This Meditations summary looks at a book unlike any other. It is a collection of thoughts written down by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. At the time of these writings, Marcus was the most powerful man in the world. He commanded the Roman Empire from a position of absolute authority. Marcus did not write down …
Philosophy
This On Living and Dying Well summary looks at a collection of writing by the Roman politician Cicero. He was a prominent figure in Rome during the time of Caesar before his death under the reign of Antony. Not only was Cicero a politician but he dabbled in philosophy. This book focuses on a selection …
This On The Shortness of Life summary looks at an essay by the Stoic philosopher Seneca who offers us a reminder of the one resource that we are forever running out of, time. This is one of my favourite books I have read in the past few years. It fundamentally changed the way I look …
The Black Swan is one of the most fascinating books I have read. I had heard of Nassim Nicholas Taleb, before reading the book, but I wasn’t aware of how original and eye-opening his thinking was. Reading this book has fundamentally changed the way I think and the way I look at the world. This …
This Letters From a Stoic summary looks at one of the best books I’ve read. It’s a unique book that takes a series of letters by the Roman philosopher Seneca, who sent them to his friend Lucilius. In them, we find a variety of lessons that are as relevant as they were when Seneca. The …
This Fear and Trembling summary looks at one of the most famous works by the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. It looks at how Abraham dealt with the realisation that he would have to sacrifice his son to please and what this means for those who wish to pursue faith. Kierkegaard asserts that Abraham had a …
Ego Is The Enemy is a fantastic book to read if you want to learn the folly of letting your ego get the better of you. You need a little bit of arrogance and self-assurance to succeed in life, but too much and it will cost you. We have a tendency to believe that the …
The Obstacle Is The Way is a book based on the stoic branch of philosophy. The title comes from a passage in Meditations by the Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, who stated that “what stands in the way, becomes the way.” Written by the excellent, Ryan Holiday, who also wrote Ego Is The Enemy, this book …