Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values Hardcover - 1974
by Robert M. Pirsig
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."
From the rear cover
Few books transform a generation and then establish themselves as touchstones for the generations that follow. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is one such book. Years in the writing and rejected by 121 publishers, this modern epic of a man's search for meaning became an instant bestseller upon publication in 1974. Acclaimed as one of the most exciting books in the history of American letters, it continues to inspire millions of readers. This 25th Anniversary Edition features a penetrating new Introduction by Robert Pirsig, in which he reveals his original intention about the book's controversial ending, as well as important typographical changes reflecting his ideas.
An autobiography of the mind and body, the book is a narration of a motorcycle trip taken by a father and his eleven-year-old son; a summer junket that confronts mortal truths on the journey of life. As the miles pass, the mind expands, and the narrator's tale covers many topics, from motorcycle maintenance itself through a search for how to live, an inquiry into "what is best," and the creation of a philosophical system reconciling science, religion, and humanism.
Unwanted and unbidden is the narrator's confrontation with a ghost: his former self, a brilliant man whose search for truth drove him to madness and death. This ghost, Phaedrus, haunts the narrator as he and his son visit places where they once lived. And, too, he confronts his deteriorating relationship with his son, who has himself been diagnosed as suffering the beginning symptoms of mental illness.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance speaks directly to the confusions and agonies of existence. In his intimate detailing of a personal and philosophical odyssey, Robert M. Pirsig has written a touching, painful, and ultimately transcendent book of life.
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 Hardcover
- Edition First Edition
- Pages 432
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Mariner Books, New York
- Date 1974-05-01
- ISBN 9780688002305 / 0688002307
- Weight 1.1 lbs (0.50 kg)
- Dimensions 8.3 x 5.9 x 1.6 in (21.08 x 14.99 x 4.06 cm)
- Reading level 1040
-
Themes
- Chronological Period: 1950-1999
- Library of Congress subjects Self, Fathers and sons - United States
- Library of Congress Catalog Number 73012275
- Dewey Decimal Code B
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Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values
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by Pirsig, Robert M.
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Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values
by Robert M. Pirsig
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