Episode · The Daily Stoic · 2024-09-14
Books mentioned on Francis Ford Coppola Opens Up About How Philosophy Has Inspired His Life and Career
In his first ever podcast interview, Francis Ford Coppola joins Ryan to talk about how Marcus Aurelius, Stoicism, and Epicureanism have impacted his life, both personally and professionally.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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De Rerum Natura
De Rerum Natura by Titus Lucretius Carus is a classical philosophical poem exploring Epicurean physics, atomism, and the nature of the universe.
Discussed“Yeah, on the nature of things.”
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The Storm Before the Storm
The Storm Before the Storm by Mike Duncan is a historical examination of the turbulent decades leading up to the collapse of the Roman Republic and the rise of Julius Caesar.
Recommended“one of my favorite books is this book called The Storm before the storm and uh the idea is that we kind of just see Caesar Crossing the Rubicon one day as if it it just popped into his head as if there wasn't all this history and all these other events leading up to this other major event yes”
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Burr
Burr by Gore Vidal is a historical fiction novel that offers a provocative and unconventional look at the life of one of America's founding fathers, Aaron Burr.
Discussed“had you by the way ever read the gorv Vidal's book on Aaron bur no that's another great book uh Vidal was a you know brilliant for all his other complications he was a great scholar and he wrote a beautiful book uh on on Aaron Burr”
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Creation
Discussed“had you by the way ever read the gorv Vidal's book on Aaron bur no that's another great book uh Vidal was a you know brilliant for all his other complications he was a great scholar and he wrote a beautiful book uh on on Aaron bur and also on who's the first CH Christian uh uh Emperor uh Ju”
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De Bello Gallico Libri Vii.
Discussed“Well, the schoolboys in the founding of our nation were reading Caesar and the Gallic Wars. They knew it all by heart.”
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The swerve
The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt is a work of history and philosophy detailing the rediscovery in 1417 of Lucretius's long-lost classical Latin poem On the Nature of Things and how it helped spark the modern world.
Recommended“there's a wonderful book that I recommend to you that you'll thank me a million times that it's a good read it's called the swerve have you ever heard of it yes Incredible Book oh you read it yes Ste stepen Steven greenblood is a is a is a treasure yeah he he wrote he's a Shakespearean scholar but he”
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Will in the World
Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt is a biographical exploration that reconstructs the life, cultural environment, and artistic evolution of the legendary English playwright.
Discussed“so so let's talk uh because you mentioned Shakespeare green blot wrote this amazing book uh called will in the world that's incredible also”
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Tyrant
Tyrant by Stephen Greenblatt is a penetrating literary study that examines Shakespeare's depiction of absolute power, political corruption, and the psychology of dangerous rulers.
Discussed“so so let's talk uh because you mentioned Shakespeare green blot wrote this amazing book uh called will in the world that's incredible also and he has a book called Tyrant which I loved but but I was thinking you know a common theme between this movie and then of course apocalypse now but is also the theme of Shakespeare”
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Ideal and Actual in the Story of the Stone
Discussed“For example, one time I chose a great Chinese book called "The Story of the Stone" or "Dream of the Red Mansion" written in the 16th century. I found myself trying to change Megalopolis to be more like that, which I actually did, because that was one of the few books I ever read where the dream life of the”
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Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship
Discussed“He wrote a book called "Wilhelm Meister" and that was him stealing from Shakespeare. That is Goethe saying, "I want to be as much like Shakespeare as I can be," while Shakespeare was stealing from Plutarch, from Montaigne, from Danish legends, and from other plays—everyone has been stealing from one another.”
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Papyrus
Papyrus by Irene Vallejo is a narrative history of books and the written word in the ancient world, tracing the origins of libraries, scrolls, and literature.
Discussed“I was just reading this book called Papyrus I'm just so excited to tell you this so I was just reading this book called Papyrus which is about the history of paper and the early writings”
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Shahnameh
Shahnameh by Abolqasem Ferdowsi is a monumental and influential early Persian epic that chronicles the mythical and historical tales of ancient kings, embodying timeless themes of good and evil.
Discussed“Have you ever read that beautiful Persian book called the Shahnameh by Ferdowsi? No, that's like Gilgamesh! It's an early Persian epic, and it's great—a tale of kings!”
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Tender is the Night
Tender Is the Night by F.
Discussed“That it wasn't successful at first, so he and his editor straightened out something, I guess, I don't know which version I have. But I think what's unusual is that in the original 'Tender Is the Night,' there's a huge flashback in the middle of it that goes back and tells the story of Nicole and Dick Diver.”
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Antkind
Antkind by Charlie Kaufman is a wildly surreal, epic debut novel that follows a disgruntled film critic on a bizarre, cross-country odyssey after he discovers a potentially masterpiece-level, three-month-long stop-motion movie.
Discussed“he wrote a book a novel called ant antind uh a seven 800 page book called antkind and that's what Google said you know if you want to read something about being a so I got it”
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Meditations
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is a profound collection of personal reflections and Stoic philosophy written by the Roman emperor during his reign.
Discussed“And speaking of books, just 'cause I know he's a through line in the movie, one of the characters quotes him a few times. What's your relationship with Marcus Aurelius's 'Meditations'?”
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A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake
Discussed“And maybe a period where it's an apparent disaster, but over time, you know, I once read an article that James Joyce was talking about 'Finnegans Wake.' And he said, 'I'm going to put so much interesting stuff in this that it's going to take, you know, uh, 50 years for people to figure out what's in it and it'll”
