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jenniferkowash's review against another edition
3.0
Simply a thought provoking book best read a little at a time. The short chapters contain just enough to get you thinking, which I liked. Not an immediately grand book by any means, but sometimes the most meaningful changes are the little ones.
osborne2read's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
kraxis's review against another edition
3.0
Good introduction to one of the four virtues of Stoicism (courage, temperance, justice, wisdom). Full of bite size lessons and historical anecdotes in three parts. Taming and overcoming fear, answering the inner call of courage, and then going beyond the call to heroic courage.
While simple and straightforward at times when only considering courage, the great complexity of Stoicism is the synthesis of the four virtues in application to your life, and this book does a good job at distilling courage in an approachable manner.
At times it appears as a collection of quotes or short stories masquerading as chapters. The final chapter dealing with the author's life journey and his struggles in applying philosophical theory to the grittiness of actual life was the most engaging part of the book. Having this application of theory section in each of the three parts of the book could have been a better and more engaging structure.
While simple and straightforward at times when only considering courage, the great complexity of Stoicism is the synthesis of the four virtues in application to your life, and this book does a good job at distilling courage in an approachable manner.
At times it appears as a collection of quotes or short stories masquerading as chapters. The final chapter dealing with the author's life journey and his struggles in applying philosophical theory to the grittiness of actual life was the most engaging part of the book. Having this application of theory section in each of the three parts of the book could have been a better and more engaging structure.
ninabina's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book.
It was interesting to read about what constitutes courage, and I like that Holiday uses examples to get his point across. I think the examples provide context and are an interesting way of teaching philosophy-- especially since stoicism concerns itself with the actions of people rather than just the ideas.
I'm a bit iffy about the writing style though. I like the short punchy sentences every now and then, for emphasis. However, it was done too often for my taste-- to the point where the prose sometimes felt stilted.
As others have pointed out, Holiday's books have a tendency to show the breadth of something more than the depth. This book continues that tendency, though I do think that there's more depth here than some of his other works.
All in all, it was an enjoyable read that will leave me thinking (and hopefully acting) more courageously.
It was interesting to read about what constitutes courage, and I like that Holiday uses examples to get his point across. I think the examples provide context and are an interesting way of teaching philosophy-- especially since stoicism concerns itself with the actions of people rather than just the ideas.
I'm a bit iffy about the writing style though. I like the short punchy sentences every now and then, for emphasis. However, it was done too often for my taste-- to the point where the prose sometimes felt stilted.
As others have pointed out, Holiday's books have a tendency to show the breadth of something more than the depth. This book continues that tendency, though I do think that there's more depth here than some of his other works.
All in all, it was an enjoyable read that will leave me thinking (and hopefully acting) more courageously.