Ask Aristotle

Imagine you've eaten some hallucinogenic mushrooms-and things aren't going well. You're disoriented, panicking. But you can call someone. Who do you call?

For Vishal, the answer was his philosopher friend William. He has a PhD in philosophy and can deliver one hell of a talk-down to someone in an existential crisis. He helped Vishal through his bad trip by telling him about Aristotle.

That conversation inspired Ask Aristotle, a refreshingly un-schoolish introduction to one of history's most legendary thinkers.

This book is important because it brings a powerful philosophy out of the Ivory Tower and into the real world. It even does this in a playful format-a modern spin on the Platonic dialogue, which makes the reading experience feel like eavesdropping on a fascinating conversation.

It's the next best thing to a podcast with Aristotle.