Episode · The Daily Stoic · 2023-08-19
Ryan Holiday & Paul Kix: books mentioned on The Daily Stoic
Paul Kix On The Civil Rights Movement And What It Means To Be Courageous
Ryan speaks with Paul Kix about his new book You Have to Be Prepared to Die Before You Can Begin to Live: Ten Weeks in Birmingham That Changed America, how Ryan helped him shape his writing career after being laid off by ESPN, the painful realities of the Jim Crow south and 1963 Birmingham, and more.
Ryan Holiday recommended Empire of the Summer Moon by S. C. Gwynne and You Have to Be Prepared to Die Before You Can Begin to Live by Paul Kix, and discussed Emerson by Robert D. Richardson, Freak Kingdom by Timothy Denevi, The Freaks by Arthur Wing Pinero, Lone Star 03 by Wesley Ellis, This Kind of War by T. R. Fehrenbach, The Immense Journey by Loren Eiseley, The Captain Class by Sam Walker, Waging a Good War by Thomas E. Ricks, and The Generals by Thomas E. Ricks. Paul Kix recommended The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story by Michael M. Lewis and First Principles by Thomas E. Ricks, and discussed The big short by Michael Lewis. Also mentioned: Ralph Waldo Emerson by Oliver Wendell Holmes and others, Reclaim Your Nest Egg by Ken Kamen, and Gone to Texas: A History of the Lone Star State by Randolph B. Campbell.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Ralph Waldo Emerson
Discussed“Have you read that Emerson biography yet? I'm like halfway through it.”
Where to get it
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Emerson
Discussed“it's incredible but I had the experience of that and with the Emerson mind on Fire book that you recommended where I can only make it like three or four pages and I have to stop”
Where to get it
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Freak Kingdom
Discussed“I also just read this book like um I read this book Freak Kingdom or Kingdom of freaks that it's about by this creative writing Professor”
Where to get it
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The Freaks
Discussed“I also just read this book like um I read this book Freak Kingdom or Kingdom of freaks that it's about by this creative writing Professor but it's about it's about the political activism slw writings of hunteress Thompson”
Where to get it
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Reclaim Your Nest Egg
Recommended“But you had recommended that Kamen's book. Oh yeah, that's another one that writing is incredible.”
Where to get it
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Lone Star 03
Discussed“um um yeah he wrote uh this book Lone Star which is a history of Texas which is incredible”
Where to get it
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Gone to Texas: A History of the Lone Star State
Recommended“Um, yeah, he wrote this book 'Lone Star,' which is a history of Texas, which is incredible.”
Where to get it
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This Kind of War
Discussed“and then he also wrote this book about the Korean War which he fought in called this kind of War that's also [ __ ] incredible”
Where to get it
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Empire of the Summer Moon
Recommended“so his his book The Empire of the summer moon was the one I was like oh I love this book”
Where to get it
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The Immense Journey
Discussed“Lauren Eisley the immense Journey it's a history of nothing less than the entire Earth's evolution oh and the writing is so [ __ ] good”
Where to get it
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You Have to Be Prepared to Die Before You Can Begin to Live
Recommended“so like the the first book to sabur I'm at ESPN yeah my kids are the boys were like maybe a year old maybe 18 months when I got that when I got that deal great book by the way one of my favorites”
Where to get it
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The big short
Discussed“Like um like I think about um Michael Lewis and 'The Big Short' which is one of the greatest non-fiction books of all time but also a massive hit.”
Where to get it
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The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story
Recommended“Yeah, 'The New New Thing,' I love that book.”
Where to get it
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The Captain Class
Discussed“did you read that book's the the captain's class by Sam uh no what's his name”
Where to get it
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Waging a Good War
Discussed“Did you read Tom Ricks' book, 'A Good War'? Was that the one on the generals?”
Where to get it
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The Generals
Discussed“did you read um Tom Rick's book w a good war was that the one on the generals”
Where to get it
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First Principles
Recommended“No, he wrote about the generals in Iraq and then wrote this great book on the founding fathers called 'First Principles', but he also wrote a history of the Civil Rights Movement from the perspective of a military historian.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (4) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“like this title itself I wasn't writing toward this title but when my editor was like this is a quote from the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth like she's like what do you think of this is book I'm like it's perfect”
“So in a lot of ways like this title itself, I wasn't writing toward this title, but when my editor was like this is a quote from the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, she's like what do you think of this as a book?”
“so like the the first book to sabur I'm at ESPN yeah my kids are the boys were like maybe a year old maybe 18 months when I got that when when I got that deal great book by the way one of my favorites”
“this book was actually much easier because it was I could start around 8:30 or 9 a little bit more leisurely and I could be I mean I don't know I I would I like both books but I think this is a little bit more thoughtful”