Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.38 (753 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0688002307 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 412 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-03-26 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
The magic of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance turns out to lie not in the answers it gives, but in the questions it raises and the way it raises them. And he is a true innovator in his attempt to popularize a reconciliation of Eastern mindfulness and nonrationalism with Western subject/object dualism. In his autobiographical first novel, Pirsig wrestles both with the ghost of his past and with the most important philosophical questions of the 20th century--why has technology alienated us from our world? what are the limits of rational analysis? if we can't define the good, how can we live it? Unfortunately, while exploring the defects of our philosophical heritage from Socrates and the Sophists to Hume and Kant, Pirsig inexplicably stops at the middle of the 19th century. Like a cross between The Razor's Edge and Sophie's World, Zen and the Art
A re-read forty years later still finds great worth. You DON'T need to know anything about Zen OR motorcycles to appreciate it. First read it over A re-read forty years later still finds great worth. You DON'T need to know anything about Zen OR motorcycles to appreciate it. NJ Dave First read it over 40 years ago, while I was attending college, studying Zen, and routinely riding a motorcycle. While those were the "hooks" that piqued my interest at that time, I soon became absorbed by the philosophical meanderings of the author.Just picked it up for a re-read after learning it is the all-time best-selling book on philosophy, and in the Guinness book for world records for most number of rejections prior to publication; 121! I wondered if my earlier fascination was due to my unique in. 0 years ago, while I was attending college, studying Zen, and routinely riding a motorcycle. While those were the "hooks" that piqued my interest at that time, I soon became absorbed by the philosophical meanderings of the author.Just picked it up for a re-read after learning it is the all-time best-selling book on philosophy, and in the Guinness book for world records for most number of rejections prior to publication; 121! I wondered if my earlier fascination was due to my unique in. Robert N. Wingate Jr. said Major influence on the course of my life. I first read this in 1978 and I've revisited it several times. It influenced the course of my professional life as well as how I've conducted my relationships. In my young adult days I found the most Quality in Pirsig's narrative about Phaedrus and the need for a new spiritual rationality that unites reason and feeling at a basic level. Later I've come to appreciate the down to earth pursuit of Quality at a personal level via Pirsig's motorcycle examples about gumption traps that could frankly apply to a. "A+ book, stay away from the single CD "audio book"!" according to M. Woodcock. The book requires two reads. after the first read you can go back and with the knowledge gained from the back half of the book more completely soak in all of the knowledge from the first half. It's amazing how on a second read, all of the details stand out as having a significance well beyond their letters and words.BUT! Be warned: The CD currently listed here is NOT an audio book. It has a run time of just over an hour! It was just some episode on a talk radio show about the book. Steer clear from the s
A narration of a summer motorcycle trip undertaken by a father and his son, the book becomes a personal and philosophical odyssey into fundamental questions of 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, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a touching and transcendent book of life.. Acclaimed as one of the most exciting books in the history of American letters, this modern epic became an instant bestseller upon publication in 1974, transforming a generation and continuing to inspire millions. This 25th Anniversary Quill Edition features a new introduction by the author; important typographical changes; and a Reader's Guide that includes discussion topics, an interview with the author, and letters and documents detailing how this extraordinary book came to be