Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values
4/5
()
About this ebook
THE CLASSIC BOOK THAT HAS INSPIRED MILLIONS
A penetrating examination of how we live and how to live better
Few books transform a generation and then establish themselves as touchstones for the generations that follow. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is one such book. This modern epic of a man’s search for meaning became an instant bestseller on publication in 1974, acclaimed as one of the most exciting books in the history of American letters. It continues to inspire millions.
A narration of a summer motorcycle trip undertaken by a father and his son, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance becomes a personal and philosophical odyssey into fundamental questions on how to live. The narrator's relationship with his son leads to a powerful self-reckoning; the craft of motorcycle maintenance leads to an austerely beautiful process for reconciling science, religion, and humanism. Resonant with the confusions of existence, this classic is a touching and transcendent book of life.
This new edition contains an interview with Pirsig and letters and documents detailing how this extraordinary book came to be.
Robert M. Pirsig
Robert M. Pirsig (1928–2017) is the author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, which has sold more than five-million copies since its publication in 1974, and Lila, a finalist for the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. He graduated from the University of Minnesota (B.A., 1950; M.A., 1958) and attended Benares Hindu University in India, where he studied Eastern philosophy, and the University of Chicago, where he pursued a PhD in philosophy. Pirsig’s motorcycle resides in the Smithsonian Institution.
Related to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Related ebooks
Summary and Analysis of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values: Based on the Book by Robert M. Pirsig Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Martian Chronicles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Steppenwolf: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Watership Down: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Glass Bead Game: (Magister Ludi) A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Old Man and the Sea: The Hemingway Library Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dry: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Confessions of St. Augustine: Modern English Version Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Moveable Feast Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shantaram: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Narcissus and Goldmund: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dao De Jing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Screwtape Letters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Angela's Ashes: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Prayer for Owen Meany: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Republic by Plato Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cryptonomicon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ulysses: With linked Table of Contents Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Island of the Blue Dolphins: The Complete Reader's Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Farewell to Arms Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sun Tzu's The Art of War: Bilingual Edition Complete Chinese and English Text Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dante's Divine Comedy: Inferno Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Prince: The Original Classic Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Personal Memoirs For You
I'm Glad My Mom Died Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diary of a Young Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Glass Castle: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Stolen Life: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Child Called It: One Child's Courage to Survive Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stash: My Life in Hiding Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dry: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just Mercy: a story of justice and redemption Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mediocre Monk: A Stumbling Search for Answers in a Forest Monastery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Solutions and Other Problems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everything I Know About Love: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: the heartfelt, funny memoir by a New York Times bestselling therapist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bad Mormon: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Choice: Embrace the Possible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mommie Dearest Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
4,386 ratings139 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I had high hopes for this book. And parts of it were quite interesting and thought-provoking. But half way through it just lost me...
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Covers a lot of ground in exploring the metaphysics of quality, mindfulness, and getting to the bottom of several "gumption-traps" that academics set. Where they work at all, I didn't find the ultimate syntheses of classical/romantic, narrator/Phaedrus, eastern/western all that earth-shattering (i've never thought philosophy needed any grand unification theory)...but the exposition in the road-trip/personal history brings the ideas to life.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Probably my all-time favorite book!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An enjoyable read. I think I may need to go back and read this again in the next year. The details of Persig's philosophy of "Quality" are kind of strange. He begins talking about quality as it relates to writing, but he ends up using it to refer to something else -- something bigger -- like Plato's " Form of the Good". That being said, I actually was interested in the relationship between the narrator and his son, Chris. OK, enough blabbering. Enjoyed.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of the most amazing books I have ever read...I have had an ongoing love-affair with this book since 1996. Originally it was given to my fiance, by his brother, for his birthday in 1994. My fiance was killed in 1996; the book became mine. I stuck it on a shelf where it sat for two years: I thought it was about motorcycle repair, and kept it in case I needed it for reference. When I finally did take it off the shelf, and look it over, it was in 1997. Upon opening the book, I noticed my fiance had marked the page he had last read shortly before his death; page 121. One sleepless night, as I was looking for something to read, I again came upon this book; after the first 10 pages, I was hooked...After the first 50, I decided I wasn't putting the book down until I finished it; I read it throughout the night, and finished it in the early morning hours.15 years later, I still have the original copy I first read, and anytime I meet someone new, who enjoys reading, I lend them the book. The last page my fiance read is still marked, and inside the back cover, are my initials, and the dates I have re-read it. I will pass it on to my sons one day!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I read it because it is a famous book and I was curious. In parts it's boring in others it flows very well. A mixed balance I guess, overall not bad but I wouldn't read it again
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Other than the one passage of misogyny that felt like a friendly dog had just turned and savaged me, this book was everything I'd expected from its reputation. It was simultaneously confusing and enlightening, and as a result I think it will continue to reverberate in my life. Well worth the time I spent. (Also, I highly recommend the audio version I "read," which was narrated by Michael Kramer.)
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I had been meaning to read this book for many years, and I am glad I finally got to it. It has a truly fascinating dissection and discussion of quality. While the title focuses on "values," and the text does address this, I found that it did so mostly through lens of quality. I think I got most of it on the first read, but there are some specific explorations that I should probably re-read. The book reminds me of why I enjoyed my philosophy classes way back when.
I highly recommend it, but I think that you will get the most out of it if you are willing to commit a significant number of brain cycles to it in the appropriate points. (Don't worry about which ones. They will be obvious.) - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Terrific story. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It made me consider philosophy as a second major or a master's degree.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Incoherent and nonsensical attempts at philosophy. The author happily discards any logical framework and proceeds to babble about terms he even refuses to define properly ('quality'), and then accidentally does so anyway, by defining what it is not.
The travelogue was somewhat interesting, but even that wound up to be a disappointment in the end. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Another of those books that meant so much to me in my teens, but was part of my college studies. Blessedly, digging and writing about this book didn't quite ruin it for me. There's something so damaging about being told what to think about a book (as is often the case when one is "taught" a book in the classroom).Yes, this book has the nasty aura of 70s popularity and has been a teen/20s read for many years, but once you clear away the dross of popularity and pop culture, it's still a gripping depiction of madness, social analysis, and personal revelation. It's much dated now, almost a historical document, a slice of the world at a particular time and place, but that's only a part of the whole. The "Inquiry into Values" -- the question of what is quality -- applies as much today as it ever did.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Read this in the Seventies, trying to be cool. After reading Zen..., I decided to just be. Great lessons. However, took me forever to implement. Oh well.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I have a major headrush because of the constantly changing accelerations and depressions I went through to finish this book. Indeed, it holds some wonderfull thoughts. I loved the part about the Church of Reason, the belief that every culture has its own ghosts, the thoughts about the failure of an experiment and the mentioning of the ancient greek perception of how we look out on the past while the future creeps up from behind. There is one line I enjoyed most: "We keep passing unseen through little moments of other people's lives". Depressions I got at times because of the style of narration. Didn't like it when too many words were used to make a point, and didn't like the build-up to the big ending. Guess it's not my cup of tea in that way. Yet I'll take parts of the book with me and I know they will float back up when I need them.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I don't consider Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance to be fiction. But it could've been and it wouldn't have mattered. It just rocked my world. The whole Quality thing. The concept of actually thinking in a different way. Even Pirsig's narrative of how that concept was rediscovered by a post shock-therapy motorcycle rider on a cross-country trip with his estranged son.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Despite the claim to the contrary on the back cover, this book did not change the way I think about my life. I guess I expected more from its reputation. Or maybe I just had it all figured out for myself already. I have always suspected that I am a genius.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Could have been a good 10 page introduction to the roots of Western - yes, Western - philosophy. But I found all the motorcycle, travel and father/son stuff pretty tedious. Finished it out of my duty as a good Baby Boomer.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This was thrust upon me by a friend, and I'm glad I have finally read it. I kept pulling out sections and writing them down, bits about caring about the task in hand, having peace of mind and gumption, about ghosts and the laws of nature. There is a lot of common sense in the book and Phaedrus is a great character, ugly and wretched and true to himself. The desire to pull the classical thinker and the romantic together is noble - it reminded me of a character I invented once called the facilitative artist (as opposed to the creative or recreative artist or the administrator). Ultimately, it left me feeling surprisingly empty because of its lack of answers, but whetted my appetite enough to want to read his sequel.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5So, I know many people have read this book and then gone out and bought motorcycles and blah-de-blah-blah-blah. Some of the travel prose was really good, but that was about it. It took a long time to get through this book.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5i was about seventeen when i managed not to finish this book. probably needed answers and they came too slowly. maybe i wanted too much.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A must read for any one who rides a two-wheeler. Does get a bit absurd toward the end when the main character goes on about his son being a wimp and how he is trying to teach his son to gain strength as a person. Gets a bit preachy, but entertaining in regards to why you should learn to fix your own ride.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of my favorite books that I have read and reread. I enjoy the simple backstory, but more importantly, always find something new to (re)consider. As a practicing natural scientist and teacher, I also (re)discover ideas to convey to my students.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A motorcycle ride from Minnesota to California to learn what is Quality, subjectively and objectively; thoughts on romantic and classical thinking. A bit much, too much philosophy; too much Socrates and Plato too.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I started reading this book in high school, and I am still finishing it. Oh, I have read all the pages, but after many rereadings, I am still processing the whole Idea of Quality, as well as the mental health issues he raises.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I've re-read this book at least a half-dozen times, and enjoy it more each time. Pirsig tells the story of his motorcycle journey from Minnesota to California with his son, Chris. A life-altering book; a classic. I first read it after two years of university philosophy courses, which made his archeology of Quality breathtaking to me.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5There are rare books that one comes across sometimes(rare not just because they are difficult to find, but also because you need to know what's going to hit you) where every word seems to ooze out of lifetime of experience - to the extent that the Author has seen no need to ever write another book - and has filtered his entire vision into a little gem. The catch ,of course , is that you somehow need to shape your own little prism to allow all that vision to percolate through - and if you open the book expecting to judge it(What's the hype all about?)- your skull suddenly starts feeling like a zirconite figurine.When , of course, one day you see the point of that incredible thought process, and start seeing what Phaedrus saw in his long journey -it is quite possible(like,for me) that you start somewhere at the beginning and see a completely different world for 300 pages - and feel a whoosh that makes your mind feel fluid. Alive.Whether the effect is temporary is , of course, a purely personal choice. But ,at that stage, experiencing it is not.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This book has been at the periphery of my consciousness for many years, since it was a famous “counter-cultural” book in the 1970’s. I decided to buy the 25th anniversary edition, and read it. I was prepared to be critical, and found that was a good way to approach the book. The book, according to the author is based in fact, and that implies that it is autobiographical, and in the examination of the madness of the narrator’s alter ego, Phaedrus, unbelievable. Phaedrus, the genius of philosophy and rhetoric, the only teacher of worth at a junior college, narcissitic, mean, and belittling to colleagues and family, and probably bipolar, deserved to be suppressed by electroshock therapy. It is not bad that most people need to make a living in a practical way and often just want to get by without spending too much time on the details. Everyone has a passion for something, and sometimes getting along in society means doing ordinary things. Quality, and oneness with the spirit, is an approach to life, that is inchoate, meaningless, and not as powerful a means of understanding the physical world as a dualistic subject and object dialectic. The motorcycle trip and endless “Chatauqua” on classical philosophy is ultimately elitist and excluding, since the insight occurs only to a madman, sitting incontinent in an empty apartment.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5difficult in the 1st 100 pages. Lots of motorcycle talk & the phaedrus part is confusing, but by the end of the book, I felt that the author took me on a philosophical journey that was worth the effort. It made me contemplate why our society believes so much in science & evidence & how art is separate. In the end he defines quality as “doing one’s best” & he proposes that it can be measured.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5ZAMM takes awhile to get in to, and it is somewhat a labor to get through, but one can't help feeling all the while that it's worth it. The ties between rhetoric in writing and other aspects of life are a rather unique thought. As the introduction states, this book has little to do with Zen or Motorcycles.Pirsig also spends a lot of time trying to define Quality, and makes you join in that search with him. It really is a difficult question, to define from the bottom up what makes something "good". In this and in all of what he writes, you will find yourself considering your own life and trying to discern the quality of your experiences and efforts. This is not an easy read, but it makes you engage yourself in it, and will not allow itself to be read by a detached observer.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5There's a reason this book is a classic. The writing makes you stop and think at every page, and examine aspects of your own life. Be warned though, this book is not easy reading, and you won't be able to finish it on the plane trip to Atlanta. This is a book that requires you to sit down, think, and re read. It's well worth it though.