How to Live by Sarah Bakewell
How to Live: Or A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer by Sarah Bakewell
Tim and Brian discuss Sarah Bakewell's profile of Montaigne, a French philosopher from the 1500s. We thought this book was interesting, although not entirely captivating. Montaigne was a philosopher who focused on the simple things in life. in his famous Essays, he recorded many of his daily observations and daydreams.
This book helped give a backdrop for his work, so that you could understand how the events surrounding Montaigne's life influenced the Essays. In the time of Reformation, Renaissance, and the Plague, there was a great opportunity for a new philosopher like Montaigne to combine Ancient Greek wisdom with everyday common sense and logic.