Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values
- Downloads：1577
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-02-19 08:54:20
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Robert M. Pirsig
- ISBN：0099786400
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance caused a sensation when it was first published in 1974。The story of the narrator， his son Chris and their month-long motorcycle odyssey from Minnesota to California profoundly affected an entire generation。Both personal and philosophical， this book is a compelling study of relationships， values， madness and， eventually， enlightenment。
Reviews
Cara
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I honestly am not sure where I stand on this book。。。 need a lot more time to sort out my thoughts around it
Alexandra Cook
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What a ride！ I was listening to the book on YouTube and many times felt frustrated that I can't give it more than one "thumb up"。 It is a deep， very complex book and I am sure different people can find different insights in it， and so will me reading it again in a few years。 The story combines physical journey through beautiful landscapes with getting back to one's true self and with understanding the meaning of life。 There were quite a few philosophical ideas I haven't grasped yet。 But this fir What a ride！ I was listening to the book on YouTube and many times felt frustrated that I can't give it more than one "thumb up"。 It is a deep， very complex book and I am sure different people can find different insights in it， and so will me reading it again in a few years。 The story combines physical journey through beautiful landscapes with getting back to one's true self and with understanding the meaning of life。 There were quite a few philosophical ideas I haven't grasped yet。 But this first time I have read the book I unknowingly was searching for a lost， forgotten pattern in my life， just like the protagonist。 And between the first desire to read it about two years ago and now， I think I found something important， miraculously confirmed in the book's afterword。 Without many spoilers， read it， it is magical in that original sense。 Anything can happen on this journey。 。。。more
Lec
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To help quiet the mind。
Sarah
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No， just…no。 I’m sure it’s someone’s cup of tea， but not mine。 It’s slow and overly academic， and super not my jam。
Robert Butcher
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Why？ Why waste ink and paper？ Lacking compelling imagery， story or philosophy。 Your time is better spent on Camus and Satre。
Adam
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Read 100+ pages and decided I want going to finish it。 This book is on all kinds of lists of most influential books but I just found it super lame。 The only parts I enjoyed was when the narrator talked about how motorcycles worked。 It just feels pretentious and there are no identifiable thoughts or real attachment to the characters in 100 pages。 Any attempts to talk about "truth" and the metaphysical will probably leave you rolling your eyes。 Maybe it gets better by page 300 or something but the Read 100+ pages and decided I want going to finish it。 This book is on all kinds of lists of most influential books but I just found it super lame。 The only parts I enjoyed was when the narrator talked about how motorcycles worked。 It just feels pretentious and there are no identifiable thoughts or real attachment to the characters in 100 pages。 Any attempts to talk about "truth" and the metaphysical will probably leave you rolling your eyes。 Maybe it gets better by page 300 or something but there are too many books out there for me to spend time slogging through this one。 。。。more
Johannes
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The book is quite different from anything else I've read so far。 I enjoyed how actually three books have been interwoven into a single one without ever disrupting the flow of reading。 I agree with the authors opinion of having to reevaluate what we are using technology for now， in 2022， more than ever。 Four stars because IMHO the Chautauquas could have been written with a little less fuss。 The book is quite different from anything else I've read so far。 I enjoyed how actually three books have been interwoven into a single one without ever disrupting the flow of reading。 I agree with the authors opinion of having to reevaluate what we are using technology for now， in 2022， more than ever。 Four stars because IMHO the Chautauquas could have been written with a little less fuss。 。。。more
Martin C。 Fredricks IV
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One of the best and most important books I've read in my 53 years。 A must-read。 One of the best and most important books I've read in my 53 years。 A must-read。 。。。more
Jesse Hamilton
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Very long， made me slightly consider getting myself a motorcycle。 Decided I didn’t love it enough to finish
Steve
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It’s odd that this novel has become some kind of new American Classic， whose subjects of zen and mechanical engineering - set amidst the tale of a father and son cross-country motorcycle trip - are rarely touched upon。 Instead， interwoven through the prosaic and forgettable tale is a quasi-philosophical monologue on the nebulous idea of ‘quality’。 Confused？ So was I。 There’s nary an engaging idea throughout its pages， even for those seeking a ‘lite’ version of philosophy or an introduction to th It’s odd that this novel has become some kind of new American Classic， whose subjects of zen and mechanical engineering - set amidst the tale of a father and son cross-country motorcycle trip - are rarely touched upon。 Instead， interwoven through the prosaic and forgettable tale is a quasi-philosophical monologue on the nebulous idea of ‘quality’。 Confused？ So was I。 There’s nary an engaging idea throughout its pages， even for those seeking a ‘lite’ version of philosophy or an introduction to the concept of zen， and will leave many readers wondering what they’ve just read。 It certainly has an eye-catching and unique title which invites anyone perusing the shelves in a bookshop to pick it up; I’d urge potential readers to read a couple of pages to get the true flavour of this overrated tome。I was given this as a gift after I bought myself a motorcycle - I suppose my sister thought it would tie in well with my new interest and provide me with some food for thought。 Zen has never really been my forte。 Despite her thoughtful gesture， I struggled to read more than 10 pages at a time， and honestly， I’ve only been reading it to fall asleep at night。 I can say it’s one of the most boring books I’ve ever laid eyes upon， and our protagonist/writer is thoroughly unlikeable。 Come to think of it， every character is pretty one dimensional and unlikeable。 I’ve given up trying to get through it - maybe I’ll keep it on hand for when I’m suffering insomnia 。。。more
Guenter
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While it is sometimes dry and a bit too metaphysical in nature， my second reading has not dimished my absolute love of this book。 It opens so many doors and begs us to reevaluate the source of value in the world。 I love it's overlap with Taoism and it's critique of dialectical materialism。 Highly recommend and quite unsettling when juxtaposed with the personal journey of the protagonist。 While it is sometimes dry and a bit too metaphysical in nature， my second reading has not dimished my absolute love of this book。 It opens so many doors and begs us to reevaluate the source of value in the world。 I love it's overlap with Taoism and it's critique of dialectical materialism。 Highly recommend and quite unsettling when juxtaposed with the personal journey of the protagonist。 。。。more
Greg Halvorson
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The most agonizingly insipid and incoherent tripe I've ever masochistically suffered through。。。 Those who claim otherwise， I suspect， are lying to sound cerebral when， in fact， if you profess to like - and， laughably， to understand - this， you aren't cerebral， you're a brazen fraud。。。 You're welcome。~ GH The most agonizingly insipid and incoherent tripe I've ever masochistically suffered through。。。 Those who claim otherwise， I suspect， are lying to sound cerebral when， in fact， if you profess to like - and， laughably， to understand - this， you aren't cerebral， you're a brazen fraud。。。 You're welcome。~ GH 。。。more
Andy Bennett
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The perspective of quality and gumption as it relates to all things is definitely mind opening and I think makes this required reading。I don’t have much （any） Prerequisite knowledge of Socrates or Plato or Aristotle， So I had to take part 4 at face value。 One of the things I found interesting about part four was that at a literal level it was a depiction of the mental state of Phaedras， But the increasing depth of his philosophical wanderings we’re also representative of his current mental state The perspective of quality and gumption as it relates to all things is definitely mind opening and I think makes this required reading。I don’t have much （any） Prerequisite knowledge of Socrates or Plato or Aristotle， So I had to take part 4 at face value。 One of the things I found interesting about part four was that at a literal level it was a depiction of the mental state of Phaedras， But the increasing depth of his philosophical wanderings we’re also representative of his current mental state。 。。。more
Vera Hanks
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Not my cup of tea！
Courtney Levit
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I loved and hated this book。 That is why it took me FOREVER to read。 But I think if I were to be in the mood to reread a book， this would be top of the list。 I have a lot of thoughts， but I will leave you with a quote from my favorite part:“She couldn't think of anything to write about Bozeman because she couldn't recall anything she had heard worth repeating。 She was strangely unaware that she could look and see freshly for herself， as she wrote， without primary regard for what had been said be I loved and hated this book。 That is why it took me FOREVER to read。 But I think if I were to be in the mood to reread a book， this would be top of the list。 I have a lot of thoughts， but I will leave you with a quote from my favorite part:“She couldn't think of anything to write about Bozeman because she couldn't recall anything she had heard worth repeating。 She was strangely unaware that she could look and see freshly for herself， as she wrote， without primary regard for what had been said before。” 。。。more
Jordan Raine
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No book has ever annoyed and intrigued me at the same time until now。 Widely loved by many for years， I almost stopped reading it a number of times。The narrator switches between a motorcycle trip with his son and philosophical musings。 The story kept me interested， even though the protagonist came across as unbearable。The philosophical parts—which primarily focused on defining the word “quality”—read as uninspired。 Maybe it was written for people who grew up in a time where the status quo couldn No book has ever annoyed and intrigued me at the same time until now。 Widely loved by many for years， I almost stopped reading it a number of times。The narrator switches between a motorcycle trip with his son and philosophical musings。 The story kept me interested， even though the protagonist came across as unbearable。The philosophical parts—which primarily focused on defining the word “quality”—read as uninspired。 Maybe it was written for people who grew up in a time where the status quo couldn’t be questioned。 A time where “technology” （used to reference any machine， even a motorcycle） was feared by the majority。 That world no longer exists。The most engaging part of this book is how it acts as a time capsule for what resonates with the generation of my parents: what kept them up late into the night during college。Probably not worth a read。 。。。more
Gurmukh Sandhu
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Culture Bearer 。。
Ram
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This book was my first step to exploring philosophy and using philosophy in my life。 His understanding of the present moment is powerful and perpetuated me to take steps to travel the world
Seth
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This book is for your friend who is majoring in Business Administration。 He says that he's gonna get his MBA。 That helps him to feel intelligent and gives you a feeling of impending success when you hang around with him。 He has a passing interest in psychology and philosophy because he thinks reading subject-adjacent novels will make him a better businessman （read: more effective manipulator。）If you enjoyed this book。。。 Pirsig's trick worked on you。 Nice。 This book is for your friend who is majoring in Business Administration。 He says that he's gonna get his MBA。 That helps him to feel intelligent and gives you a feeling of impending success when you hang around with him。 He has a passing interest in psychology and philosophy because he thinks reading subject-adjacent novels will make him a better businessman （read: more effective manipulator。）If you enjoyed this book。。。 Pirsig's trick worked on you。 Nice。 。。。more
Patti Dole
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I just couldn't read the whole thing。。。 ugh！ I just couldn't read the whole thing。。。 ugh！ 。。。more
Akul Dewan
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I started the book thinking that I might enjoy it， to find out that it’s just not my cup of tea。
Sophia
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This book was heavy and filled deep philosophical ideas which made it hard to get through， but also gave me abundant food for thought。 It’s interesting to think about how faded the line can become between sanity and insanity。 I relayed to how much he thought about things， and how difficult it is go through that natural rhythm of day to day life after questioning ones own worth and existence。 Then once I start to figure out what meaning is I end up spiraling the same way Pirsig （or Phaedrus） does This book was heavy and filled deep philosophical ideas which made it hard to get through， but also gave me abundant food for thought。 It’s interesting to think about how faded the line can become between sanity and insanity。 I relayed to how much he thought about things， and how difficult it is go through that natural rhythm of day to day life after questioning ones own worth and existence。 Then once I start to figure out what meaning is I end up spiraling the same way Pirsig （or Phaedrus） does throughout the entire book， trying to define quality。 I wish I had been able to talk to him， I think he would have been an immensely interesting person to discuss with。 。。。more
Navjot
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what the hell did I just read… so confused by this
Daniel Dovgan
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My sweetheart of a philosophy professor wholeheartedly recommended this book。 This is some of the dryest writing I’ve ever been exposed to。 I’m sure it’s a challenge to try and interlope a story with thought experiments， philosophical ideas and theories。 This is just not it。 Open up a textbook on the philosophy of science。 I guarantee more enjoyment than whatever this is。
Quinton Trembath
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I've tried reading this book a few times and usually fall off about 100 pages in。 Read the whole thing this time and while Im glad i finished it， it wasnt really that good。 I've tried reading this book a few times and usually fall off about 100 pages in。 Read the whole thing this time and while Im glad i finished it， it wasnt really that good。 。。。more
Tom Barker
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So I think the book's content is really good but there is perhaps a sense of underlying egotism that makes the reading experience fairly uncomfortable。 But maybe I am just off with my perception here。。。 I find it very hard to make a reasonable judgment of this。 Having a bit of a 'death of the author' moment with this， I think I took more from it because of individual life contexts and found it easy to project some of my own life circumstances on to the themes of the book。 In that regard， this re So I think the book's content is really good but there is perhaps a sense of underlying egotism that makes the reading experience fairly uncomfortable。 But maybe I am just off with my perception here。。。 I find it very hard to make a reasonable judgment of this。 Having a bit of a 'death of the author' moment with this， I think I took more from it because of individual life contexts and found it easy to project some of my own life circumstances on to the themes of the book。 In that regard， this reading was well-timed。 。。。more
James
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4。5
Mark
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Get out of there， Chris！Your dad is insane。 And he’s an asshole。 And—spoiler alert—you die at the end。
Joey
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yawn
Ken Cardy
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