The Practicing Stoic: A Philosophical User's Manual

This is a great collection of Stoic thought from a wide selection of Stoic thinkers. Excellently organized and thoughtfully presented. A fine hardcover with room for notes in the margins. This is the one book you should own if you are interested in the Stoics.

This is a very good book on Stoicism. Really, really good. The arrangement of the book is a delight. You can go right to the topic you want to learn about and study. Wonderful notes throughout the book. The notes are in widened margins on the page where they are referenced. Very nice touch! This is a book for studying Stoicism. It’s not a light read. It’s a good read. It is a book you read to learn from. It’s a book you read carefully. It’s a book you do highlighting in and make notes in. It’s a book you study.

Logical and practical examples of better ways to look at things. A better outlook can change your whole life. One of the few things anyone can really change: your thinking. Learn some ways here. Great book.

This is a good book for beginner stoics. It is categorized is different sections which is helpful and makes it easy to study

This book exceeded my expectations greatly. What is it? Let me use the author's own words in the Preface.First, it seeks to organize the ideas of the Stoics in a logical manner.Second, the book aims to draw together the most important points that the different Stoics made about each subject and each division of it. Sometimes they spoke to different aspects of an issue. It is interesting to compare what they said and how they said it.Third, this book mostly presents the teachings of the Stoics in their own words....This book means to offer a short course on Stoicism taught principally by the Stoics. There are also "guest speakers", so to speak, such as Epicurus, Cicero, Plutarch, Montaigne, Samuel Johnson, Adam Smith, Arthur Schopenhauer and others. The expositions by the author himself are no less important in tying it all together.Highly recommended to not only students of Stoicism but anyone interested in a practical, philosophical guide to life.

I've read other books on Stoicism, and although I do appreciate the more intricate and historical aspects of the philosophy I must say I was pleasantly surprised at how "conversational" the text and tone was. This is especially so because the author is an academic and quite immersed in the subject. The writing makes it much more palatable to a neophyte like me and draws me in even further into the thoughts behind the "greats" in Stoicism's history. It takes a very intelligent and talented writer to explain a subject that is quite often very nuanced and complex, and to phrase it in plain, ordinary language that those in the mainstream (like me) can understand and also learn to love.

Ok, so I have read many stoic books but this book for some reason just rings true at so many levels. The author references so many different text but still combines them into a solid format for things like FAME, Fortune, desires, opinions. If i had 1 book to recommend for some new person or if I had to choose 1 book over all to choose and only 1 book this so far would be it. The book goes over some Buddhist, american philosophy, traditional stoics, and many others. What rings true is the constituency of all references on everyday problems we face. Again I cant recommend this book enough it is really just that GOOD.

After bouncing between two other books about Stoicism, I happened upon The Practicing Stoic.In the Practicing Stoic, we learn what stoics believe and how they approach various aspects of the world, from riches, to grief, to death. Along the way, we get an idea of how these beliefs might be put into practice. Stoicism is, more than anything, a practical philosophy.Farnsworth describes these outlooks in excellent, but not excessive, detail with tons of quotes from people like Seneca to drive home the point. The book is a wonderful balance between the dry academic and the preachy blather of someone who thinks too highly of themselves.The end of the book also addresses some criticisms aimed at stoicism and why they might not be completely fair or at least completely reliable.A perfect length with excellent writing, The Practicing Stoic is a must-read if you're interested in this philosophy.

After spending years on and off reading Stoicism from the horses mouths, namely Epictetus, Aurelius and Seneca, I was still prisoner of an impenetrable fog. How to apply their wisdom in my own life was a mystery, not knowing where to begin with. Then I read a few contemporaries trying to carry the essence of their teachings for us. Many did well but none made it completely clear. M. Farnsworth’s book was like a revelation. The way he penetrates straight through the very essence of stoicism and exposes it in a practical way, I haven’t seen anywhere else so far. This book is worth its weight in gold for anyone wishing to apply Stoicism to his/her life.

The author organized very well the book, by topics that are first explained in general, then dissected. The book is full of Quotations by the Stoics, in every single argument, but the reading experience is very easy, very enjoyable.

I have read 18 books about stoicism and this one is my favourite. Many quotes if the ancient stoics followed by modern analysis/interpretation.

Excelente libro, el servicio casi perfecto y la Conexión con el vendedor muy amigable.Gracias y en hora buena.

The author gives balanced arguments with ample examples.At the same time it aims at offering what it promises."how to be a practicing Stoic?".For me this book is an eye opener.I feel it is the same with others.You will start to be a different person as you assimilate the tools and ideas given in this book.However the comparison section might be boring at times as the author tries to validate the Stoic idea again and again.That seems to be ok for me with what the book has to offerThis book is for those trying to put Stoic ideas into practice in their lives.If you are looking for an academic study of stoicism,this is not of much help.My favourite ideas from this book are "Comparison with loss"(which made me realise how blessed I am)and hermis magic wand(a great stoic tool to turn adversity into opportunity).There are many more.A must and best book for people trying to figure out how to live.Best book on stoicism.Dont miss this.This book deserves 6 stars.Finally a big THANK YOU to the author who gave us this wonderful piece of work.I have read a few Stoic books earlier.But this one is and will be my favourite for the way it has presented Stoic ideas under various themes.No doubt this book is not very popular ,as real stoics distrust the popular choices(A Stoic idea from the book)