Stoicism: A Beginner’s Guide to the Ancient Art, History and Wisdom of the Stoic Philosophy Paperback – July 21, 2017

This is a very well written introductory guide to Stoicism.The first part introduces Stoicism, then covers its history and prominent figures.The second part outlines core concepts, principles, and rules.The third part elaborates on concepts that are sometimes misconstrued, such as emotions and relationships (Stoics don't lack or repress emotions, they just don't allow them to override reason when they make decisions.)The final section demonstrates Stoicism's relevance to the modern reader and outlines eight clear ways to implement it in your daily life (1- Stop procrastinating. 2- Be brutally honest with yourself. 7- Apply the knowledge that you have acquired from books...)Overall, I found this book to be an interesting and inspiring read. It provided me with concise, actionable ideas for using Stoicism to improve my life. I highly recommend this book to everyone, particularly those who wish to cultivate happiness in the face of adversity.

I expected a little more in depth knowledge of the philosophy of stoicism. The book is roughly 46 pages long, large sized font with a lot of save between paragraphs. It was written in a clear and orderly format, but as if it were written by a very motivated high school student for an expanded English paper.There were many references and examples of modern living in the book. The rhretoric used in the book was a bit underdeveloped and some of the ideas we're not quite as clear as I think they should have been. Especially when discussing apatheia as it relates to stoicism.Overall, the book left me with more questions than answers, which disturbs me, since the book is meant to distill down the philosophy into an understandable and logical set of axioms. If the book was meant to draw in the average reader to dig deeper, I think the purpose has been accomplished, otherwise it fell flat of being the best that it could have been.Elizabeth, if you are reading this, learn from it, accept the criticism and strive to be better and do better on the next one. I wish you the best of luck.

Short, sweet, to the point.But overall, it is simply ok. This is a super light review of what Stoicism is, to the extent that saying that Sesame Street is a 'kids show with puppets'. I appreciate the fact that the book exists, because I bought it and then bought a few follow-on books because of this book, but I can't say that this book had any 'new' information. Two pros: The price is extremely 'on point' for the book, and you can read it in about 30minutes. Realities: Don't expect any detail in this book to answer all your questions, rather, it'll let you know if you want to buy the Seneca/Mediations books which are $20/pop. So in that regards, this book serves a pretty good purpose.

This "book" is a very short tract on Stoicism. Reminds me of something Jehovah's Witnesses might hand out. Very little depth. Of the three main ancient proponents of Stoicism - Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Seneca - the first two are creditable, intelligent persons. Seneca's life and actions are not a recommendation of Stoicism. I've concluded that Stoicism is a Western version of Indian philosophies that stress overcoming striving.

Nice intro to the philosophy. Very similar to other texts I've read on mindfulness and existentialism, or longer treatises like "Man's Search for Meaning". Thank you Elizabeth :)

Very good primer on Stoicism

I learned more on Wikipedia, than from this piece of garbage.

Thank you Elizabeth, I have been studying Stoicism for a while now and decided to buy your beginner's guide among other Stoicism books. It was a pleasure reading your book, you have a great ability to summarize the information without loosing the esscential meaning of thing, another quality I can see in this little book is that you can focus on the important things and be realistic and practical. Thank you.