Most Popular Books by Robert M. Pirsig

Tells a story of the narrator, his son Chris and their month-long motorcycle odyssey from Minnesota to California profoundly affected an entire generation.

The author who captured the spirit of an entire generation with his classic Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance now takes readers on a voyage of poignant and passionate philosophical exploration. "An intellectual rebel''s book . . . the writing of a thoughtful, sensitive social and cultural observer".--Washington Post Book World. "Daring, highly original and provocative".--The New York Times. (Philosophy)

Featuring long-awaited selections from Robert M. Pirsig''s unpublished writings, from before and after Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, an original collection illuminating the central theme of Pirsig''s thought: “Quality” “The ultimate goal in the pursuit of excellence is enlightenment." —Robert M. Pirsig, 1962 More than a decade before the release of the book that would make him famous, Robert M. Pirsig had already caught hold of the central theme that would animate Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: “Quality,” a concept loosely likened to “excellence,” “rightness,” or “fitness” that Pirsig saw as kindred to the Buddhist ideas of “dharma” or the “Tao.” As he later wrote in Zen, “Quality is the Buddha.” Though he was revered by fans who considered him a guru, the famously private Pirsig published only two books and consented to few interviews and almost no public appearances in later decades. Yet he wrote and thought almost continually, refining his “Metaphysics of Quality” until his death in 2017. Now, for the first time, readers will be granted access to five decades of Pirsig’s personal writings in this posthumous collection that illuminates the evolution of his thinking to an unprecedented degree. Skillfully edited and introduced by Wendy K. Pirsig, Robert’s wife of four decades, the collection includes previously unpublished texts, speeches, letters, interviews, and private notes, as well as key excerpts from Zen and the Art of the Motorcycle Maintenance and his second book, Lila. Since its publication in 1974, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance has established itself as a modern classic of popular philosophy; selling millions of copies and inspiring a generation, while serving as a perennial touchstone for the generations that follow. On Quality is a remarkable contribution to our understanding of one of the most influential thinkers and writers of our time.

THE CLASSIC BOOK THAT HAS INSPIRED MILLIONS A penetrating examination of how we live and how to live better 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. This modern epic of a man''s search for meaning became an instant bestseller on publication in 1974, acclaimed as one of the most exciting books in the history of American letters. It continues to inspire millions. 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.

»Dieses Buch bietet eine andere, ernsthaftere Alternative zum materiellen Erfolg an. Das heißt, es ist eigentlich weniger eine Alternative als viel-mehr eine Ausweitung der Bedeutung von ›Erfolg‹ auf etwas Größeres als das bloße Bemühen, eine gute Stellung zu finden und sich nichts zuschulden kommen zu lassen. Und auch etwas Größeres als bloße Freiheit. Es setzt ein positives Ziel, auf das man hinarbeiten kann, das einen aber nicht einengt. Das, so scheint mir, ist der Hauptgrund für den Erfolg des Buches. Es traf sich, daß die ganze Kultur genau nach dem auf der Suche war, was dieses Buch anzubieten hat.« Robert M. Pirsig

In «Lo Zen e l’arte della manutenzione della motocicletta», il protagonista-narratore si chiedeva: «qual è la differenza fra chi viaggia in motocicletta sapendo come la moto funziona e chi non lo sa?». E varrà la pena ricordare la sua risposta: «Il Buddha, il Divino, dimora nel circuito di un calcolatore o negli ingranaggi del cambio di una moto con lo stesso agio che in cima a una montagna o nei petali di un fiore». A quel pensiero sarebbero seguite altre domande e altre risposte, che avrebbero trasformato quella grande avventura «on the road» in un libro-simbolo, un «itinerario della mente» in cui si sarebbe riconosciuto, e ancora oggi si riconosce, un numero altissimo di lettori. Questa antologia, che per la prima volta raduna lettere, conferenze, saggi, aforismi, appunti personali, coprendo un arco temporale di quasi cinquant’anni, illustra con chiarezza e incisività il tema centrale dell’opera di Pirsig e l’evoluzione del suo pensiero, dai sommessi esordi sino alla formulazione di una vera e propria Metafisica della Qualità. Ma che cos’è la Qualità? Ognuno di noi sa che esiste, e istintivamente sappiamo riconoscerla, eppure non riusciamo a definirla. Questo perché, secondo Pirsig, la Qualità non è una «cosa» ma un «evento». Per avvicinarsi a comprendere di quale evento si tratti, non resta che leggere questo piccolo libro – taccuino privato di una vita trascorsa in un’incessante riflessione filosofica. Una lettura obbligata per chi ama Pirsig e la perfetta introduzione per chi ancora non lo conosce.

''Zen e a arte da manutenção de motocicletas'' é uma epopeia moderna que mudou a mentalidade de toda uma geração e continua servindo de inspiração a milhões de pessoas. Esta narrativa de uma viagem de moto feita por um homem e seu filho durante as férias de verão transforma-se numa odisseia pessoal e filosófica e trata de questões fundamentais do nosso modo de viver. Ecoando todas as confusões da existência, este clássico, emocionante e transcendente, tem por tema a própria vida. O volume traz ainda uma arguta introdução escrita pelo autor e um Guia de leitura que inclui uma entrevista com Pirsig, cartas e documentos que detalham o processo que deu origem a este livro extraordinário.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance caused a literary sensation when it was first published in 1974. The story of the narrator, his son Chris and their month-long motorcycle odyssey from Minnesota to California, profoundly affected an entire generation. A combination of philosophical speculation and psychological tension, the book is a story of relationships, values, madness and, eventually, enlightenment.

Pirsig''s narrative of a father and son on a summer motorcycle trip across America''s Northwest becomes a profound personal and philosophical odyssey into life''s fundamental questions.

The description of the Robert Pirsig letter received by Ted DuPont is best told in his own words: In the spring of 1974 I was a 20-year old college student at the University of Chicago (where, perhaps not coincidentally, Pirsig studied for his PhD.) In the throes of an existential crisis, I left school, but without a plan. In short order I met another U of C ex-student named Jim Vavrinchik, and we hit it off. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance had just been published, and that was all we needed. In short order, we bought a 1973 1/2 BMW R75/5, outfitted it for long-distance touring and formed a mad plan to do a road trip from Chicago to San Francisco and back again. We decided to retrace part of Pirsig''s route west. Our first stop was Minneapolis, and we decided to pay him a visit for his spiritual blessing. Robert Pirsig was listed in the phone book so his house wasn''t hard to find. We pulled up in front of a tidy white suburban house. There was no answer at the door, so we went around back. We met Chris, Pirsig''s son, who was very friendly and told us his dad was out doing errands. And that was that. Following a diversion up to Hibbing to see Bob Dylan''s stomping grounds (that''s another story), we gunned the bike west, having the time of our young lives, The Black Hills...the plains...sleeping in our pup tent and sleeping bags. Nearing Yellowstone, we decided to take the Bear Tooth Highway, which Pirsig described so luminously. It was exhilarating moving through all the changes of altitude and topography in just a few hours. We treated ourselves to a hotel soon after, and decided to write to Pirsig to tell him what it meant to us. We continued on our 5-week trip, miraculously arriving back in Chicago in early September without any hitches but with a million stories to tell. Soon after I got back to Hammond, I got a small letter with Pirsig''s return address stamped on it.