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    Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values
    Unavailable
    Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values
    Unavailable
    Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values
    Audiobook15 hours

    Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values

    Written by Robert M. Pirsig

    Narrated by Michael Kramer

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

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    About this audiobook

    This lyrical, evocative, thought-provoking journal of a man's quest for truth — and for himself — has touched and changed an entire generation.

    At its heart, the story is all too simple: a man and his son take a lengthy motorcycle trip through America. But this is not a simple trip at all, for around every corner, through mountain and desert, wind and rain, and searing heat and biting cold, their pilgrimage leads them to new vistas of self-discovery and renewal.

    Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is an elemental work that had helped to shape and define the past twenty-five years of American culture. This special audio edition presents this adventure in an exciting new way — for the millions who have already taken this journey and want to travel these roads again, and for the many more who will discover for the first time the wonders and challenges of a journey that will change the way they think and feel about their lives.

    A Macmillan Audio production.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateMar 1, 2003
    ISBN9781593972981
    Author

    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.

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    Reviews for Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

    4/5

    3,973 ratings132 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 4/5
      A lot of people give this book bad reviews, but I choose to think that's because they read it at the wrong time. If this book had been required reading, I more than likely would have hated it, also. If I read it even a year ago, I wouldn't have enjoyed it because I'd be too busy thinking I already knew everything there was to know. Instead, I read it at the exact right time in my life - and for those who didn't enjoy it, it might be worth trying again at a later time.

      There's a narrative of a father and son going on a motorcycle trip, but hidden beneath that is the story of the father trying to remember his past, which includes a stint as a professor and a PhD candidate, and ends in his going insane, back in the times where electroshock therapy was the answer. If the title seems daunting to you, don't be scared - part of the author's note reads: "..It should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice. It's not very factual on motorcycles either."
    • 1/5
      It's been awhile since I tried to read this, but didn't finish it. Boring!
    • 1/5
      DNF

      *Update: Pirsig is still an asshat.*
    • 4/5
      I had high hopes for this book. And parts of it were quite interesting and thought-provoking. But half way through it just lost me...
    • 2/5
      I read it in college. I hated the philosophy parts, but the motorcycle travel parts were my thing for sure. Maybe it would be better on a read when I'm a bit older now, but I doubt I'll go back to it.
    • 5/5
      Finished my third reading tonight, the last book I'll complete in 2018. Still excellent. My sense of overall doom is heightened with this reread by parenthood. Man, wow. Some books will have you checking on your boys in the middle of the night - looking at you, Cormac McCarthy...This edition has a terrific afterward by Pirsig that I read for the first time.
    • 5/5
      this book meant a lot to me when I read it in the 1970s. It meant a lot again in 2018. Reading it the second time I realized his description of how one approaches a technical problem shaped my life. The same can be said for his analysis of the concept of "quality" post shock treatment mental patient / college professor takes a motorcycle trip with his son; discussion of technology, maintenance, quality
    • 2/5
      There are people that love this book, and those that hate it. As you may have guessed from my rating, I fall into the latter camp.By the way, feel free to like it. If it speaks to you, great. If you discovered something profound about the universe through reading it, right on.For me, I found the mixture too rich, like an engine at high altitudes. There's the frame story, the flashbacks, the philosophical Chautauquas. They follow each other in succession, clumsily falling over each other and failing to gel into a narrative. The characters other than the narrator are nothing but straw men, existing to serve a purpose in the philosophical arguments but with no reality of their own, no truth to support them.There is a fine line between noise and music, sometimes. Perhaps if I had agreed with the content of the philosophy I could have found the groove, but as it stands, it's just a cacophony of nonsense. I rank it right up with Ayn Rand, in the annals of stiff and awkward philosophy made to wear a novel's clothes.
    • 5/5
      This is indeed a remarkable book. It is all about the distinction between classical (facts) and romantic (feelings) approaches and continuity. A sentence or two on page 165 of the Bodley Head edition (1974) made me stop and think. 'Peace of mind isn't at all superficial, really...It's the whole thing...The ultimate test's always your own serenity. If you don't have this when you start and maintain it while you're working you're likely to build your personal problems right into the machine itself'. This is the answer to everything. If you are trying to put together some flat pack furniture you need to have peace of mind at the outset. Some people focus in on the technology - they put everything together perfectly; other people are not interested in the nuts and bolts they, just want the function - put some books on those shelves. For peace of mind, continuity is needed underpinning it all - form, function, beauty like the motorbike, the journey, the sensation of travelling across a beautiful landscape. Experience tells me that If i start out on something rattled rather than serene, then I know it won't work out.
    • 4/5
      I think most of the reviews take this book way too seriously. And most of them serve to prove the author's arguments, anyway. But I read this like A Wizard of Earthsea set on motorcycles instead of boats. And I didn't think (without knowing as much about Taoism as I feel I should) that Pirsig could make it more clear that he was putting Taoism in layman's terms with his theory of Quality if he, I don't know, put "Zen" in the title, or, say, picked up the Tao Te Ching and quoted it word-for-word substituting "Quality" for the word "Tao." Rather than the development of his own pretentious philosophy, he's showing us his progression to understanding the Tao through Western philosophy, rather than Eastern, and repeatedly points out where he got it wrong.
    • 5/5
      Excellent.
    • 4/5
      A "heavy" book. But it makes you think about how you think, our expectations, how we communicate, and how we relate to each other. Not for everyone.
    • 5/5
      Instantly qualifies for my brief list of life-changing books. Summed up best by, "we have artists with no scientific knowledge and scientists with no artistic knowledge and both with no spiritual sense of gravity at all, and the result is not just bad, it is ghastly." Drop everything and read this book!
    • 4/5
      Covers 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.
    • 5/5
      I read this book after many years, and it remains the classic it was always meant to be. I took my time to read the book, because it is one that works on many planes. While yes, there is the road trip, and yes there is Phaedrus. However, in all the musings about Quality, which are relevant, I also took home the lessons on technology, isolation and the yearning to connect again with the world. This is not to say that none of the other issues are not relevant. It is just that, in our current technology-addled world, this is one thing that stood out for me, in this reading of the book.There is something for all of us in this book. It is brilliant, and masterfully written. Robert Pirsig died when I was on the last pages of the book. May his soul rest in peace. He has left behind a rich legacy.
    • 5/5
      Life changing. Really!
    • 5/5
      Probably my all-time favorite book!
    • 5/5
      This book should be essential reading for all university lecturers. Pirsig says what I feel but couldn't describe. I wish I had read this years ago, but like many things, maybe I would not have grasped the issues if I had read it with less experience. I can't help but find comparisons with Edward de Bono's "Greek Gang of Three". I actually worked on our car as a result of this book, and my return to old-school technologies and move away from many social networks makes more sense. Now to buy a vintage motorcycle!
    • 3/5
      I have been wanting to read this book for many years and just never got around to it. I remember being told it's a must read back when I was in University by a bunch of colleagues who raved about it. I enjoyed the book for the most part. I admit that much of the philosophy discussion about "Quality" was lost on me. I did however feel very connected to the constant discussion between Classical & Romantic Types of People and how the author's friends where anti-technology. I would recommend this novel to people who like to debate and argue philosophical ideas.
    • 4/5
      This is one which, I hate to say, lost me towards the end. I really enjoyed the first two thirds of this book, but the text surrounding Persig's apparent mental breakdown and what seemed to be a second personality really threw me for a loop. Maybe I'm not "Zen" enough to understand it, as my professor vaguely implied, or maybe the failure can partially be laid on the author's own shoulders. Either way, tread with caution. I wouldn't tell anyone to avoid this book--I quite enjoyed it--but be prepared to be puzzled.
    • 2/5
      Not as good as I remember from back in the day.
    • 5/5
      A classic that has been on my bookshelf for many years. It has called to me over those years and I finally yielded to it’s call. I enjoyed it much. What a wonderful journey through the history of philosophical thought with a motorcycle journey and an intriguing story as the background and metaphor for these ideas. If you have never read this and this sounds like your cup of tea, go for it.
    • 4/5
      Good book on travel and philosophy.
    • 4/5
      Not sure what to make of the book, but it started out interesting and then got almost overwhelming. I probably should have read it decades ago, but I don’t think I would have really liked it then. Not sure that I “liked” it now either, but it was very moving.
    • 1/5
      A Piece of Junk!
      Absolute total garbage.
    • 4/5
      I read this in my freshman year of college. I found the first 2/3 of the book wonderful, and the last third a bit redundant. I think I didn't ever quite finish it.
    • 5/5
      Like all the pundits say. A read you don’t forget. Stays with you.
    • 1/5
      Pathological and oppressive. I finally understand why dad stares into space all the time and can't take care of me anymore. Read Foucault's Discipline and Punish instead, it's somehow less harrowing.
    • 1/5
      I want to give it no stars.
    • 4/5
      A really thoughtful and evocative book that works well as fiction. The philosophy is doubtful. If you can't explain it then you don't understand it and if you don't understand what you have come up with yourself then you haven't really come up with anything.