's still narrating his own work.

I understand the disappointment and frustration, but keep on practicing Stoicism!