Editions

Aristotle’s Way

Aristotle’s Way

  • How Ancient Wisdom Can Change Your Life

‘Wonderful and timely … Hugely recommended’ STEPHEN FRY

What do you and an ancient philosopher have in common? It turns out much more than you might think…

Aristotle was an extraordinary thinker yet he was preoccupied by an ordinary question: how to be happy. In this handbook to his timeless teachings, Professor Edith Hall shows how ancient thinking is precisely what we need today, even if you don’t know your Odyssey from your Iliad. In ten practical lessons you can learn how to make good decisions, how to ace an interview, how to choose a partner and how to face death. This is advice that won’t go out of fashion.

‘A beguiling cross between Mary Beard and Mary Poppins’ Observer

Reviews

  • "Wonderful and timely. Aristotle’s influence has been immense, but Edith Hall’s authoritative, warmly readable, clear and approachable book opens Aristotle up and establishes him as a man who addresses the issues of the human heart as much as the human mind. She gives us an Aristotle for our times as much as his own and all those that came between. Hugely recommended."

    STEPHEN FRY

  • "A wonderfully lively and personal guide to Aristotle's philosophy of well-being. Read it and flourish!"

    Sarah Bakewell, author of HOW TO LIVE

  • "[Hall] has written a practical and enjoyable guide to Aristotle’s philosophy as a recipe for contentment in the modern world."

    Daisy Dunn, Literary Review

  • "Hall gamely breathes new life into [Aristotle's] doctrines (which she admits can be heavy-going) for 21st-century readers, flitting over the centuries and across cultural borders, taking in everyone from Philip of Macedon to Pharrell Williams of “Happy” with breezy aplomb. A beguiling cross between Mary Beard and Mary Poppins, Hall is enjoying herself outside the ivory towers"

    Lisa Allardice, Observer

  • "Edith Hall has recast Aristotle's text into everyday language, and applied his lessons on everything from happiness to, for instance, resisting temptation, writing a job application or using the Greek's chart of Virtues and Vices to analyse one's character."

    Daily Telegraph

More from this Author

About the Author

Edith Hall

Edith Hall is one of Britain’s foremost classicists, having held posts at the universities of Royal Holloway, Cambridge, Durham, Reading, and Oxford. In 2015 she was awarded the Erasmus Medal of the European Academy, given to a scholar whose works represent a significant contribution to European culture and scientific achievement. She is the first woman to win this award. Hall regularly writes in the Times Literary Supplement, reviews theatre productions on radio, and has written and edited more than a dozen works on the ancient world. She teaches at King’s College London and lives in Gloucestershire.

Edith Hall

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