The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman

The Daily Stoic offers 366 days of Stoic insights and exercises, featuring all-new translations from the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the playwright Seneca, or slave-turned-philosopher Epictetus, as well as lesser-known luminaries like Zeno, Cleanthes, and Musonius Rufus. Every day of the year you’ll find one of their pithy, powerful quotations, as well as historical anecdotes, provocative commentary, and a helpful glossary of Greek terms. This is one of our highly recommended books on Stoicism for beginners.

Meditations: A New Translation by Marcus Aurelius

Few ancient works have been as influential as the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, philosopher and emperor of Rome (A.D. 161–180). A series of spiritual exercises filled with wisdom, practical guidance, and profound understanding of human behavior, it remains one of the greatest works of spiritual and ethical reflection ever written. Marcus’s insights and advice—on everything from living in the world to coping with adversity and interacting with others—have made the Meditations required reading for statesmen and philosophers alike. This is one of our highly recommended books on Stoicism.

In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park

In In Order to Live, Yeonmi Park shines a light not just into the darkest corners of life in North Korea, describing the deprivation and deception she endured and which millions of North Korean people continue to endure to this day, but also onto her own most painful and difficult memories. She tells with bravery and dignity for the first time the story of how she and her mother were betrayed and sold into sexual slavery in China and forced to suffer terrible psychological and physical hardship before they finally made their way to Seoul, South Korea—and to freedom.

Right Thing, Right Now Good Values. Good Character. Good Deeds by Ryan Holiday

In Right Thing. Right Now., Holiday draws on fascinating stories of historical figures such as Marcus Aurelius, Florence Nightingale, Jimmy Carter, Gandhi, and Frederick Douglass, whose examples of kindness, honesty, integrity, and loyalty we can emulate as pillars of upright living. Through the lives of these role models, readers learn the transformational power of living by a moral code and, through the cautionary tales of unjust leaders, the consequences of an ill-formed conscience.

Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor by Donald J. Robertson

Marcus Aurelius struggled to reconcile his philosophy and moral values with the political pressures he faced as emperor at the height of Roman power. Robertson examines Marcus’s attitude toward slavery and the moral dilemma posed by capturing enemies in warfare; his attitude toward women; the role of Stoicism in shaping his response to the threat of civil war; the treatment of Christians under his rule; and the naming of his notorious son Commodus as his successor. 

Everyday Stoicism by Gareth Southwell 

Stoic philosophy is not an armchair philosophy: it was designed by the ancient Greek and Roman philosophers to be used in day-to-day life, and their teachings offer a host of simple, practical ideas to maximize positivity in our lives. Tackling a key theme each month, from Happiness and Health to Money and Politics, Everyday Stoicism guides you through the calendar year to build a toolkit of simple exercises and practical ideas for how to live these values every day.

The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday

We are stuck, stymied, frustrated. But it needn't be this way. There is a formula for success that's been followed by the icons of history—from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S. Grant to Steve Jobs—a formula that let them turn obstacles into opportunities. Faced with impossible situations, they found the astounding triumphs we all seek. This is one of our highly recommended books on Stoicism.

Meditations: A New Translation by Marcus Aurelius

Few ancient works have been as influential as the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, philosopher and emperor of Rome (A.D. 161–180). A series of spiritual exercises filled with wisdom, practical guidance, and profound understanding of human behavior, it remains one of the greatest works of spiritual and ethical reflection ever written. Marcus’s insights and advice—on everything from living in the world to coping with adversity and interacting with others—have made the Meditations required reading for statesmen and philosophers alike. This is one of our highly recommended books on Stoicism.

Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday

Many of us insist the main impediment to a full, successful life is the outside world. In fact, the most common enemy lies within: our ego. Early in our careers, it impedes learning and the cultivation of talent. With success, it can blind us to our faults and sow future problems. In failure, it magnifies each blow and makes recovery more difficult. At every stage, ego holds us back. This is one of our highly recommended books on Stoicism.

The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman

The Daily Stoic offers 366 days of Stoic insights and exercises, featuring all-new translations from the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the playwright Seneca, or slave-turned-philosopher Epictetus, as well as lesser-known luminaries like Zeno, Cleanthes, and Musonius Rufus. Every day of the year you'll find one of their pithy, powerful quotations, as well as historical anecdotes, provocative commentary, and a helpful glossary of Greek terms. This is one of our highly recommended books on Stoicism for beginners.

Stillness Is the Key by Ryan Holiday

In The Obstacle Is the Way and Ego Is the Enemy, best-selling author Ryan Holiday made ancient wisdom wildly popular with a new generation of leaders in sports, politics, and technology. In his new book, Stillness Is the Key, Holiday draws on timeless Stoic and Buddhist philosophy to show why slowing down is the secret weapon for those charging ahead. All great leaders, thinkers, artists, athletes, and visionaries share one indelible quality. It enables them to conquer their tempers. To avoid distraction and discover great insights.

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

Internationally renowned psychiatrist, Viktor E. Frankl, endured years of unspeakable horror in Nazi death camps. During, and partly because of, his suffering, Dr. Frankl developed a revolutionary approach to psychotherapy known as logotherapy. At the core of his theory is the belief that man's primary motivational force is his search for meaning.

The Daily Stoic Journal by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman

Created with a durable, Smyth-sewn binding and featuring a helpful introduction explaining the various Stoic tools of self-management, as well as resources for further reading, this is a lasting companion volume for people who already love The Daily Stoic and its popular daily emails and social media accounts. This is one of our highly recommended books on Stoicism.

In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park

In In Order to Live, Yeonmi Park shines a light not just into the darkest corners of life in North Korea, describing the deprivation and deception she endured and which millions of North Korean people continue to endure to this day, but also onto her own most painful and difficult memories. She tells with bravery and dignity for the first time the story of how she and her mother were betrayed and sold into sexual slavery in China and forced to suffer terrible psychological and physical hardship before they finally made their way to Seoul, South Korea—and to freedom.

Discourses and Selected Writings by Epictetus

Despite being born into slavery, Greco-Roman philosopher Epictetus became one of the most influential thinkers of his time. Discourses and Selected Writings is a transcribed collection of informal lectures given by the philosopher around AD 108. A gateway into the life and mind of a great intellectual, it is also an important example of the usage of Koine or “common” Greek, an ancestor to Standard Modern Greek.

Discipline Is Destiny by Ryan Holiday

In Discipline is Destiny, Holiday draws on the stories of historical figures we can emulate as pillars of self-discipline, including Lou Gehrig, Queen Elizabeth II, boxer Floyd Patterson, Marcus Aurelius and writer Toni Morrison, as well as the cautionary tales of Napoleon, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Babe Ruth. Through these engaging examples, Holiday teaches readers the power of self-discipline and balance, and cautions against the perils of extravagance and hedonism. Published in 2022, this is one of the latest books on Stoicism.

Meditations: The Annotated Edition by Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius was the sixteenth emperor of Rome—and by far the most powerful man in the world. Yet he was also an intensely private person, with a rich interior life and one of the wisest minds of his generation. He collected his thoughts in notebooks, gems that have come to be called his Meditations. Never intended for publication, the work has proved an inexhaustible source of wisdom and one of the most important Stoic texts of all time. In often passionate language, the entries range from one-line aphorisms to essays, from profundity to bitterness. This annotated edition offers the definitive translation of this classic and much beloved text, with copious notes from world-renowned classics expert Robin Waterfield.

The Stoic Challenge by William B. Irvine

This book uniquely combines ancient Stoic insights with techniques discovered by contemporary psychological research, such as anchoring and framing. The result is a surprisingly simple strategy for dealing with life’s unpleasant and unexpected challenges—from minor setbacks like being caught in a traffic jam or having a flight canceled to major setbacks like those experienced by physicist Stephen Hawking, who slowly lost the ability to move, and writer Jean-Dominique Bauby, who suffered from locked-in syndrome.​

Lives of the Stoics: The Art of Living from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman

In Lives of the Stoics, Holiday and Hanselman present the fascinating lives of the men and women who strove to live by the timeless Stoic virtues of Courage. Justice. Temperance. Wisdom. Organized in digestible, mini-biographies of all the well-known—and not so well-known—Stoics, this book vividly brings home what Stoicism was like for the people who loved it and lived it, dusting off powerful lessons to be learned from their struggles and successes.

The Beginner's Guide to Stoicism by Matthew Van Natta

This easy-to-navigate Stoicism guide gives you the emotional tools needed to let go of the things you can’t control and find joy in what you have. Through thought-provoking strategies and exercises, this book helps you find contentment so you can build closer relationships and become an active member of society. This is one of our highly recommended books on Stoicism for beginners.

Verissimus: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius by Donald J. Robertson

Marcus Aurelius was the last famous Stoic of antiquity but he was also to become the most powerful man in the known world—the Roman emperor. After losing his father at an early age, he threw himself into the study of philosophy. The closest thing history knew to a philosopher-king, yet constant warfare and an accursed plague almost brought his empire to its knees. The remarkable story of Marcus Aurelius’ life and philosophical journey is brought to life by philosopher and psychotherapist Donald J. Robertson, in a sweeping historical epic of a graphic novel, based on a close study of the historical evidence, with the stunning full-color artwork of award-winning illustrator Zé Nuno Fraga.

Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything by Viktor E. Frankl

Published here for the very first time in English, Frankl’s words resonate as strongly today—as the world faces a coronavirus pandemic, social isolation, and great economic uncertainty—as they did in 1946. He offers an insightful exploration of the maxim “Live as if you were living for the second time,” and he unfolds his basic conviction that every crisis contains opportunity.

The Practicing Stoic by Ward Farnsworth

See more clearly, live more wisely, and bear the burdens of this life with greater ease―here are the greatest insights of the Stoics, in their own words. Presented in twelve lessons, Ward Farnsworth systematically presents the heart of Stoic philosophy accompanied by commentary that is clear and concise. A foundational idea to Stoicism is that we appear to go through life reacting directly to events. That appearance is an illusion. We react to our judgments and opinions―to our thoughts about things, not to things themselves. Stoics seek to become conscious of those judgments, to find the irrationality in them, and to choose them more carefully.

Art of Living by Epictetus

Epictetus was born into slavery about 55 ce in the eastern outreaches of the Roman Empire. Once freed, he established an influential school of Stoic philosophy, stressing that human beings cannot control life, only their responses to it. By putting into practice the ninety-three witty, wise, and razor-sharp instructions that make up The Art of Living, readers learn to meet the challenges of everyday life successfully and to face life's inevitable losses and disappointments with grace. This is one of our highly recommended books on Stoicism.

The Manual by Epictetus

The Manual is a collection of Epictetus' essential teachings and pithy sayings, compiled by his closest student. It is the most accessible and actionable guide to Stoic philosophy, as relevant today as it was in the Roman Empire. This is one of the best books on Stoicism.

On the Shortness of Life by Seneca

On the Shortness of Life is Seneca's best-known work. It offers piercing and profound insights into human nature, and a vision of the good life, summarized in his aphorism, "Life is long, if you know how to use it." Seneca elucidates many of the principles of modern productivity manuals, including the wise valuing of time.

Courage Is Calling by Ryan Holiday

In Courage Is Calling, Ryan Holiday breaks down the elements of fear, an expression of cowardice, the elements of courage, an expression of bravery, and lastly, the elements of heroism, an expression of valor. Through engaging stories about historic and contemporary leaders, including Charles De Gaulle, Florence Nightingale, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Holiday shows you how to conquer fear and practice courage in your daily life.​

Letters from a Stoic by Seneca

For several years of his turbulent life, Seneca was the guiding hand of the Roman Empire. His inspired reasoning derived mainly from the Stoic principles, which had originally been developed some centuries earlier in Athens. This selection of Seneca’s letters shows him upholding the austere ethical ideals of Stoicism.

The Little Book of Stoicism by Jonas Salzgeber 

This compelling, highly actionable guide shows you how to deal more effectively with whatever life throws at you and live up to your best self. A mix of timeless wisdom and empowering advice, The Little Book of Stoicism will point the way to anyone seeking a calm and wise life in a chaotic world. This is one of the best books on Stoicism for beginners.

Stoic Foundations: The Cornerstone Works of Stoicism by Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus

Three writers form the bedrock of Stoic thought: Marcus Aurelius, a Roman Emperor; Seneca, a playwright and advisor; and Epictetus, a former slave turned philosopher and teacher. Stoic Foundations combines the work of these three pillars of Stoic thought into one essential volume, including Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, selections from Seneca’s Letters from a Stoic, and Epictetus’s Enchiridion.

Gateway to the Stoics: Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, Epictetus’s Enchiridion, and Selections from Seneca’s Letters

This classic collection, newly revised and with a foreword by classicist Spencer Klavan, includes the famed original introduction by Russell Kirk, the full text of the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, the complete Enchiridion of Epictetus, and key selections from Seneca and Hierocles of Alexandria in one compact volume.

The Girl Who Would Be Free: A Fable About Epictetus by Ryan Holiday

Another ageless fable that brings the wisdom of Stoicism to all. Two thousand years ago, in Ancient Greece, a little girl is born into the harshest possible life. Through the power of philosophy, she not only liberates herself from slavery but she frees the minds of millions of people in the centuries that follow…

And now, a story for the ages is illustrated and told for all ages in The Girl Who Would Be Free.

The Boy Who Would Be King: A Fable About Marcus Aurelius by Ryan Holiday

A young boy, out of nowhere, is chosen to be the emperor of most of the known world. What he learned, what he did, who he was, would echo in eternity. In 138 AD, Hadrian, the emperor of Rome, chooses Marcus Aurelius to succeed him. He knew no one was born ready for the job, so he arranged for the young boy’s education. The greatest philosophers of the day were assigned to teach him, and all threw themselves into crafting him into a great leader. It’s a parable for life: The gods choose something for us, call us to something. Will we answer? Will we step up? Will we achieve the greatness within us?

Areté: Activate Your Heroic Potential by Brian Johnson

In Areté, Brian Johnson integrates ancient wisdom, modern science, and practical tools to, as per the sub-title of the book, help you activate your Heroic potential and fulfill your destiny. If you asked the ancient stoic philosophers how to live a good life, they’d answer you in a single word: Areté. We translate Areté as “virtue” or “excellence” but the word has a deeper meaning—something closer to being your best self moment to moment to moment.

Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot by James Stockdale

Thoughts on issues of character, leadership, integrity, personal and public virtue, and ethics, the selections in this volume converge around the central theme of how man can rise with dignity to prevail in the face of adversity—lessons just as valid for the challenges of present-day life as they were for the author’s Vietnam experience.

The Stoic Mindset by Mark Tuitert

For twenty years, Mark Tuitert has used the principles of Stoic philosophy to become a gold-medal winning Olympic champion athlete, successful entrepreneur, as well as to deal with the challenges in his professional and private life. Now, in the internationally-bestselling book The Stoic Mindset, Mark lays out the ten practical lessons through which everyone, in any situation, can develop a Stoic mindset.

How to Be Free: An Ancient Guide to the Stoic Life by Epictetus

How to Be Free features splendid new translations and the original Greek on facing pages, a compelling introduction that sets Epictetus in context and describes the importance of Stoic freedom today, and an invaluable glossary of key words and concepts. The result is an unmatched introduction to this powerful method of managing emotions and handling life’s situations, from the most ordinary to the most demanding.

Being Better: Stoicism for a World Worth Living In by Kai Whiting and Leonidas Konstantakos

In Being Better, Kai Whiting and Leonidas Konstantakos apply Stoic principles to contemporary issues such as social justice, climate breakdown, and the excesses of global capitalism. They show that Stoicism is not an ivory-tower philosophy or a collection of Silicon Valley life hacks, but a vital way of life that helps us live simply, improve our communities, and find peace in a turbulent world.

Stoicism and the Art of Happiness by Donald Robertson

This simple, empowering book shows how to use this ancient wisdom to make practical, positive changes in your life. Using thought-provoking case studies, highlighting key ideas and things to remember and providing tools for self-assessment, it demonstrates that Stoicism is a proven, profound pathway to happiness.

Your User’s Manual by Anderson Silver

Why must I suffer the stress, and anxiety that comes with it? Why does it all seem so hard and so unfair? If you have asked yourself any of these questions, then you have found the book you are looking for. There are answers to all of these questions and Anderson Silver has compiled teachings from Stoicism and other schools of thought in Your User’s Manual. 

The Stoic Cop by Bill Mauro

With a mixture of Stoic aphorisms and personal stories, The Stoic Cop explains how it is possible to handle the daily stress and chaos of law enforcement with a little mind control. Learn to bridge the gap between police and citizen relationships, deal with difficult people, navigate department politics, and more. Learn to control your perceptions, opinions, and emotions and become a better, more virtuous police officer. Most importantly, control your perceived chaos.

How to Die: An Ancient Guide to the End of Life by Seneca

Seneca believed that life is only a journey toward death and that one must rehearse for death throughout life. Here, he tells us how to practice for death, how to die well, and how to understand the role of a good death in a good life. He stresses the universality of death, its importance as life’s final rite of passage, and its ability to liberate us from pain, slavery, or political oppression. Featuring beautifully rendered new translations, How to Die also includes an enlightening introduction, notes, the original Latin texts, and an epilogue presenting Tacitus’s description of Seneca’s grim suicide.

The Pocket Stoic by John Sellars

As John Sellars shows in The Pocket Stoic, the popular image of the isolated and unfeeling Stoic hardly does justice to the rich vein of thought that we find in the work of Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius, the three great Roman Stoics. Their works are recognized classics, and for good reason—they speak to some of the perennial issues that face anyone trying to navigate their way through life. These writings, fundamentally, are about how to live—how to understand your place in the world, how to cope when things don’t go well, how to manage your emotions, how to behave toward others, and finally, how to live a good life.

Unshakable Freedom: Ancient Stoic Secrets Applied to Modern Life by Chuck Chakrapani

How can we achieve total personal freedom when we have so many obligations and so many demands on our time? Is personal freedom even possible? Yes, it is possible, said the Stoics and gave us a blueprint for freedom. The teachings were lost but have been rediscovered in recent times and form the basis of modern cognitive therapy. In his new book, Unshakable Freedom, Dr. Chuck Chakrapani outlines the Stoic secrets for achieving total freedom, no matter who you are and what obstacles you face in life. Using modern examples, Chuck explores how anyone can achieve personal freedom by practicing a few mind-training techniques.

Stoic Classics Collection: Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, Epictetus’s Enchiridion, Seneca’s On The Happy Life

In one, beautifully laid-out volume, three of the timeless classics of stoic wisdom and self-improvement. Included in this volume:

• Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations (based on the 1902 translation by George Chrystal)
• Epictetus’s Enchiridion (based on the 1877 translation by George Long)
• Seneca’s On The Happy Life (based on the Roger L’Estrange translation republished in 1882)