The Socrates Express, Eric Weiner
The Socrates Express, Eric Weiner
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The Socrates Express
In Search of Life Lessons from Dead Philosophers

Author: Eric Weiner

Narrator: Eric Weiner

Unabridged: 11 hr 20 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/25/2020


Synopsis

The New York Times bestselling author of The Geography of Bliss embarks on a rollicking intellectual journey, following in the footsteps of history’s greatest thinkers and showing us how each—from Epicurus to Gandhi, Thoreau to Beauvoir—offers practical and spiritual lessons for today’s unsettled times.

We turn to philosophy for the same reasons we travel: to see the world from a dif­ferent perspective, to unearth hidden beauty, and to find new ways of being. We want to learn how to embrace wonder. Face regrets. Sustain hope.

Eric Weiner combines his twin passions for philosophy and travel in a globe-trotting pil­grimage that uncovers surprising life lessons from great thinkers around the world, from Rousseau to Nietzsche, Confucius to Simone Weil. Traveling by train (the most thoughtful mode of transport), he journeys thousands of miles, making stops in Athens, Delhi, Wyoming, Coney Island, Frankfurt, and points in between to recon­nect with philosophy’s original purpose: teaching us how to lead wiser, more meaningful lives. From Socrates and ancient Athens to Beauvoir and 20th-century Paris, Weiner’s chosen philosophers and places provide important practical and spiritual lessons as we navigate today’s chaotic times.

In a “delightful” odyssey that “will take you places intellectually and humorously” (San Francisco Book Review), Weiner invites us to voyage alongside him on his life-changing pursuit of wisdom and discovery as he attempts to find answers to our most vital questions. The Socrates Express is “full of valuable lessons…a fun, sharp book that draws readers in with its apparent simplicity and bubble-gum philosophy approach and gradually pulls them in deeper and deeper” (NPR).

About Eric Weiner

Eric Weiner is author of the New York Times bestsellers The Geography of Bliss (now a docu-series featuring Rainn Wilson) and The Geography of Genius, as well as the critically acclaimed Man Seeks God and The Socrates Express. A former international correspondent for NPR, his work has appeared in The AtlanticNational GeographicThe Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and the anthology Best American Travel Writing. He lives with his family and a menagerie of animals in the Washington, DC, area. For more information, visit: EricWeinerBooks.com.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Ryan on September 05, 2020

Philosophy is most beneficial, not when treated as a lifeless academic exercise, but as a way of life that forces one to see the world in a new light. While science can provide us with information and knowledge (organized information), it is philosophy and the related fields in the humanities that f......more

Goodreads review by Bandit on April 16, 2020

Being a huge fan of both the author and the subject, this book was an easy choice. I eagerly waited for Netgalley to approve me for a copy and then, no less eagerly, read it. Although, actually it was a measured eagerness, I didn’t want to overcram my brain with a reading binge, opting instead to ma......more

Goodreads review by Andy on September 22, 2021

Philosophy is important, but it's hard to take straight. So people keep trying to concoct palatable cocktails to make it more accessible for people who don't want to read 1,000 pages to find out what Simone de Beauvoir, for example, thought about life. This book is a sampler of such cocktails. Occas......more