Sarah Bakewell's book is a stroke of genius: in a highly elegant and entertaining manner, she tells the life of Montaigne while simultaneously answering our questions about a good life. Never before has there been such an authentic and contemporary account of the great philosopher and essayist - a true stroke of luck! Live in the moment! - Philosophize only by chance! - Consider everything, regret nothing! - With these and other answers to the question "How should I live?" Sarah Bakewell guides us through the unusual life of the vineyard owner, lover, essayist, mayor, and traveler Michel de Montaigne. She skillfully places him firmly in the 16th century, during the age of religious wars, and makes him understandable for our time. How should one read Montaigne? Not like a child, for amusement, and not like the ambitious, to be instructed.