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

Robert M. Pirsig

Harper Collins, Apr 25, 2006 - Psychology - 560 pages

One of the most important and influential books written in the past half-century, Robert M. Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a powerful, moving, and penetrating examination of how we live . . . and a breathtaking meditation on how to live better. Here is the book that transformed a generation: an unforgettable narration of a summer motorcycle trip across America's Northwest, undertaken by a father and his young son. A story of love and fear -- of growth, discovery, and acceptance -- that becomes a profound personal and philosophical odyssey into life's fundamental questions, this uniquely exhilarating modern classic is both touching and transcendent, resonant with the myriad confusions of existence . . . and the small, essential triumphs that propel us forward.

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - SeriousGrace - LibraryThing

When you are traveling across the country on a motorcycle, you have more than enough time to analyze the world around you in ways you wouldn't if you chose to passively ride in a car or fly by plane ...

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - TobinElliott - LibraryThing

This book...it has a hold on me. You look at where you're going and where you are and it never makes sense, but then you look back at where you've been and a pattern seems to emerge. This is very ...

Contents

• Section 1: 3
• Section 2: 23
• Section 3: 35
• Section 4: 47
• Section 5: 60
• Section 6: 80
• Section 7: 94
• Section 8: 115
• Section 9: 128
• Section 10: 136
• Section 11: 145
• Section 12: 169
• Section 13: 181
• Section 14: 192
• Section 15: 218
• Section 16: 235
• Section 17: 255
• Section 18: 269
• Section 19: 288
• Section 20: 307
• Section 21: 325
• Section 22: 331
• Section 23: 349
• Section 24: 351
• Section 25: 371
• Section 26: 385
• Section 27: 423
• Section 28: 426
• Section 29: 455
• Section 30: 492
• Section 31: 515
• Section 32: 527
• Section 33: 532

About the author

Robert M. Pirsig was born in 1928 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He studied chemistry and philosophy (B.A., 1950) and journalism (M.A., 1958) at the University of Minnesota, pursued graduate work in philosophy at the University of Chicago, and attended Benares Hindu University in India, where he studied Oriental philosophy. He is also the author of a sequel to this book, Lila.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values
• Author: Robert M. Pirsig
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: Harper Collins, 2006
• ISBN: 0060589469, 9780060589462
• Length: 560 pages
• Subjects: Philosophy / Eastern; Psychology / Emotions; Psychology / General