Customer Reviews (591)

The Philosophy Book That Everyone Must Read
This book changed my life.It was my first encounter with philosophy.i read in 8th grade.My way of thinking about everything changed when i read this work, noticing myself analyze and ask why in regard to everything.This stayed with me through undergraduate physics and mathematics and, now, I find myself transitioning from a master degree in theoretical physics to a dual Phd in physics and the philosophy of physics.I can't help but to credit this book with altering the way I think.I am forever grateful.

This book is one of the most accesible philosophy books ever written.I always recommend to friends and family books on philosophy that I think satisfy everything you will ever need to know about philosophy if you only wnat the bare minimum: 1) Ishmael by Quinn 2) True Believer by Hoffer 3) Atlas Shrugged by Rand 4) The Fountainhead by Rand 5) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintanence

Take It For What It Is
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance arouses strong feelings in readers, for better or worse. The details and themes of the book have been discussed at length, so I'll simply try to add a little perspective to the ambient buzz. I hope we all dial it down a bit. A work of art can have great value even while having real flaws, and even more unquestionably, the artist's hang-ups can be separated from the artist's talent. Pirsig's views on philosophy, life, meaning, etc do not, by themselves, warrant acerbic responses. On the other hand, even if Pirsig has cracked the code of the universe, we're stilling just dealing with a novel here. The book should be judged on its own merit, not whether the writer is overwrought or melodramatic in his critiques of the current state of the philosophy academy. I happen to have found the book very impactful and intriguing, while simultaneously finding his views on the current state philosophy to be wrong (or at least misguided).

The critiques (that Pirsig goes off on rants, his narration is too self-consumed, etc) have a kernel of truth to them. Then again, so do the countless examples of fawning praise (the book is wonderfully multi-layered, Pirsig's writing is penetrating and insightful, etc). I lean toward the latter, but the former have enough going to warrant taking one star away.

What I like best about the book is how it strikes at the very core (of insecurities, philosophy, meaning. etc). One could call it an "axiomatic exploration," and such a thing is not new to philosophy or literature. Not being new is no crime; I find the idea that this book should be criticized because it hasn't presented anything wholly revolutionary or new to be a bit amusing. I mean, is this the standard we usually apply? So what if countless fans have reoriented their world view around Pirsig's ideas, or if Pirsig is a true believer of every assertion in the book? Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a work of art, and should be judged that way. Now, not all critiques have been this unfair or unfocused. If one finds the philosophy presented in the book unimpressive, or the prose inauthentic, or the plot too thin, OK fair enough (I should warn you that I tend to care more for characters and their experiences, than for plots. And I can't judge how good or bad the arc of the book is, because I tend not to need or desire very much of that). But the value of the ideas presented in the book, and the prose therein, are in their ability to provoke empathy, thought, wonder, and perhaps even a little existential angst. If the book does a poor job of that, so be it, but it sparked all these emotional responses in me and in many others.

One gets a feel for how heavy life is for the narrator, how hard he takes things, and the challenges present in his dealings with himself and others (but mostly with himself). Affection and blame fly in all directions in the book. Whether either is warranted is not the point. If the book catches you at the right time, it may change your life, at the wrong time, it may annoy the piss out of you. While evoking all sorts of feelings, good and bad, it neither single handedly changed my life or caused me to want to pull my hair out. But it definitely had me hooked as I was reading it, and after I finished, it left quite an impact. That says a lot about a book, in my view.

shabby
althought I am enjoying the book, the pages have been cut poorly and unevenly, 5 out of every 20 pages are torn as opposed to cut, giving the book a half assed shabby appearance.

Fast Delivery, Perfect Condition
It's a great book that arrived 2 days earlier than I thought it would. It was also in perfect condition. I would definitely recommend the book and the seller.

Didn't recieve the book
Actually I never received this book.I need to follow up with Amazon to see why.This is a big thumbs down for Amazon. ... Read more

Product Description
Zen and Now is a vivid chronicle of a journalist’s heartfelt and determined journey to reconnect with a beloved American classic.

In 1968, Robert Pirsig and his eleven-year-old son, Chris, made the cross-country motorcycle trip that would become the inspiration for Pirsig’s book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, a powerful blend of personal narrative and philosophical investigation that has inspired generations.

Among the millions of readers to fall under the book’s spell was Mark Richardson, who as a young man struggled to understand Pirsig’s provocative and elusive ideas. Rereading the book decades later, Richardson, now a journalist and a father of two, was moved by its portrayal of Pirsig’s complex relationship with Chris and struck by the timelessness of its lessons. So he tuned up his old Suzuki dirt bike and became a “Pirsig pilgrim,” one of the legion of fans who retrace the Pirsigs’ route from Minneapolis to San Francisco. In following this itinerary over the lonely byways of the American West, Richardson revisits the people and places from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, pondering the meaning of Pirsig’s philosophy and the answers it may offer to the questions in his own life. Richardson’s dogged reporting also gives new insight into the reclusive writer’s life, exploring Pirsig’s struggle with mental illness, his unwanted celebrity, and the tragic, brutal murder of Chris in 1979.

Published to coincide with the fortieth anniversary of Pirsig’s original trip, Zen and Now is a stirring meditation on a classic work and a passionate inquiry into the lessons it continues to teach us in the complex and bewildering world we inhabit today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

A nice companion to the original for those thinking of doing the journey
Before I became an avid (dare I say obsessive?) motorcyclist, i was a fan of "Zen and the Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance". I have often contemplated retracing Pirsig's route on my own motorcycle, so when I saw that someone had written a book about just such a journey I bought it right away.

I read a lot of motorcycle travelogues, so I don't have a problem with the writing about the journey itself like some reviewers did. I found it an engaging read. It even pressed me to move my own thoughts of becoming a "Pirsig Piglrim" forward and contact someone the author mentioned in the book for GPS coordinates of the route.

My only complaint about the book, and the reason it didn't earn another star, is the author's very frequent use of the word "for" instead of "because" or "since" (i.e."Tonight will also be my first night of camping, for the riders pitched their tents to cheer Chris...") which I can only account for by his being British. While it may be common usage in the UK, I find it archaic and when used it tended to disrupt my reading flow like a big pothole I had to suddenly swerve around.

A Low Quality Book About Quality
I forced myself to slog through Mark Richardson's book before writing this review just in case there was some redeeming nugget hiding in there somewhere. But all I found were tired cliches and lots of pointless stories that went nowhere. At one point Richardson goes on for 7 pages about shaking Jimmy Carter's hand and the story had no point. Who cares? The whole books reads like it was written by a bad sports columnist.

In total there are maybe 20 pages of mildly interesting tidbits about Robert Pirsig - how he wrote the book, the process of getting it published and the sailboat voyage that became the basis of his next book, Lila. All of this information is easily found on the web and you don't have to suffer through the horrible travel narrative to get to it. Here's an example paragraph, retyped verbatim, of the type of drivel that William Zinsser warned us about:

"And the rain starts to let up as Anaconda rolls by, and I pull farther away from the comfy hotel and the welcoming pub. The one-way road becomes two-way, and just as it does, a touring motorcycle motors in from the west. The rider gives a cheery shirtsleeved wave from behind his windshield, and it's such a surprise there'sno time to wave back. No rain gear!"

You may have a higher tolerance than I for motoring motorcycles, cheery shirtsleeved waves, or paragraphs that start with "and" and try too hard to end with profundity every time. But for me it's just not worth having to read through hundreds of pages of this kind of writing just to find out trivial tidbits about Pirsig.

A multi-threaded tale
I found "Zen and Now" very interesting.It is not a deep philosophical mind-bender, and was not meant to be.It is, however, an interesting human story that is more complex than might seem at first glance.

The literal subject is Mark Richardson's journey in 2004 to retrace the 1960's trip described in "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig.Richardson describes his own journey and compares it to Pirsig's, meeting many of the same people years later.

But the book weaves more threads together than just this.Pirsig's trip described in ZAMM turns out to have included varying amounts of artistic license, and Richardson gives us insight into the real trip through encounters with others, and how it differed from the book.At the same time, Richardson works in some comparisons to an earlier trip he took as a young man, and also a biographical view of Pirsig's life both before and after the writing of ZAMM.

Richardson writes with candor, describing his physical trip and emotional journey.If you like stories of people's lives, growth, and personal discovery, you'll like "Zen and Now".

On the trail of a good idea
There are moments where this book comes alive - as in the telling of Robert Pirsig's backstory. But there are too many moments when the book wobbles - and I think this is because Richardson as a journalist -in comparison to Pirsig the tortured genius - simply does not have the intellectual weight to be between the same covers.

Interesting if you've read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, but not otherwise.

I really enjoyed riding with Mark.
I enjoyed this book very much. I love Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (ZMM). As an avid motorcyclist and fan of the book, I too someday hope to take a trip similar to Mark's. I learned a lot about ZMM's author Rober Pirsig in Mark's book. But, what I enjoyed the most was learning about the lives of the different characters in ZMM such as the Sutherland's and the DeWeeses. It's a quick and interesting story. It left me wanting more. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Skeptic (Altadena, CA), published by Skeptics Society & Skeptic Magazine on June 22, 2010. The length of the article is 2639 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Motorcycle maintenance without the Zen: how Robert Pirsig's mistakes about atheism continue today.(Critical essay)
Author: Chris Edwards
Publication: Skeptic (Altadena, CA) (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 22, 2010
Publisher: Skeptics Society & Skeptic Magazine
Volume: 16Issue: 1Page: 36(4)

Article Type: Critical essay

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more

Product Description

When Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was first published in 1974, it caused a literary sensation. An entire generation was profoundly affected by the story of the narrator, his son, Chris, and their month-long motorcycle odyssey from Minnesota to California. A combination of philosophical speculation and psychological tension, the book is a complex story of relationships, values, madness, and, eventually, enlightenment.

Ronald DiSanto and Thomas Steele have spent years investigating the background and underlying symbolism of Pirsig's work. Together, and with the approval of Robert Pirsig, they have written a fascinating reference/companion to the original

Guidebook to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance serves as a metaphorical backpack of supplies for the reader's journey through the original work. With the background material, insights, and perspectives the authors provide, Guidebook to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is destined to become required reading for new fans of the book as well as those who have returned to it over the years.

Customer Reviews (8)

Obviously Written by Intellectuals for Intellectuals
I love the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. It was one of those books that I tried to read years ago but was simply not ready for it. After a recent conversation with a friend that mentioned the book, I decided to pick up a copy and read it. This time I was ready.

After my second reading Of ZMM, I decided to purchase Guidebook to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. My hope was to deepen my understanding.

I gave up on reading Guidebook to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance about half way through Section 8 (Critical Reviews). This book seems obviously written by intellectuals for intellectuals. Maybe it will be one of those books I will pick up again when I'm ready. For now, I'm not ready.

Fans of ZMM will enjoy
This book opens up a lot of insights that were in ZMM. It gave me a fuller understanding of what ZMM was all about. Like another reviewer said, I'd read ZMM first, then read this book. It further explains the Eastern religions and Western philosophies that Pirsig talks about, or alluded to.

Fans of ZMM will not be disappointed with this book.

Helpful
The inclusion of edited material from ZAMM was welcome. I found I was distracted when I was actually reading ZAMM andreferencing the guidebook. My suggestion - read ZAMM completely then refer to the guidebook to explore a section more deeply. The reviews of ZAMM were of passing interest, from the early reviews published after the book's release to later ones and their criticism.
I'm not a deeply devout person of any given persuasion, so the religious comparisons and references were of lesser importance. I think they would be helpful if one were looking to delve deeper into Buddhism or other philosophy. This Guidebook DID ADD to my overall understanding and enjoyment of ZAMM.

An essential bring-along for the ZMM
For fans of ZMM, this is an incredible book that summarizes various aspects of the ZMM book.First and foremost, it gives you the necessary background on philosophy to get a better understanding of where the Pirsig is coming from.

Secondly, it is great studying material for those of us who're interested in getting deeper into the issues that Pirsig gets to in the ZMM.Particularly, I liked the section in this book that relates Quality with Taoist principles.

A must have!

It can be read without reading ZMM, BTW.

An essential bring-along for the ZMM
For fans of ZMM, this is an incredible book that summarizes various aspects of the ZMM book.First and foremost, it gives you the necessary background on philosophy to get a better understanding of where the Pirsig is coming from.

Secondly, it is great studying material for those of us who're interested in getting deeper into the issues that Pirsig gets to in the ZMM.Particularly, I liked the section in this book that relates Quality with Taoist principles.

A must have!

It can be read without reading ZMM, BTW. ... Read more