Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenence

[Mogambo]

An interesting and thought provoking read. Not an easy read, but a good one. "Gumption trap". Yes, I know what he means. I almost got caught in one yesterday. I highly recommend the book.

The sequel, "Lila" is also an excellent read, but not motorcycle related.

FWIW

 

[HIGHLANDER]

An interesting and thought provoking read. Not an easy read, but a good one. "FWIW

Yep, it's not for comic book readers is it ?? Great book !!

 

[Ignacio]

Not since I linked Chautaqua in a ride I did several years ago, but yes Pirsig is on my list of writers I only partly grasped. The book's route is in my corner of the world and a recurring thought for me.

 

[JimLor]

I'm reading it now. Roughly 2/3 of the way thru. At times I like it, at times I wonder just what in the livin' hell he's talking about!

 

[Bounce]

it's a discussion about quality assurance.

companies doing process re-engineering and quality control "grock" it as building quality into a product instead of trying to inspect it in after the fact. he simply discusses (and discusses and discusses) it's application to more walks of life than just manufacturing.

 

[NightShine]

I think I've bought that book a couple of times over the years, and was impressed at how deep it was. I thought of it as a swimming lesson. And yes he did cover such abstracts as quality through the veneer of maintaining a bike. But even more, he illustrated the limits of one man's personal exploration and how far on that inner journey he could safely travel in a single lifetime.

Psychiatric wards are filled with individuals who could not return from such journeys. And the difference between Pirsig and those patients, is the difference between those who have learned to swim and those who have not.

Mogambo, I hadn't realized that Pirsig had published a sequel! I'm off to Amazon. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Hit the Road Jack]

I read it back in the 70's when it was first published.

It inspired me to take several long cross country trips between duty stations when I was in the Navy (Whidbey Isl., WA to Jacksonville, FL, Jacksonville, FL to Brunswick, ME and back), all on a KZ-650. And numerous other motorcycle camping trips since.

I re-read the book 5 or 6 years ago. It had been re-released (25 or 30 year anniversary issue) that included an Epilogue which detailed Pirsig's and his son's life after the book. I won't spill the beans. You'll have to read it for yourself!

A good life experience read!

 

[Mogambo]

I think I've bought that book a couple of times over the years, and was impressed at how deep it was. I thought of it as a swimming lesson. And yes he did cover such abstracts as quality through the veneer of maintaining a bike. But even more, he illustrated the limits of one man's personal exploration and how far on that inner journey he could safely travel in a single lifetime.
Psychiatric wards a filled with individuals who could not return from such journeys. And the difference between Pirsig and those patients, is the difference between those who have learned to swim and those who have not.

Mogambo, I hadn't realized that Pirsig had published a sequel! I'm off to Amazon. Thanks for the tip!

Excellent assessment. I can truly say that I think about things in that book every day. It has changed the way I look at diffrent things in my life, including people. I did myself a favor by reading it (and hanging with it through the challenging parts). I had read somewhere that basketball coach Phil Jackson considered that book to be one of the greatest single influences of his life. I understand.

For those that are interested there is a ZAMM web site.

 

[Timbo2015]

I got to about 3/4 of the way through it, right around where he hikes up the mountain with his son, and I could not take any more.

I don't consider myself a person who has to have action on every page to consider a book good. I once read, and enjoyed, an 850 page book on the history of Berlin.

I thought I would like it. I like motorcycles, crosscountry trips, camping, and I am an engineer who understands what quality means. The author kept discussing quality, but in a way that had no practical application. I tried my best to understand what he was trying to say, but I always came back to: "WHAT IS THE POINT OF YOUR ENDLESS BABBLING!?"

I even read through lots of reviews of the book, where people try to explain what the author was getting at. I really wanted to get the point. All of them just seemed to repeat his nonsense. I guess I will never be a philosopher. I have often wondered if it wasn't a case where nobody really gets it, they just want to play along and pretend they get it because that is the intellectual thing to do, while secretly, they don't have a clue either.

If anybody can explain it to me, I would appreciate it. Perhaps I am just a shallow thinking Neanderthal.

 

[boogahboogah]

Because of that book I bought the original 'Phaedrus' a few months ago... Still on the nightstand, in the middle of the 'to be read' pile.

 

[JimLor]

Timbo - I feel your pain, that's where I am in the book. Gotta admit, your comments mirror my thoughts! I'm gonna try and struggle thru the rest just so I can say I read the WHOLE thing. Maybe there's a pony in the pile somewhere.

 

[Pjturbo]

Timbo I'm with you. I'm also an engineer so we have a certian mind set that doesn't go with this type of rambling. The book reminded me of CB radio where most guys talked to hear themselves talk and rarely had any information to transfer.

Phil

 

[Scythian]

My dad was a rider and he liked that book. I started reading it and then I found out that Pirsig's kid, the one in the book, was shot in the head and killed during a random robbery.

Knowing that made the book too much of a downer. I didn't read it, and I won't: It's kinda pointless now....

 

[jwhite518]

A tough book to read. I think I started it and put it down twice before finally making it all the way through. It's not a book about motorcycling or travel, that's for sure! I don't think I'd recommend it except to a philosophy major or a shrink.

 

[gypsy]

Whether there is or isn't a point...isn't the point! If the book makes you think then it is successful. Not enough real pondering going on the world these days. Maybe too many i-pods, blackberrys, etc...and I am as guilty as the next person.

gypsy

 

[JimLor]

Kinda like, "I think, therefore I am."

 

[chornbe]

Persig whines. But yeah... generally it's a good read.

 

[black mamba]

I'm with the seemingly large group that doesn't quite see the points the author is trying to make. I get the idea he is trying very hard to communicate something profound to me, but our individual operational wave lengths don't overlap enough for that to happen very often. I'm apparently wired to respond to things that are fairly literal in their interpretation and this book strays too far from that concept for me.

 

[odot]

My guess is that "crime and punishment" wouldn't go over very well in here, either...... :lol: