Why people recommend it
Lives of the Stoics by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman is a comprehensive biographical exploration of ancient philosophy, tracing the history of Stoicism from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius through the personal stories of its most notable practitioners. On The Daily Stoic, Steven Pressfield and host Ryan Holiday discussed the ritual of reading the book, with Holiday reflecting on an annual writing and reading schedule he unintentionally maintained. Chris Williamson on Modern Wisdom recommended the volume extensively during an episode with Holiday, directing listeners to the show notes and inviting the author to share his top three favorite historical characters and the lessons derived from their lives. H.R. McMaster also praised the book on The Daily Stoic, grouping it with Holiday's other works as an essential contribution to modern strategic thinking and historical education. Across these programs, guests emphasized the practical value of examining ancient lives, demonstrating how historical figures faced adversity, political turmoil, and personal struggles with unwavering character. The book continues to be celebrated by podcasters as an accessible and deeply inspiring entry point into classical philosophy for contemporary readers seeking wisdom and discipline.
Who recommended it
- Chris Williamson Recommended
- Steven Pressfield Recommended
- Ryan Holiday Discussed
- H. R. McMaster Discussed
Chris Williamson — 3 mentions
“New book, Lives of the Stoics, The Art of Living from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius. Why did you write this?”
“What I want you do is give us your top three favorite characters featured in the book and a lesson or a story from each which explains why you're such a fan of them.”
“Lives of the Stoics will be linked in the show notes below. Where else do you want to direct people?”
Steven Pressfield — 1 mention
“Two days later, one year later, I started Lives; like I realized I was sort of almost unconsciously on a schedule of starting a book on this day five years in a row. Wow.”
Ryan Holiday — 1 mention
“I tell a story in my book, 'Lives of the Stoics,' about a Stoic philosopher named Diotimus. The Epicureans and Stoics were rival schools: opposites, really.”
H. R. McMaster — 1 mention
“and you know the and as well as the eagles the enemy and now the lives of the stoics you know so i'm um i'm a big fan”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
- The Daily Stoic
- A Sense Of The Enemy The High Stakes History Of Reading Your Rivals Mind
- Call Sign Chaos
- Deep Work
- Discipline Is Destiny
- Dying Every Day
Other mentions (17: passing, ad reads, own books)
“i mean i did a book called lives of the stokes which is like a set of biographies of all of the main stoics it's there's not any how-to it or advice in it”
“I did a book called lives with the stoks which is bios of each of the stoks”
“Alright, I'll do it; I wrote a whole book about this, you know? I did a book called 'Lives with the Stoics' which is bios of each of the Stoics.”
“so I did this book a few years ago called lives of the stoks where instead of sort of really like diving into what the stok said I just tried to write these biographies of who they were now”
“I did this book a few years ago called Lives of the Stoics, where instead of diving into what the stoics said, I just tried to write biographies of who they were.”
“so I did this book a few years ago called lives of the Stokes where instead of sort of really like diving into what the stok said I just tried to write these biographies of who they were now”
“like um I did this book I did lives of the stoics obviously I wanted to do well but part of the reason I wrote it was there was a bunch of stoics that I didn't know very well”
“well you know it's funny the the one stock that I didn't include in lives of the stoics his name is Harry Oakley's and he came up with this it's basically his only accomplishment which is why he's not in the book because I was trying to talk about the lives of the Stokes as opposed to just the philosophies”
“I when because I wrote about this in in lives of the stoics I I love this quote from Plutarch”
“I suspect one of the things that that bothers stoics about Epicureans and why there's this conflict and there was there was actually a a stoic named Diotimus who I write about in in Lives of the Stoics who who forges all these fraudulent letters accusing Epicurus of all these crimes”
“yeah it's interesting when i was writing lives of the stokes i was looking at some of the early greek stokes and i was it was interesting their relationship with these sort of kings and princes that they were advising”
“and he and i did an interview about my most recent book the lives of the stoics which i suggest you check out”
“i do yeah lives of the of the stoics uh september 29th i encourage all of my followers and readers if you don't i mean i'm sure all of you read ronald holiday but you really should go out this is going to be a great book”
“And so, I think one of the things that's most compelling to me about the Stoics, even when they were somewhat hypocritical, even when they fell short, there's not a there's not a single Stoic in the book that did not live an interesting life, right?”
“Obviously, a bunch of those names are people I profile in Lives.”
“so ryan holiday's new book the lives of the stoics which is coming through is the first pdf i've ever got ever in history which is named the title of the thing”
“so ryan holiday's new book uh the lives of the stoics which is coming through is the first pdf i've ever got ever in history which is named the title of the thing that it is every other pdf that i get which is sent through with a non-disclosure agreement saying you can't fold this on”