Zen & Art Motorcycle Maintenance

Robert M. Pirsig

Vintage, 2005 - Fathers and sons - 432 pages

Acclaimed as one of the most exciting books in the history of American letters, this modern epic became an instant bestseller upon publication in 1974, transforming a generation and continuing to inspire millions. This 25th Anniversary edition features a new introduction by the author; important typographical changes; and a Reader's Guide that includes discussion topics, an interview with the author, letters and documents detailing how this extraordinary book came to be. A narration of a summer motorcycle trip undertaken by a father and his son, the book becomes a personal and philosophical odyssey into fundamental questions of 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, ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE is a touching and transcendent book of life.

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 ...

About the author

Robert M. Pirsig was born in 1928 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He holds degrees in chemistry, philosophy, and journalism and also studied Oriental philosophy at Benares Hindu University in India. He is the author of this book's sequel, entitled Lila.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Zen & Art Motorcycle Maintenance
• Author: Robert M. Pirsig
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: Vintage, 2005
• ISBN: 0099488884, 9780099488880
• Length: 432 pages