The beginnings of my interest in Stoicism

Not many people encounter Stoicism, except perhaps as a concept in a college course on ancient philosophy.  Recently, though, there have been a few books that have helped spark a revival of interest.  Well, a small revival.  Let's not kid ourselves.

First we have Courage Under Fire: Testing Epictetus's Doctrines in a Library of Human Behavior by Admiral James Stockdale.



For those of you old enough to remember a few election cycles ago... yes, that Admiral Stockdale:



I haven't read this book, but it promises to be quite fascinating.  I plan to read it as soon as I can.

That reportedly inspired the surprise appearance of stoic philosophy in A Man in Full:


I read this book several years ago.  Tom Wolfe isn't my favorite writer, but his books tend to be interesting and well-written (once you get used to his style).  In the book, a major character becomes a full-fledged Stoic after encountering Epictetus in prison.  His quest on how to apply the teachings of Epictetus in the harsh environment of prison was one of the best parts of the book.  After reading it, I was somewhat interested in Stoicism.  But I'm interested in a lot of things, and I didn't pursue my interest further.

I'll discuss further developments of my interest in Stoicism in a subsequent blog post.  I'd love to hear how others first encountered Stoic philosophy, so share any story you wish.