Ryan Holiday's Review of Meditations

“6 Books Every Ambitious Young Person Should Read The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro. Titan by Ron Chernow. The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Cyropaedia by Xenophon

“In the course of those readings and my study of stoicism, a lot has changed. Marcus Aurelius has guided me through breakups and getting married, through being relatively young and poor and relatively older and well-off. His wisdom has helped me with getting fired and with quitting, with success and with struggles. I’ve carried him to close to a dozen countries and moved him to multiple houses. I’ve turned to him for articles and books and casual dinner conversation. The one pristine white cover is now its own shade of tan, but with every read, every time I’ve touched the book, I’ve gotten something new or been reminded of something timeless and important.

“Some books I leaned on often throughout this were The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, and A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy.

“And Stoicism, it could be said, is a philosophy about how to make better choices. This is what we see in a book like Meditations.

“6 Books Every Ambitious Young Person Should Read The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro. Titan by Ron Chernow. The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Cyropaedia by Xenophon

“Top 3: Meditations Man's Search for Meaning 48 Laws of Power

“15 years ago I first read Gregory Hays' translation of Meditations...here he is reviewing my books in the @nyrbclassics. Life is weird and good.

“When I was 19 years old, I met @drdrewpinsky and asked him for some book recommendations. These are the three he gave me...and my Amazon receipt. That question changed my life and I still have the books. Passing along the recommendation if you haven't re… pic.twitter.com/SjsXXw4lrG

“It's awesome to see people reading Marcus Aurelius and Seneca and Epictetus and I feel like I am paying forward what was done for me.

“It would have probably been in the Stoics first. When I read Marcus Aurelius in my early 20s, a lot of that went over my head. But then, as you unfortunately experience and as I have as well, you start losing people. You start understanding how time is passing and you'll never give it back. You start to have some regrets and you think about how you don't want to add to that pile. And for me all those warnings from the Stoics came back. Namely this one from Marcus: You can leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think."

“Gregory Hays for Modern Library. Definitely.

“I like Hays here: "The best revenge is to not be like that."

“I did a piece last year on re-reading Marcus Aurelius for the 100th time which you might enjoy

“The first few meditations are just him thanking people he like. Start with Book Two--it gets really good.

“@Haneylive @tferriss Don't read that Marcus Aurelius. Try this one

“@matthewislam @CaseyNeistat read Marcus Aurelius next!

“I first read Meditations more than fifteen years ago. I’m a champion of the Gregory Hays translation but it was a treat (and an eye-opening experience) to read this new annotated edition by Robin Waterfield. Marcus, like Heraclitus, believed we never step in the same river twice. Reading a new translation of a book you’ve read (or love) is a great way to see the same ideas from a new angle…or find new ideas you missed on the previous go-arounds. The annotations (presented as footnotes) here also provide great context. If you haven’t read Marcus Aurelius or if you have…you should read this book and then read it again.

“Gregory Hays for Modern Library. Second best is the new Robin Waterfield annotated translation of Marcus, IMO.

“In Meditations, Marcus Aurelius thanks his mentor for introducing him to the book that changed his life. One person passing along brilliant writing to another: it’s a tradition as old as time. But do you actively seek out more of these experiences?

“Some books I’ve read and re-read many times: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius The Moviegoer by Walker Percy The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene The Little Girl at the Window by Totto-Chan

“7 Books Every Ambitious Young Person Should Read The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro. Titan by Ron Chernow. The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Cyropaedia by Xenophon The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi

“I actually have the copy of Marcus that my wife--then girlfriend--bought in 2007 shortly after we met.

“And what makes you think that I am opposed to people reading Marcus Aurelius and Seneca? I have probably successful recommended the Stoics--in their original form--more than any other living person. It's not even a brag, I see the Amazon Affiliate receipts.

“I mean a few pages into Marcus's Meditations he congratulates himself for never laying a hand on his female slaves (that is rape them) so that's a pretty good reminder that these guys lived in a different culture. Rome was a dark, violent, twisted place. We can't forget that while some aspects of their lives were shockingly identical to ours--almost as if no time has passed--others are just insanely incomprehensible. I believe the punishment for parricide in Rome (killing your parents) was they would put you in a thick leather sack with a dog, a cat, a snake and a monkey and then throw you in a river to drown and be clawed to death.

“The book that's had the most impact of me personally: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. It's just a magnificent and totally unique historical document. I mean, the private self-improvement notes of the most important man in the world. I've heard from lots of people I have turned this book onto and they've loved it.

“At the time I was working for the author Tucker Max and I emailed him after the Dr. Drew exchange to see if he had read Epictetus. He told me it was amazing and that I should also read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Marcus Aurelius, translated by Gregory Hays, arrived first. My life has not been the same since.

“That's right, though if there were a full translation of Hadot, I'd still probably recommend Hays. It's the best.

“@cromwell too important to read as an ebook