Emerson, the Stoics, and Me
Timeless Wisdom for Living an Authentic Life

Before Mark Matousek's LESSONS FROM AN AMERICAN STOIC: HOW EMERSON CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE, I knew little of Ralph Waldo Emerson beyond his importance to the Transcendentalist movement. Matousek's book not only makes Emerson's wisdom accessible, he also provides a rich commentary with interviews with n......more

I think this book is a fantastic tool for those getting into the ideas of stoicism. Hence the 4 stars. If you are already entrenched in it the lessons are things you have already learned. There were a few here or there I didn't know and really enjoyed sinking my teeth into. One such that I haven't t......more

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American poet and essayist who was one of the leading figures of the Transcendentalist movement in the mid 19th century. He was influenced by Stoicism, a school of philosophy that originated in ancient Greece and Rome and taught that virtue is the only good and that one sh......more

As a recent student of Stoicism, I was looking forward to this book. I found myself disappointed. The language is muddled and difficult to follow, and the clean and clear Stoic ideas don’t come through. I’ve always been impressed with Emerson, but after reading this book, it occurs to me that Transc......more

This book interested me quite a bit, though at times I got a bit overwhelmed by all the quotes, not only from Waldo, the name Ralph Waldo Emerson was known as, but from the ancients, like Epictetus, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius. All fine company, by the way. Throughout this book I learned a lot more a......more