Marcus Aurelius - Meditations: Adapted for the Contemporary Reader (Greek & Roman Stoic Philosophy)

Nicely translated, digestible but not over-simplified. With any translation, the original words and how it was written carry some weight and I think that is maintained. Yes, some of the sentences do seem to run on... there is a stream of consciousness feeling as you read at times, but that is how Marcus Aurelius wrote from what I can tell looking at other translations, and it keeps you engaged and thinking about what you read. Stoic lessons are meant to be contemplated and reviewed, not memorized as bullet points. I'm not ripping on any other translations, but the handful of reviews that talk about formatting, grammatical errors or poor translation - I do not at all find that to be the case.

Easy to understand. I have four other Meditations translations and this one is by far the best. Give it a whirl. Beware: their is a scammer out there who copied the book and is selling it for profit without work....very shameful.

An Enduring Guide to Inner Peace: A Review of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations "Meditations" by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius is not a book in the traditional sense, but a private journal of self-reflection, philosophical exercises, and Stoic principles. Written not for publication but for personal guidance, this remarkable text has transcended two millennia to become one of the most beloved and influential works of philosophy ever written. Far from a dry academic treatise, Meditations offers a profound and intensely practical guide to living a good, meaningful, and tranquil life. The book’s appeal lies in its raw, unvarnished honesty. We see a man, burdened with the immense responsibility of ruling the Roman Empire, grappling with the same universal struggles that plague us all: anger, frustration, the inevitability of death, the impermanence of things, and the need to find virtue in a chaotic world. Aurelius writes with a quiet urgency, reminding himself to remain calm in the face of adversity, to treat others with kindness and justice, and to focus only on what is within his control—his thoughts, his actions, and his character.

I recommend everyone read this book.

This book is amazing, clear and concise. Thank you!

Very easy read yet powerful. Great adaptation!

I decided it was time to get back into reading real works of art instead of headlines. And Meditations found me at the right time. Loving every minute of it. Thank you, James Harris for your hard work. It is appreciated by those who seek to read it. Also worth noting: the first book came covered in what appeared to be syrup. It was obvious in that moment this is what you can expect from automated systems. I didn't leave a 1 star review. I simply reached out, told them about it, and they immediately sent a new book in perfect condition. Sometimes you just have to take a breath and access the situation. The solution will always come to the mind at peace.

Anyone who has ever read Marcus Aurelius' Meditations can tell you that the original translation is very hard to read. If you can whiz through Shakespeare with no issues, you'll likely be okay with it. However it is quite a chore to read ... and then re-read ... the pages trying to figure out what exactly is being said. So much so that often I can only get through a few pages before I have to stop and take a break. I was pretty excited to see a more modern translation available ... at first I was afraid it might take away from the original message not to have a literal translation from Latin. Then I remembered that even the original translation from Latin was done years after the original text, which also was probably heavily translated into Latin. Sadly, this is still a chore to read and understand. Maybe a little less so than the original text ... but I feel like a much better job could have been done to make it more understandable without losing the original message and intent. The biggest issue I have with this is the layout. It is terrible. The text fills the entire page from top to bottom and often is an entire block of text with no paragraphs or any kind of pleasing layout. As I got through the first few pages, I wondered which was worse ... getting through the very old-fashioned language of the original edition ... or getting through the slightly modernized language with the horrible layout of this edition. I may actually prefer the original edition. It is as if someone printed this book as a word document on their computer and it didn't quite match the size layout. There's nothing else to say except it looks unappealing and amateur. As others have said, it also contains pretty obvious grammatical errors .. likely no editor went over this. It seems like a college book report that was done the evening before it was due. The original copy of the book I had was the one with the black background and closeup of the Aurelius's head from the horse statue. I think I slightly prefer that to this. It might have been cool to have a copy with annotations at the bottom which gave a brief summary of other people's history whom Aurelius mentions. I found myself going to the internet to look up Sextus and other figures Aurelius mentions. The content itself is fairly stunning. There is no doubt Aurelius was ahead of his time ... and he seems to be a very disciplined and simple person. I find that it would be difficult to be a ruler of Rome in that day and forgo a lot of the luxuries of that position. At one point Aurelius mentions being happy with a plank and a sheet for a bed and not wearing his 'outdoor' clothes in the house. Other lessons in humility, temperance, pride, anger, emotion, moderation, etc. show the reader an interesting flip side to many of the more interesting leaders of Rome ... Caligula and Tiberius' licentiousness ... Nero's greed ... Julius Caesar's lust of power, etc. I would put this book up there with Machiaveli and Tsun Tzu in terms of applicable life lessons. It is no wonder that Aurelius' lessons are catching on today. Overall, this is not the book I had hoped it would be. It has only slightly simplified the original translation ... reading this book is still like putting a puzzle together. The layout is terrible and I probably would skip this edition. If you are absolutely stumped by the original translation, it might help you a bit ... but don't expect to pick this up and be able to have an enjoyable read from cover to cover. You'll still need to work for these lessons.