How to Think Like a Roman Emperor
Donald Robertson is a Scottish cognitive-behavioral therapist who spent 20 years applying Stoic techniques in clinical practice. How to Think Like a Roman Emperor, published April 2019 by St. Martin's Press, weaves Marcus Aurelius's life from the death of Hadrian in 138 CE through the Parthian campaigns, the Antonine Plague, and his death at the Danube frontier in 180 CE. Each biographical chapter pulls back to a specific Stoic exercise from Marcus's own practice, framed in the language of modern cognitive behavioral therapy that descends from Stoic techniques in the first place.
What you might want to know about How to Think Like a Roman Emperor
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
A Scottish CBT therapist weaves Marcus Aurelius's life with practical Stoic exercises that descend directly from Roman Stoicism into modern psychotherapy.
Yes. Donald Robertson's 2019 book uses Marcus Aurelius's life as a frame to teach Stoic philosophy and cognitive-behavioral techniques. Robertson is a psychotherapist and Stoic scholar.
No. How to Think Like a Roman Emperor is widely recommended as an entry point to Stoicism precisely because it does not require prior reading of Meditations. It quotes from Marcus Aurelius throughout.
How to Think Like a Roman Emperor was written by Donald Robertson, published in 2019 by St. Martin's Press.
How to Think Like a Roman Emperor is 304 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, How to Think Like a Roman Emperor takes most readers 5 to 7 hours to finish.
How to Think Like a Roman Emperor is a standalone novel by Donald Robertson, not part of a series.
How to Think Like a Roman Emperor is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.