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A Guide to the Good Life cover art

A Guide to the Good Life

By: William B. Irvine
Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
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Summary

One of the great fears many of us face is that despite all our effort and striving, we will discover at the end that we have wasted our life. In A Guide to the Good Life, William B. Irvine plumbs the wisdom of Stoic philosophy, one of the most popular and successful schools of thought in ancient Rome, and shows how its insight and advice are still remarkably applicable to modern lives. In A Guide to the Good Life, Irvine offers a refreshing presentation of Stoicism, showing how this ancient philosophy can still direct us toward a better life.

Using the psychological insights and the practical techniques of the Stoics, Irvine offers a roadmap for anyone seeking to avoid the feelings of chronic dissatisfaction that plague so many of us. Irvine looks at various Stoic techniques for attaining tranquility and shows how to put these techniques to work in our own life. As he does so, he describes his own experiences practicing Stoicism and offers valuable first-hand advice for anyone wishing to live better by following in the footsteps of these ancient philosophers. Listeners learn how to minimize worry, how to let go of the past and focus our efforts on the things we can control, and how to deal with insults, grief, old age, and the distracting temptations of fame and fortune. We learn from Marcus Aurelius the importance of prizing only things of true value, and from Epictetus we learn how to be more content with what we have.

Finally, A Guide to the Good Life shows listeners how to become thoughtful observers of their own lives. If we watch ourselves as we go about our daily business and later reflect on what we saw, we can better identify the sources of distress and eventually avoid that pain in our life. By doing this, the Stoics thought, we can hope to attain a truly joyful life.

©2009 William B. Irvine (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about A Guide to the Good Life

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To the non-stoic reviewers...

I find it rather amusing how so many people are complaining about the narrator, many seemingly very frustrated by it.
Let’s take an example from the book itself to point out the irony of such a statement:

‘Not only will a stoic appreciate that his glass is half-full rather than completely empty, but he may then go on to express his delight that he even has a glass. It could after all, have been broken or stolen. And, if he is atop his stoic game, he might go on to comment on what an astonishing thing glass vessels are; they are cheap and fairly durable, impart no taste to what we put in them, and, miracle of miracles, allow us to see what they contain.’

Rather than marvel at the miracle that you can listen to invaluable content and life-changing advice with ultimate ease and convenience, you become so irritated by the view that the narrator could have
been better and therefore the book is ruined....

A must read/listen, but only if you really are willing to at least attempt to change your thought processes.

Brilliant.

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131 people found this helpful

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Great follow up to the Antidote by Oliver Burkeman

Would you listen to A Guide to the Good Life again? Why?

Yes, lots of ideas that need to be reiterated in order to fully grasp in a practical way

What about James Patrick Cronin’s performance did you like?

Narration a little spaced apart or something, kindof like it was read by a computer - you get used to it but could have been a bit more fluid.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me think about the way I think and how I perceive life's joys as well as challenges, definitely be implementing some stoic traits

Any additional comments?

Can't wait until they get more of Irvine's books on audible, just don't seem to like old school reading

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27 people found this helpful

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Highly enjoyable, practical and actionable.

Would you consider the audio edition of A Guide to the Good Life to be better than the print version?

I liked it so much, I bought the hard copy too.

Any additional comments?

I didn't find the narration stilted (as others have). I much prefer this kind of delivery for non-fiction books, in fact, I really hate it when "actors" try to dramatise non-fiction work. Really easy to listen to and digest. I'm off to buy more of his books too. Frankly anyone who is a mentor to Ryan Holiday has to be a legend...

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23 people found this helpful

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Suberb

Where does A Guide to the Good Life rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Very interesting and very insightful. A great hybrid between philosophy and personal development. Thoroughly recommended.

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21 people found this helpful

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Great content, sadly marred by robotic, stilted reading.

Very much enjoying the content of this book, the stoic philosophy seems to be broadly misunderstood by the general public and has many tools to help with problems of modern life.

Sadly this book suffers from one of the most wooden, robotic narrators I've ever come across. It removes much of the humour of the writing, which can be detected in the words but is delivered as though it was a list of medical side effects. It's a real shame.

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19 people found this helpful

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changed my life. well composed, solid arguments

i loved it. it chanhed mt life. wel written, researched, solid arguments makes the book easy to ready. chapters cover a modern apprpach into stoic practises, and guide ordinary reader with ease.

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13 people found this helpful

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Loved it

I have no doubt that the wisdom in this book will help me to live a better life.

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11 people found this helpful

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engaging and practical

I've been dipping in and out of this book for years and finally finished it. It always had an attraction because of it's practicality.

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8 people found this helpful

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Wise, profound, enjoyable, even life changing

An excellent book on the most important of subjects: our very own lives and happiness. Not merely intelligent, but wise. Deep yet approachable and even practical. Well written, highly enjoyable, certainly thought provoking. A must listen really!

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7 people found this helpful

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Philosophy of Life

a good starting place for stoicism, gave me enough information to decide on what to read next.

however, i am sick of hearing 'Philosophy of Life'. :D

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6 people found this helpful