The Best Books on Stoicism
26 books on Stoicism, every one of them one we’d hand to a friend. If you’re new to Stoicism, start at the top: Meditations, then Seneca’s letters, then Epictetus. Want to try before you buy? The ancient texts are free in older translations; see our Links page.
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Start with the classics
The Stoics in their own words. Read these first; everything else is commentary.
Meditations
Marcus Aurelius, translated by Gregory Hays
The private notebook of a Roman emperor. Short entries you can open anywhere; the most readable modern translation.
Letters from a Stoic
Seneca, translated by Robin Campbell
Seneca’s letters to his friend Lucilius on fear, time, friendship and death. Warm, practical and surprisingly modern.
Discourses and Selected Writings
Epictetus, translated by Robert Dobbin
The teaching of the former slave who became Stoicism’s sharpest teacher, including the famous Enchiridion (Handbook).
On the Shortness of Life
Seneca, translated by C. D. N. Costa
“Life is long if you know how to use it.” A pocket-sized essay on time that belongs on every phone-addicted desk.
How to Be Free
Epictetus, translated by A. A. Long
The Enchiridion with the Greek facing the English, from one of the great scholars of Stoicism. A gift-worthy edition.
Letters on Ethics
Seneca, translated by Margaret Graver and A. A. Long
All 124 of Seneca’s letters to Lucilius in one volume, in the standard modern translation. For when the Penguin selection leaves you wanting more.
How to Die
Seneca, edited and translated by James S. Romm
Seneca’s thoughts on death gathered from his letters and essays. Less grim than it sounds: a book about living without fear.
That One Should Disdain Hardships
Musonius Rufus, edited by Cora E. Lutz
The surviving lectures of Epictetus’ teacher: on training, simple living, and why women should study philosophy too.
Modern guides to Stoic living
Written for today, by people who practice what they teach.
How to Think Like a Roman Emperor
Donald J. Robertson
A psychotherapist tells the life of Marcus Aurelius and turns his philosophy into proven techniques for anxiety and anger.
A Guide to the Good Life
William B. Irvine
The book that started the modern Stoic revival. Clear, practical, and honest about what works in daily life.
How to Be a Stoic
Massimo Pigliucci
A philosopher walks through Epictetus chapter by chapter and asks what it means for a modern life.
The Daily Stoic
Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman
366 short readings, one per day, each a Stoic passage with a modern reflection. The easiest daily habit to start.
The Obstacle Is the Way
Ryan Holiday
Marcus Aurelius’ idea that what stands in the way becomes the way, told through stories of people who lived it.
The Practicing Stoic
Ward Farnsworth
A user’s manual organized by theme, letting the Stoics and their later admirers speak in their own words, with sharp commentary.
A Handbook for New Stoics
Massimo Pigliucci and Gregory Lopez
52 week-by-week exercises that turn Stoic ideas into habits. The most practical book on this list.
The Stoic Challenge
William B. Irvine
How to treat setbacks as tests of your character, from a flat tyre to a lost job. Short, funny and useful.
Lessons in Stoicism
John Sellars
A short, clear introduction from a leading scholar, built around the three great Roman Stoics. Readable in an afternoon.
Verissimus
Donald J. Robertson, illustrated by Zé Nuno Fraga
The life and philosophy of Marcus Aurelius as a graphic novel. A great way into Stoicism for visual readers and teenagers.
More from Ryan Holiday
The author who brought Stoicism to millions of readers, from his series on the four Stoic virtues and beyond.
Ego Is the Enemy
Ryan Holiday
Why ego sabotages us at every stage, from aspiration to success to failure, and what the Stoics recommended instead.
Stillness Is the Key
Ryan Holiday
The ancient idea of inner calm, drawn from Stoic, Buddhist and Epicurean traditions, for a distracted age.
Courage Is Calling
Ryan Holiday
The first book of The Stoic Virtues series: stories of physical and moral courage and how to find your own.
Discipline Is Destiny
Ryan Holiday
The second Stoic virtue, self-control, told through the lives of people who mastered themselves.
Go deeper
For when you want the history and the ideas behind the quotes.
Lives of the Stoics
Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman
Short biographies of the Stoics from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius. The perfect companion to our Philosophers page.
The Inner Citadel
Pierre Hadot
The classic study of the Meditations as spiritual exercises. Demanding, and the best book ever written on Marcus.
Epictetus: A Stoic and Socratic Guide to Life
A. A. Long
The definitive study of Epictetus by the scholar who translated How to Be Free. Clear enough for serious general readers.
Stoicism
John Sellars
A compact survey of the whole school: its history, logic, physics and ethics. The best one-volume academic introduction.