Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
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Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Robert M. Pirsig
Philosophy & Religion
James Mustich
Jul 31, 2018
Some books resonate deeply with the tenor of their times. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig’s 1974 “inquiry into values,” is a case in point. Rejected, according to the author, by dozens of editors before it finally found a publisher, it became an enduring publishing phenomenon, selling millions of copies. The book has a skeletal plot: A man, his young son, and two friends are on vacation, riding motorcycles in the American West. But in the course of their trip, Pirsig ruminates on fundamental philosophical matters in an effort “to see if in that strange separation of what man is from what man does we may have some clues as to what the hell has gone wrong in this twentieth century.” Conversational in its account of the journey, focused and dense in its consideration of Greek thought, of classicism and Romanticism, of reason and feeling, Zen and the Art makes up in richness what it lacks in rigor. Pirsig’s questing reach exceeds his grasp in the same way our own awkward questions about life’s meaning outpace the capacity of our answers. His book is a renewing and exhilarating ride.
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David Lund
Mar 28, 2019
Most important book I’ve ever read.
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Dave Agrati
Apr 9, 2020
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