Book · 2020
Lives of the Stoics
by Ryan Holiday
Ryan Holiday profiles 26 Stoic philosophers — from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius — tracing how each one actually lived the philosophy they preached.
What does Reddit think of Lives of the Stoics?
All 9 mentions come from r/Stoicism, which is both the natural home for this book and a community deeply suspicious of Ryan Holiday. The sub's dominant critique isn't about Lives of the Stoics specifically — it's about Holiday as a brand. A ↑19 thread links a "stark example of how Ryan Holiday misrepresents Stoicism for profit," and the title shows up as exhibit A in the recurring Holiday complaint cycle that r/Stoicism practically treats as a seasonal event. But the book itself earns some genuine goodwill. A ↑12 comment calls it "actually pretty neat" for introducing stoic figures and what their lives could teach. A ↑22 recommends it to fill historical gaps. One reader uses morning chapters as a journaling prompt. Mentions peaked at 4 in 2021 and have trickled since. Holiday's other titles get louder Reddit rooms; this one is the quieter shelf companion.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · Stoic biography and historical context
- · Philosophy lived versus philosophy theorized
- · Ryan Holiday's credibility debate within Stoicism circles
- · Morning practice and journaling as Stoic habit
- · The gap between ancient Stoicism and modern self-help repackaging
Common praise
- + Introduces lesser-known Stoic figures that primary texts skip over entirely.
- + Works as a historical primer for readers who find the original texts context-free.
- + Pairs naturally with morning journaling — short chapters lend themselves to reflection prompts.
- + Fills gaps about how Stoicism actually spread and who shaped it beyond the big three.
Common criticism
- − Sits inside the broader r/Stoicism distrust of Holiday as a commercial interpreter of Stoicism.
- − Gets caught in the blast radius of Holiday complaint threads even when the specific book isn't the target.
- − Doesn't generate the sustained discussion that Holiday's Obstacle Is the Way or Ego Is the Enemy do — 9 total mentions over 7 years is a thin footprint.
- − Readers already familiar with the big three may find the historical coverage surface-level.
Who it's for
You've finished Meditations and want to know who came before Marcus — this is the book r/Stoicism points you toward for that. If Holiday's self-help framing bothers you, check the ↑19 complaint threads first; they're part of the context. Readers who use books in morning practice routines will find the chapter-per-philosopher format useful. Skip the primary texts until you've read this if you find Epictetus and Seneca confusing without knowing who they were writing against.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for Lives of the Stoics?
Top-upvoted quotes across the subreddits where this book is mentioned. Click through to read the full thread.
“Of course! I only started just under a month ago, but I try to do it in the mornings. I’ve been reading *Lives of the Stoics* by Ryan Holiday so I’ve been writing some reflections after reading about a particular stoic any particular morning. But sometimes I wake up late or am too groggy in the morn…
“Not sure if you have heard of it / read it. But the book The Lives of the stoics is a good read here, it talks about the different lives of the famous stoics and how they lived and how we came to know of them, I think it might fill in some gaps for you. Stoicism was literally started by someone who…
“Alright u/j4rhan & u/cartersa87 I will link you some complaints. Stick around the sub long enough and, like the passing of the seasons, you will witness a Ryan Holiday complaint thread for yourself: [A stark example of how Ryan Holiday misrepresents Stoicism for profit ](
“Nothing about Stoicism requires a belief in a god. A need to believe in external virtue is arguably antithetical to Stoicism, which makes it particularly ironic that the "four cardinal virtues" of Christian theological tradition were actually taken from the Stoics, which implies that it's more accur…
“I don’t wholly agree with this perspective of his books. I have read his trilogy, lives of the stoics and the first of his new 4 books (only 2 published yet) and whilst I’m sure some of the information relayed is very applicable to business success or personal success I found there wasn’t this abse…
“A big part of Stoicism that you will read in all of the big three authors, is actually living out the philosophy - not just reading about it. To that end, you should actually start living out Stoicism as early as possible. [A Simplified Modern Approach to Stoicism](
“I have to say, his “Lives of the Stoics” is actually pretty neat - introduced me to stoic figures and their importance for the school or what their lives could teach us.
Convinced? Pick up Lives of the Stoics
What else does r/Stoicism read?
Other books mentioned in the same sub, ranked. Shared-sub overlap with this title breaks ties.
Meditations
Marcus Aurelius
The Roman emperor's private notebook — written to himself in Greek, never meant to be published — became the Stoic canon's most-cited text 1,800 years later.
Enchiridion
Epictetus
A freed slave's 2,000-year-old field manual for deciding what you control — and letting go of everything else.
The Daily Stoic
Ryan Holiday
Ryan Holiday turns Stoic passages into a 366-day reading habit, and r/Stoicism's 250 mentions can't decide if that's a gateway or a ceiling.
Discourses
Epictetus
A freed slave lectures Roman students on why your opinions, not your circumstances, are the only thing making you miserable.
How to Think Like a Roman Emperor
Donald Robertson
Donald Robertson follows Marcus Aurelius from student to emperor, using the Meditations as a manual for cognitive therapy anyone can apply today.
Letters from a Stoic
Seneca
Seneca writes 124 letters to a friend about grief, fear, and wasted time — and 163 Reddit mentions later, r/Stoicism still treats them as the first thing to read.
Lives of the Stoics — frequently asked
What does Reddit actually think of Lives of the Stoics?+
Mildly positive but thin. The book itself gets low-key recommendations — a ↑22 comment calls it good for filling historical gaps, a ↑12 calls it "pretty neat." The louder noise around it is the recurring r/Stoicism debate about Holiday as an author, not this title specifically.
Is Lives of the Stoics a good entry point into Stoicism?+
Depends on what you want first. r/Stoicism commenters recommend it for historical context — who the Stoics were, how the school developed — rather than as a guide to practice. If you want to start practicing, the sub steers you toward Meditations or Epictetus. If you want to know who Zeno was before you read Marcus Aurelius, this works.
Should I trust Ryan Holiday's Lives of the Stoics given the criticism on r/Stoicism?+
The criticism on r/Stoicism targets Holiday's broader catalog more than this title. A ↑19 thread links complaints about misrepresentation, but readers who defend Lives of the Stoics in the same sub distinguish it from his self-help trilogy — one commenter with ↑18 says there's less of an agenda here than in his other work. Read the complaint threads, then decide.
How does Lives of the Stoics compare to Holiday's other books on Reddit?+
It gets significantly less attention. 9 total mentions from 2021 to 2025, peaking at 4 in 2021 and dropping to 1 per year since. His Obstacle Is the Way and Ego Is the Enemy drive far more Reddit discussion. Lives of the Stoics is the historical companion that readers recommend in passing rather than argue about at length.