Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values Paperback - 2005 - 1st Edition
by Robert M. Pirsig
One of the most influential and provocative books of its generation, "Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" continues to attract and inspire readers of all ages with its intriguing blend of ancient and Eastern philosophy, cultural criticism, and scientific inquiry.
About this book
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values was written in 1974 by Robert M. Pirsig, a commentary on the Metaphysics of Quality within a growing commercialized society. The work is a fictionalized autobiography narrating a 17-day motorcycle journey across the U.S. with his son, Chris, and his friends John and Sylvia Sutherland.
The trip is punctuated by numerous philosophical discussions, referred to as Chautauquas by the author, on topics including epistemology, the history of philosophy, and the philosophy of science. The interactions of these romantic philosophically driven discussions are tied by the author, who refers to his past self as Phaedrus.
Author Robert M. Pirsig, a teacher of creative and technical writing at a small college, became engrossed in the question of what defines good writing, and what in general defines good, or "Quality", which he understood similar to Tao. His philosophical inventions and investigations later left him mentally ill, forcing him to reconcile with his past during his trip.
"Quality . . . you know what it is, yet you don't know what it is. But that's self-contradictory. But some things are better than others, that is, they have more quality. But when you try to say what the quality is, apart from the things that have it, it all goes poof! There's nothing to talk about. But if you can't say what Quality is, how do you know what it is, or how do you know that it even exists? If no one knows what it is, then for all practical purposes it doesn't exist at all. But for all practical purposes, it really does exist."
Summary
First line
I can see by my watch, without taking my hand from the left grip of the cycle, that it is eight-thirty in the morning.
From the rear cover
A penetrating examination of how we live and how to live better
A narration of a summer motorcycle trip undertaken by a father and his son, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance becomes a personal and philosophical odyssey into fundamental questions on 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, this classic is a touching and transcendent book of life.
This new edition contains an interview with Pirsig and letters and documents detailing how this extraordinary book came to be.
First Edition Identification
William Morrow & Company published a first Edition hardback in New York, 1974. The book is held together in Octavo sizing and covered with a dust jacket. Jacket design by Paul Bacon features a wrench coming out of plant leaves. The Bodley Head published the first Edition, first UK Printing in London, 1974. The hardback is cloth bound and illustrated dust jacket. The UK dust jacket, illustrated by John Sewell, features a romanesque statue sitting thoughtfully atop a motorcycle, with a plant coming from their head.
Details
- Title Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values
- Author Robert M. Pirsig
- Binding Paperback
- Edition number 1st
- Edition 1
- Pages 464
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Mariner Books Classics, New York, New York, U.S.A.
- Date 2005-08-02
- ISBN 9780060839871 / 0060839872
- Weight 0.8 lbs (0.36 kg)
- Dimensions 7.9 x 5.2 x 1.5 in (20.07 x 13.21 x 3.81 cm)
- Reading level 1040
-
Themes
- Chronological Period: 1950-1999
- Library of Congress subjects Conduct of life, Values
- Dewey Decimal Code B
Media reviews
Citations
- Ingram Advance, 08/01/2005, Page 69
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