Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsSelf-help book based on stoic philosophy
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2020
The book was not what I was expecting. I was looking for a strong philosophical foundation, and this book accomplishes that objective only marginally. This is more a self-help book based on philosophical ideas than a book on philosophy that awakens that sense of wonder, discovery, and curiosity that leads you to become a better human being.
There is wisdom in this book, but not of the kind that you would typically find in pure philosophical ideas. You see, in philosophy, what matters are the questions, and meditating on those questions is what conduct you to wisdom. However, in this book the author packs his own wisdom, derived from his study of some of the greatest stoic philosophers. It is my opinion that this deprives his readers of the valuable effort of thinking hard on the fundamental questions of the stoic philosophy themselves.
I think that as a self-help book, this book is not that bad. The author has some interesting and useful advice and perspectives. However, he is not yet at the height of the past great philosophers that he constantly quotes. His advice feels way too personal for me, and his writing still lacks that millennial wisdom and piercing shrewdness of the stoic philosophers of yore.
However, I do believe that his ”street wisdom” could be useful to many readers and my rating probably just means that I read the wrong starting book on stoicism.
A book that I considered significantly superior to this one is How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson.
