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The Socrates Express: In Search of Life Lessons from Dead Philosophers
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66
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
65/100Critics
67/100Scholars
Author:
Eric Weiner
Publisher:
Avid Reader Press / Simon Schuster
Date:
August 25, 2020
The author of The Geography of Bliss returns with a tour through the ideas of history's greatest philosophers and the places crucial to their thinking, illuminating how their practical and spiritual lessons can be applied in today's unsettled world.
What The Reviewers Say
A smart, funny, engaging book full of valuable lessons, The Socrates Express is not an explanation—it's an invitation to think and experience philosophy filtered through Weiner's words.
Part travelogue, part soul-searching memoir and part intellectual matchmaker, Weiner’s book packs an extraordinary amount into 287 pages of text. Erudite, funny and frequently self-deprecating, Weiner serves as your interpreter and guide along the way. Bursting with amusing trivia, insights and cultural references, he is on a quest to make even Schopenhauer relatable.
... a delightfully entertaining, practical guide to navigating life.
Whether he’s reporting from Frankfurt (Schopenhauer) or Kyoto (Sei Shonagon), his musings are engaging. And, since he’s often reading the material for the first time himself, his writing is also fresh and even revelatory as he pulls together seemingly disparate notions and asks meaningful (and often unanswered) questions. His tone alternates between informative and insightful to cheeky and challenging, and he delights in sharing anecdotes that highlight his subjects’ various peccadilloes. Whether steeped in philosophical knowledge or somewhat unfamiliar with the field, most readers will enjoy Weiner’s unique approach and ultimately satisfying conclusions..
