Right Thing, Right Now is Ryan Holiday’s third installment in The Stoic Virtues Series, following ‘Courage is Calling’ and ‘Discipline is Destiny‘.
Holiday is 37 as of this writing, and boasts an impressive 15 titles against his name – no ordinary feat if you ask me. Yet, despite his growing oeuvre, his latest book reveals a crack in the foundation. While his previous works struck a chord with readers, this one falters and stumbles into uncertain terrain.
A Mixed Offering
Holiday’s work has its high points. There are moments of clarity and brilliance where his narrative shines through. His portraits of figures like Mahatma Gandhi, Harvey Milk, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X stand out. In these sections, Holiday explores the virtues of transparency, responsibility, duty, and kindness, urging the reader to strengthen their moral compass.
But these moments are few and far between. For a large part, his text skims the surface of the Stoic philosophy. I mean it’s troubling when a third of the book offers a little more than a cursory glance at the tenets of Stoicism.
If you have read about Stoicism, you’d know that no study of this ancient philosophy is complete without its two towering figures: Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. Holiday built his brand around the latter. He drew from the wisdom of the philosopher-king to bring Stoic philosophy into the mainstream consciousness. For that, he deserves credit.
His earlier works made Stoicism accessible and relevant to contemporary audiences. But in this book, the Stoic connection feels tenuous at best.
The Truman Dilemma
Holiday tries too hard to make heroes out of history. He begins by writing a eulogy for the 33rd U.S. President, Harry Truman. In case you don’t know, it was under Truman’s leadership that the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed during WWII.
Holiday emphasizes that Truman read Meditations and was inspired by Marcus Aurelius to always focus on doing the right thing. I, for one, can’t reconcile the idea of nuclear bombing a country that was already on the brink of surrender, killing and mutilating millions. How was that the right thing to do? Would Marcus Aurelius, a man of profound moral contemplation, have endorsed such a decision?
I’m not debating Truman’s decision-making, my concern is how Ryan Holiday forces a Stoic connection with the late U.S. President. It appears strained beyond reason.
Historical Inaccuracies
Right Thing, Right Now has its share of apparent inaccuracies, too. In the first chapter, while discussing Harry Truman, Holiday mentions that Truman brought the control of the nuclear armory under civilian control during his reign. However, Daniel Ellsberg, the father of whistleblowing, writes in his book The Doomsday Machine, that the control of the arsenal remained with the Joint Chiefs of Staff until 1958, well after Truman’s presidency.
Such oversights cast a shadow over Holiday’s narrative, raising questions about the thoroughness of his research.
Another questionable inclusion is the story of Marcus Atilius Regulus. Holiday references the 3rd-century general in at least two chapters as a model of Stoic virtue.
Regulus, according to legend, returned to his captors and met his death solely to honor his word. But this tale has long been debunked as mere legend. So why include such a dubious anecdote? It suggests a forced attempt to fit a square peg into a round hole, at best, or insufficient research, at worst.
A Troubling Afterward
The afterword of the book came as a shock to me. Rather than offering a reflective conclusion, it feels like an unnecessary diatribe. Holiday speaks candidly about being labeled “woke” and a “social justice warrior,” citing his stances on issues like book banning, LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and the removal of Confederate monuments.
While these are important topics, their inclusion in a book about Stoic virtue feels jarring. I got the impression that Holiday was using the platform to defend his personal beliefs rather than highlight the timeless truths of Stoicism.
As a non-American reader, I found this digression highly disconcerting. It felt as if he chose to depart from philosophical discourse and leaped into a political sermon. Metaphorically, Holiday appears to be straining to weave threads that were never meant to be joined.
The final third of the book is also its weakest. The tenuous connection to Stoicism is obvious, and Holiday’s arguments in the afterword weaken the overall message further.
Avoidable Personal Justifications
As the book draws to a close, Holiday makes a curious detour into his business decisions. He recounts how he chose to sever ties with a Chinese manufacturer of his Memento Mori coins in favor of an American one.
While the anecdote might have been intended to illustrate a commitment to Stoic principles, it comes across as self-serving instead. This personal justification feels more like an advertisement than an insightful reflection, further distancing the reader from the philosophical core of the book.
Conclusion
Right Thing, Right Now is a mixed bag, with flashes of insight overshadowed by digressions and inaccuracies that dilute its impact. Holiday’s intent may have been noble, but the execution leaves much to be desired. In the end, the book stands as a testament to the difficulty of staying true to one’s principles, even for an author who has made a career out of advocating for them.
Holiday delayed this book for a year to spend time with his family, but unfortunately, that decision did not translate into a work of enduring value. With one virtue left (Wisdom) in the series, I hope that Holiday regains his focus and delivers the rigor his readers deserve.
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