Episode · The Daily Stoic · 2022-08-14
Books mentioned on The Power Of Courage | Ryan Holiday Speaks To The US Naval Academy
In April of 2022 Ryan Holiday traveled to Annapolis, Maryland to speak to the US Naval Academy about courage. ✉️ Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily?
Ryan Holiday recommended Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield, Meditations by Aurelius Marcus, and The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy, and discussed Why not the best? by Jimmy Carter, Stoic Warriors by Nancy Sherman, and A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Why not the best?
Why Not the Best? by Jimmy Carter is an early campaign memoir and political manifesto written when Carter ran for the governorship of Georgia.
Discussed“In fact, one of his first books, his campaign memoir when he runs for governor of Georgia is titled, Why Not the Best?”
Where to get it
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Gates of Fire
Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield is a historical novel detailing the heroic Spartan stand at the Battle of Thermopylae.
Recommended“My friend Steven Presfield, who wrote Gates of Fire, who was a Marine, he he he says that the thing that gets in the way between us and our art...”
Where to get it
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Meditations
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is a collection of personal journals and philosophical reflections written by the Roman emperor, offering timeless insights on Stoic philosophy, personal virtue, and resilience.
Recommended“and yet he writes in meditations perhaps one of the greatest books ever written he says it's unfortunate that this happened and he catches himself...”
Where to get it
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The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy is an illustrated fable following an unlikely quartet of characters as they explore profound themes of kindness, friendship, vulnerability, and resilience.
Recommended“This is a little book I like to read to my young children. It's called The Boy, the Fox, the horse, and the mole.”
Where to get it
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Stoic Warriors
Discussed“Nancy Sherman, who was an instructor here for many years, a wonderful writer and thinker about stoicism in her book Stoic Warriors, she talks about how we get the concept of stoicism wrong.”
Where to get it
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A Farewell to Arms
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway is a celebrated novel that chronicles a tragic wartime romance and the brutal realities of combat, known for its spare prose and poignant explorations of human resilience.
Discussed“Hemingway in a farewell to arms, he says if you bring so much courage into this world, the world has to kill you to break you and it will kill you.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“His books are taught in colleges and marketing programs around the world, including Trust Me, I'm Lying, which revealed the massive vulnerabilities and opportunities in the global media system in 2012.”