Epictetus, The Manual (Enchiridion): ‘What is the path to happiness?’ This is surely the most important philosophical question, and no one has answered it as clearly and as forcefully as the first century philosopher Epictetus. Unhappiness, he argues, is mostly caused by the fact that we have false and unrealistic desires and beliefs. In words that remind us of Buddhism, he explains that the path to happiness involves replacing our false and unrealistic attitudes with true ones. With examples and principles that are as relevant today as they were in the Roman empire, Epictetus tells us how we can achieve greater tranquility in a complex and frustrating world. [recommended by John Imerwahr, Villanova University]