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ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE

An Enquiry Into Values

By Robert M Pirsig

(174)

| Paperback | 9780552993784

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Critics

Good Trip

Earnest, innocent, awkward, authentic—long on character and short on formal art (but that includes a blessed lack of artfulness)—Robert Pirsig’s book is an ungainly piece of do-it-yourself American Gothic. It is a novel, a travelogue, a quest, a set ... (read full critics)

nybooks published on Sun, 22 Aug 2010

17 Reviews

1 person find this helpful

A modern philosophical classic. He gets at some very fundamental questions and I love to explore the fundamentals. At one point I thought he had the answers to some of these questions and I was very excited, but now I'm not so sure about his ideas. His philosophy is very original and distrusted by a ... (continue)

A modern philosophical classic. He gets at some very fundamental questions and I love to explore the fundamentals. At one point I thought he had the answers to some of these questions and I was very excited, but now I'm not so sure about his ideas. His philosophy is very original and distrusted by academics; it hasn't been picked up by them. Nonetheless, a very enjoyable read that will get you thinking about issues you may not have before.
I love the style it is written in; a cross-country motorcycle trip of a boy and his father, interrupted by monologues of thought. Does anyone know of another book that is written in a similar style?

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audioreader said on Aug 15, 2008 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

An intro to philosophy

This was quite a bit of heavy treading but was highly satisfying. The work is actually 3 books in one: (1) a book on philosophy in general and Pirsig's Metaphysics of Quality in particular (2) an autobiography of the author's past (life) (3) a pleasant motorcycle journey across America.
The bo ... (continue)

This was quite a bit of heavy treading but was highly satisfying. The work is actually 3 books in one: (1) a book on philosophy in general and Pirsig's Metaphysics of Quality in particular (2) an autobiography of the author's past (life) (3) a pleasant motorcycle journey across America.
The book is a non-fictional account of the author's journey on a bike with his son. Passages of the bike travel are very interesting to read and are filled with details about the people they meet, the places they visit and intimate details about maintaining a motorbike. Interspersed among these passages is the author's introduction to philosophy. At first it is general, but later as he starts to speak about Phaedrus and his journey through science/philosophy and his discovery of Quality. Slowly you realize Phaedrus is not another character, but it was the author himself in his past.
The book is a good read. I don't think I could've survived the philosophy in this book hadn't it been mashed up with analogies to bikes, places and travel. Though I got the gist of Quality, I never got around to understanding its importance.

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Ashwin Nanjappa said on Jul 7, 2007 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

Good book to read about the thought pattern in schizoid influenced mind. First time I read it, it made no sense until I found out at the end.

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eudaemonian said on Mar 14, 2006 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

I 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

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Carlo said on Dec 26, 2011 | Add your feedback

This is also one of my all time favorites.

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Tchitcherine111 said on Dec 17, 2011 | Add your feedback

I've tried again to finish off this book some 28 years after my first insuccessful attempt, but I just cannot seem to dig under the thick layer of massive boredom Pirsig wraps his narrative in- I am sure there is something good down there in the core, but I am not a good enough geologist to get ther ... (continue)

I've tried again to finish off this book some 28 years after my first insuccessful attempt, but I just cannot seem to dig under the thick layer of massive boredom Pirsig wraps his narrative in- I am sure there is something good down there in the core, but I am not a good enough geologist to get there.

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Gabriel Oak said on Apr 25, 2011 about the Others edition | Add your feedback