A timeline who’s-who of stoicism - audio delivery could be better …

Lots of books on and references to the main practitioners of Stoicism now exist; with Ryan Holiday being one of the main modern day advocates.

This is a great accompaniment to all of this work, with a timeline who’s-who of the stoic way of thinking and how it evolved over time.

Now, I’ve got huge respect for any author who narrates their own audiobooks. It’s a big job. Narration is also a skill, with the spoken delivery being different to the actual writing of the content.

Sometimes you’ve just got to know when you have the voice and skill, or not. I don’t think my accent would provide an engaging tone …. And In this case, in my opinion, it’s a ‘not’. Same tone, spoken too fast. I’d advise listening at 0.8 or 0.9 speed.

The conversation at the end between the authors is just as good as the content too. Great little bonus

Fascinating content. Hard listen. Probably better reading the book?

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I’ve heard auctioneers talk slower and more clearly.

Fantastic book but a difficult listen. I’ll definitely be buying the paperback as all of the other books I’ve read by Ryan Holiday have been great! It’s just the reading here that lets it down.

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Must read

Absolutely fantastic, can really engage with the wisdom on so many levels, this must be taught in schools it would benefit society.

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Shame about the Narration

This is a good book, full of amazing historical detail that reflects well on the author..Alas, the same cannot be said for his narration which is like an 10 year old reading hurriedly from a book in front of a class. The narrator is not telling a story; he is merely saying the words. I am dissuaded from purchasing any of his other books where he is the narrator.

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2 people found this helpful

Great book. Badly read.

Ryan is a great Stoic writer. Sadly, the performance is dull and often spoken in monotone. However, it's still 100% worth getting.

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Good content, awful narration

Good content, but could not tolerate the narration so I gave up after the first three chapters, better to read this one I would suggest .

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A very challenging listen

I am a big fan of Ryan's other work, the trio of Stillness, Obstacle, and Ego. This serves more as an addition to those three, rather than a core text.

Some of the stories of these Greek and Roman philosophers are interesting, but without the regular links to modern situations and public figures, some of the mean is often lost amongst the countless names and dates.

If you're a fan of ancient history it will be a great read. If you're just after some more philosophical lessons I would just re-read The Obstacle is the Way.

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SOOOOOO GOOD! THANK YOU

so so powerful comprehensive and life enriching experience thank you Sirs I loved your conversation at the end

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Interesting, but not very useful

Interesting, but not very useful.

Having come to this from loving Holiday’s other books on Stoicism, I was perhaps a little biased in expecting more of the same.

Instead of the applicable philosophy found in his other work, you get a brief history of the lives of the founding fathers of Stoicism.

Whilst interesting, there is no new spin on these accounts and you could get the same for free online.

Ok, but not what I was expecting.

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Fascinating History but....

I really like this authors work but his voice is so monotonous and flat I struggled to listen to the whole book despite my interest in the subject.

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