Robin Reames does a really nice job balancing the easy on-ramp necessary for a rhetorical novice with the depth of knowledge the subject matter truly deserves. The connections between ancient Athenian politics and modern discourse were especially interesting, although ultimately will most likely date the book. My only critique was that the appendices all seemed like largely just rehashing each chapter. I thought it would have made more sense to just cut the appendices or find a way to incorporate pieces of them into each actual chapter..

Honestly this is a great book in the time of social media and misinformation from the media to learn how influencers, businesses heads, politicians, anyone are manipulating you. If you want to learn the strategies used to coerce you and manipulate you then I highly recommend checking this novel out so you can better process the constant information being slammed in your face every single day.

Maybe I'm not the right person to be saying this since my degree is in rhetoric, but Reames's Ancient Art of Thinking for Yourself makes the subject both approachable and applicable. Without trying to sway readers' views herself, she clearly outlines a variety of persuasive (and often underhand) tactics that we all fall for from time to time. With discussion questions and "digging deeper" resources for each chapter and "The Rhetorical Thinker's Cheat Sheet" conveniently located in the back, this book would be excellent for individual or small group use.

In today’s world of misinformation and political discord, understanding rhetoric—the art of persuasion—is crucial. This book examines the tactics used by politicians, journalists, and pundits from ancient demagogues to modern conspiracists to shape our beliefs and actions. By uncovering these techniques, we can protect ourselves from manipulation by those who don’t have our best interests at heart. This is a fascinating and well-written book, sometimes disturbing but always eye-opening.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

in the era of all-consuming multi-media persuasion, one has to learn to filter information and think about information fed to him/her, and the author gives a very good introduction to the art of rhetorics, even for someone who is not well-versed in classical literature of thinking and philosophical aspect of the art of thinking.

As someone who hasn't read many books like these, I found this to be so approachable without feeling like it's talking down to me. It's both informative and fun, and I can see it being a book that would be a gateway to more stoicism and ancient philosophy books.

Ancient thinkers can still be influential today. Stoicism is in vogue these days, but Robin Reames makes the case that we can look to the ancients for help with rhetoric. Using Aristotle to consider media, for example, gives us a bit more insight into how people work to adapt their message to their audience. There's also a decent amount of logic and Reames does a good job of making it accessible to someone who may never have been exposed to it before. What was really helpful was the section at the back, useful for further exploration and discussion questions. These are beneficial for groups or for individual reflection. The chart she includes is a great snapshot of all of the criticism she encourages people to employ.

Overall, this is a great work that will make philosophical thinking fun and useful for people who may not have found it so in the past, or, may not know where to begin.