Philosopher King Marcus Aurelius lived a long, long time ago, but his deep thoughts on life and death live on. A selection of his thoughts are presented in this book alongside beautiful, simple illustrations. Even though he had originally written just for himself, how wonderful his wisdom has been made available to everyone.

Many thanks to Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced digital copy of these selections from Marcus Aureilus’s Meditations. I’ve read Meditations in other formats, but this version, titled The Illustrated Meditations: Life Lessons from Marcus Aurelius stands out among others for the excellent introductions and contextualization from scholar James Romm and the wonderful woodcut illustrations from Joanna Lisowiec. Rather than presenting all of Meditations, this edition serves as a curated highlight of the key themes and ideas from the different sections. Romm’s commentary enables readers to better understand Marcus Aurelius’s times and the incredible position he had as an emperor of Rome. Furthermore, it’s also important to consider that Marcus Aurelius most likely never considered Meditations for public readers but rather looked at this collection of thoughts and ideas as a kind of inner dialogue or journal of important precepts and theories about life and the challenges it presented to him. Within each section, Romm provides some context about understanding Marcus Aurelius’s position, and then identifies some key quotes and passages from the original text that relate to these ideas. The introductions for each section are brief, typically one to two pages, and then there are quotes and sections pulled from various parts of Meditations. There are usually about 5-6 quotes with illustrations and then anywhere between 5-10 longer passages that relate to the themes. Although I had a digital copy, I would imagine that this edition would make an excellent gift for someone. I can see myself revisiting this book throughout a year or when I face challenges, as it provides some great insights into keeping an even disposition and not becoming too upset or angry.
This is a great edition and a good entryway into understanding ideas about Stoicism and why they are still relevant to today. The wonderful illustrations also help to understand the Stoic relationship with nature and cycles. These illustrations are colorful and detailed, and fit well with the excerpts from Meditations.

The Illustrated Meditations offers a beautifully curated selection of Marcus Aurelius’s original journal entries, with a thoughtful focus on thematic clarity. While the Meditations in its full form can feel repetitive due to its nature as a personal journal, this edition skillfully organizes key reflections into specific categories, making the Stoic philosophy more approachable and impactful.

This is a perfect entry point for anyone curious about Stoicism. The selected passages are not only accessible but deeply resonant, and the accompanying woodcut illustrations add an elegant visual layer that complements the meditative tone of the text. They bring an artistic dimension to the ancient wisdom, encouraging slower, more mindful reading.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy. I highly recommend this edition to both newcomers and longtime admirers of Stoic thought.

I have previously read Meditations but I wanted to review this book for the introductions by James Romm and the illustrations by Joanna Lisowiec and I am very glad that I did.

The book is divided into eight chapters of selected excerpts from Meditations and each chapter starts with an introduction by Romm. I believe these introductions would especially be very helpful for someone who just started to learn about Stoicism and Marcus Aurelius. I loved reading Romm's writings on the philosophical and the historical background for each meditation chapter. This can help reader to expand their ideas further. Moreover the introductions are brief which I believe would be liked by a general audience. I was unsure about the categorization system but I believe it works very well with the introductions that by the end of the book I actually liked the categorization system. When it comes to selections as someone who already read the work, I did not have any issues with them.

When it comes to illustrations done by Joanna Lisowiec I believe they work very well with the texts. I especially liked the stars in few pages and the wolf one. They are all so pretty on their own that they all look like they could be postcards. The illustrations have a cohesive aesthetic that continues throughout the book which does not create problems with categorizations.

If I saw this book in the store I would definitely buy it for myself or as a gift to someone. I believe its a good introduction to Meditations by Marcus Aurelius that is informative yet simple and very pretty to look at.

Huge thanks to Netgalley, Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press and James Romm and Joanna Lisowiec for this advanced reader copy. I truly enjoyed reading it.