Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values

Reading it is like catching a bug between your teeth at 70 miles an hour. Surprise at first, then comprehension. A belated thanks to Mr. Pirsig for weaving philosophy, science, engineering, and fatherhood, into an insightful and compelling read.

Thought provoking,
I understand this book was used in many philosophy classes for many years.
It was fun to listen to durring my commute to work.
Being a motorcycle rider, I found it eseptionaly easy to relate to.
Everytime I was getting lost in the mediphisics, the author would get back to the original story to bring back my intrest.
Very well written.
Ernie K. Rivewrside, ca.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is perhaps the most tedious, pedantic, tiresome, misleading, and intellectually-barren book I have ever had the misfortune of reading. Perhaps the worst thing about this self-absorbed, unreadable rant is that on every page, Persig seems compelled to draw attention away from his text's lack of substance by providing countless misrepresentations of all the great philosophers. Not only does he use language that is dry and uninteresting, but he incorrectly describes nearly all of the philosophers and philosophical systems that he mentions.
Pirsig's book is nothing more than adolescent rambling. On every page, Pirsig arrogantly and vainly tries to portray himself as some kind of synthesis of erudite Western scholar meets wise Eastern sage. Nothing could be further from the truth. One of the most despicable aspects of his pedestrian work of pseudo-philosophical tripe is that he uses his own quasi-philosophical terminology to describe concepts that could better be represented using the terminology of existing systems. He constantly tries to reinvent many philosophical terms, and then misuses other terms. The result is a most confusing and convoluted read, especially if you are already versed in philosophy. Perhaps the saddest thing about Pirsig's mock-literary atrocity is that many people seem to regard Pirsig's arrogant tirade as an introduction to philosophy. Nothing could be further from the truth. The book could potentially serve as a dull introduction to pathetic, narcissistic, schizophrenic authors who manage, through some quirk of fate, to achieve popularity, but that's about it...

Nutshell review - I have read this book 3 or 4 times since its first publication and each time I realize again how incredible this piece of work is. The positive reviews given are truly deserved.

My father read the book when he was 25 and said it changed his life. I read the book only last year, at 25 as well. It changed my life too, and my perceptions of it. It's a very brilliant piece of work, with such astute commentaries on society, philosophy, and yes, quality. Unfortunately, the title, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, is hard for people to get at first. One friend of mine even thought I was reading manual to learn how to fix motorcycles. But I don't know what else I'd call it.