Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Cerebral
Deep
Visionary

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance An Inquiry Into Values

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.
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Reviews

Photo of anjali
anjali@anjalislibrary
5 stars
Jul 8, 2024

Believe me when I say: This book will change your life. It can get challenging at times, but in the end, it's an amazing, amazing book. You will have at least questioned the basic and yet important tenets of intelligence, morality, and what it means to be good or bad and what it means to live, to really live, by the time you're done. I first read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance when I was sixteen...it changed the way I thought about the world and about ideas. I don't think i've ever read anything quite like it. There are some that argue that Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is 'mental masturbation' of sorts; or a 'pretentious philosophical work' whose ideas are just all over the place. The truth is, this book is probably one of those few who deserve the oft-thrown around appraisal, 'this book will change your life' - because, at its heart, the book is about ideas and covers tremendous mental territory. It's a challenging read, but highly recommended.

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Andrew Reeves@awreeves
2 stars
Jul 5, 2024

I really tried with this book, but it was a SLOG. Just clunky and unreadable to me at times.

Photo of John Nettles
John Nettles@jnettl2
3 stars
Dec 27, 2023

Piles on the philosophy pretty heavy; I wasn't ready for that. The plot advances when the reader is suffocating from the lessons -- sometimes only lines at a time -- but I find subjects, such as the section on "quality," to be unrelenting. Worth a re-read, but not any time soon.

Photo of Steve C
Steve C@markspace
4.5 stars
Oct 25, 2023

Tragic and beautiful.

+2
Photo of Gabriel Ayuso
Gabriel Ayuso@gabrielayuso
2 stars
Jun 30, 2023

Too much philosophy for my taste.

Photo of Gavin
Gavin@gl
3 stars
Mar 9, 2023

Manages to put forward an actual critique of rationalism without being either vague and platitudinous, or irrational and irrationally proud of it. Smooth read, some beautiful bits, but a failure if it's primarily a vehicle for a metaphysics.

Photo of Matthew Royal
Matthew Royal@masyukun
2 stars
Feb 13, 2023

Very little fresh philosophical content; mostly name dropping. There is some small value in introducing some basic philosophical ideas, but there's quite a lot of garbage here to stumble over along the way. This book provides an insufferable meditation on how brilliant Pirsig considers himself: - teaching Rhetoric by first convincing students of their need for it, - driving himself mad by getting hung up on an apparent logical contradiction, rather than stepping back and reexamining his assumptions, - redefining the word "Quality" to mean a 3rd category, separate but equal to "mind" and "matter," - inventing a useless, near-religious belief rather than investigating the real meaning and underlying mechanisms of quality. Rather than switching tracks when he came to the end of the line in his "quality" investigations, Pirsig bashes his head into the buffer stop, and desires his readers to admire his maverick, intellectually honest attitude. Systems engineering possesses most of the tools for what he was looking -- balancing the interaction of the objective and subjective to arrive at what Quality means for any given thing. The field has existed since the 1940s at Bell Telephone Laboratories and most recent triumphs to Pirsig's time were the Apollo missions. Pirsig should have realized that quality was more of a question of "how" rather than "why" -- "why" leading to the synonymous question of "What is good?" -- "how" leading him to a field of thinkers perhaps disjoint with the group of academic philosphers. He may admire the rowdy kids in the back of the class, but it's because he, like they, is guilty of not doing his homework.

Photo of Jowanza Joseph
Jowanza Joseph@josep2
4 stars
Jan 20, 2023

I learned a lot from reading this book about values and how to think through many situations I encountered in life. It's certainly a book I wouldn't read cover-to-cover all the time but one that I turn to for guidance.

Photo of Michael Burkhardt
Michael Burkhardt@mihobu
1 star
Jan 16, 2023

The collected rantings of a lunatic who doesn't realize he's a lunatic.

Photo of Christine
Christine@cluprete
2 stars
Sep 9, 2022

pompous af...

Photo of Jk Jensen
Jk Jensen@jkj
5 stars
Aug 14, 2022

One of few books that will leave me digesting its concepts for the foreseeable future. I loved the storytelling, I loved the philosophy. The writing is magnificent. The insight into thinking in systems is invaluable.

Photo of Barry Hess
Barry Hess@bjhess
3 stars
Jan 17, 2022

This was a challenge. I can't say I'd recommend it. The philosophical stuff (most of the book) is not something I have a strong background with. In the end I did take away some interesting ideas.

Photo of Fred Rocha
Fred Rocha@johnfisherman
4 stars
Jan 4, 2022

Quite the epic read. I feel this could be unfolded into 20 other books, such is the diversity of ideas and moral ground covered in it. Probably the best book on how to be a better craftsman that doesn't aim to instruct in said craft.

Photo of Nat Welch
Nat Welch@icco
5 stars
Dec 29, 2021

An amazing look into everything in life. I need to read this again it is so awesome.

Photo of Meniah
Meniah@athoughtfulrecord
4 stars
Oct 1, 2021

Philosophical and deep in nature but one can get a lot of life lessons from it.

Photo of Tara King
Tara King@sparklingrobots
3 stars
Sep 30, 2021

I'm trying to read 36 books in 2013 (3 per month--one fiction, one nonfiction, one poetry). And I'd like to review these books a bit after I've read them, and to select a quote or two that I liked. "Nonrepresentative art is one of the root experiences I'm talking about. Some people still condemn it because it doesn't make 'sense.' But what's really wrong is not the art but the 'sense,' the classical reason, which can't grasp it. People keep looking for branch extensions of reason that will cover art's more recent occurrences, but the answers aren't IN the branches, they're at the roots." (p. 163) "Mountains should be climbed with as little effort as possible and without desire. The reality of your own nature should determine the speed. If you become restless, speed up. If you become winded, slow down. You climb the mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion. Then, when you're not longer thinking ahead, each footstep isn't just a means to an end but a unique event in itself. THIS leaf has jagged edges. THIS rock looks looks. From THIS place the snow is less visible, even though closer. These are things you should notice anyway. To live only for some future goal is shallow. It's the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top. Here's where things grow." (p. 195-6) "When you learn not to do 'just what you like' then the System loves you." (p. 225)

Photo of Juozas Salna
Juozas Salna@pukomuko
1 star
Sep 14, 2021

i had zero knowledge about this book before going in. did not know what to expect. but wtf is this?

Photo of Adam
Adam@adam
3 stars
Aug 17, 2021

A philosophy book told through first person is extremely interesting to me -- especially a travel memoir. Many of the conversations hit on specific points that I was nodding in agreement at. Specifically many of the ones that included frustration when getting points across to others, or taking pride in upkeep and finding a way to enjoy it. The only reason I'd rate it lower was due to the long periods of time between enlightening moments.

Photo of alexander
alexander@alexander
5 stars
Aug 12, 2021

Chaotic, sometimes downright disturbing but a beautiful window into a beautiful mind. Can't wait to reread it.

+4
Photo of Frank Meeuwsen
Frank Meeuwsen@frank
5 stars
Jul 30, 2021

Ik heb dit boek ooit gelezen als 18jarige. Ik dacht het natuurlijk helemaal te snappen maar ik vermoed dat ik bij een herlezing weer nieuwe inzichten zal krijgen. Samen met On The Road een boek wat me het meest is bijgebleven.

Photo of Joe Zimet
Joe Zimet@jz
4 stars
Apr 2, 2023
+3
Photo of Shannon Archer
Shannon Archer@shannonarcher
3 stars
Jan 24, 2023
Photo of Lars
Lars@larsrose
4 stars
Sep 7, 2022
Photo of Colton McCurdy
Colton McCurdy@mccurdyc
4 stars
Aug 12, 2022

Highlights

Photo of JT Helms
JT Helms@jthelms

The truth knocks on the door and you say, Go away, I'm looking for the truth," and so it goes away.

Page 5
Photo of Luka
Luka@luka

the stream of national consciousness moves faster now, and is broader, but it seems to run less deep

Page 7
Photo of Luka
Luka@luka

The truth knocks on the door and you say, "Go away, I'm looking for the truth," and so it goes away.

Page 5
Photo of Georgia Ball
Georgia Ball@cicerhoe

‘I don't know how the people here stand this,' Sylvia says. ‘Well, it's a hard country,' I say with a little irritation, They know it's hard before they come here and are ready for it I add, If one person complains he just makes it that much harder for the others. They've got stanmina’

Photo of Bastien Vaucher
Bastien Vaucher@bastien

I think that when this concept of peace of mind is introduced and made central to the act of technical work, a fusion of classic and romantic quality can take place at a basic level within a practical working context. I've said you can actually see this fusion in skilled mechanics and machinists of a certain sort, and you can see it in the work they do. To say that they are not artists is to misunderstand the nature of art. They have patience, care and attentiveness to what they're doing, but more than this - there's a kind of inner peace of mind that isn't contrived but results from a kind of harmony with the work in which there's no leader and no follower. The material and the craftsman's thoughts change together in a progression of smooth, even changes until his mind is at rest at the exact Instant the material is right.

Page 279
Photo of Bastien Vaucher
Bastien Vaucher@bastien

Mountains should be climbed with as little effort as possible and without desire. The reality of your own nature should determine the speed. If you become restless, speed up. If you become winded, slow down. You climb the mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion. Then, when you're no longer thinking ahead, each footstep isn't just a means to an end but a unique event in itself. This leaf has jagged edges. This rock looks loose. From this place the snow is less visible, even though closer. These are things you should notice anyway. To live only for some future goal is shallow. It's the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top.Here's where things grow.

Page 191
Photo of Bastien Vaucher
Bastien Vaucher@bastien

You are never dedicated to something you have complete confidence in. No one is fanatically shouting that the sun is going to rise tomorrow. They _know_ it’s going to rise tomorrow. When people are fanatically dedicated to political or religious faiths or any other kinds of dogmas or goals, it’s always because these dogmas or goals are in doubt.

Page 140