Rating: 
Summary: How many people gave it 2, 3, or 4 stars?
Review: That tells you everything you need to know about this book. Nearly every single person that has ever read it has either loved it or hated it. There is no middle ground. And appropriately so.Sure, I can tell you how much I love this book. How I have read it 5-6 times, and listened to it on cross-country trips countless more. But how does that help you? All that tells you is that the book spoke to me. But you know that it speaks to lots of people. And you know that still others can't hear it. I know nothing about you, and so do not know whether you will love or hate this book. But I do know that there will be no middle ground. I suggest that you find out whether you are a ZMM lover or a ZMM hater. And let us know after you read it (we'll be able to tell by whether you gave it 1 or 5 stars--that's what everybody else does!).
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Book
Review: If you look at the customer reviews for this book you will find the gamut: from people who love this book and whose lives were dramatically changed by reading it to people who have vehement hatred of ever having read (or tried to read) it. If I were looking at this review having never read the book this situation would be clue to me that I should check it out. Many of the negative reviews are from people who had a preconceived notion of what this book was before they read it (either from the title or from a recommendation) and were upset that it didn't meet their expectations. It seems to me that these folks have received their zen lesson... For myself, I came to this book with no real expectations and fell in love with the story, the lessons, and the subtleties of their presentation. It truly changed my life. Since acquiring the book in 1980 I have reread it about 10 times and each time I get something different out of it. My recommendation: Read this book but, before you start, put away any expectations that you have for it. If you can't do that maybe you better wait until you get to a place where you can. There's treasure here but you have to be open to receiving it.
Rating: 
Summary: A waste of time.
Review: A good friend raved to me about the book. I read it. Sorry everyone, but I don't think the king has any clothes on. -BB
Rating: 
Summary: Maybe, Maybe Not
Review: This is the kind of book that a person who is intelligent but uneducated in philosophy would pick up, read, and be excited and terribly enlightened by. This apparently was the state of many of the "hippies" who read this book when it came out. But for someone who has read Aristotle and Plato and the myriad of others, especially the Greeks, this book can seem almost ridiculously off-center in its generalizations. Whether it is or not, that is for the reader to decide, I suppose. The narrator is at first likeable, but as the book moves on and his madness becomes evident, you see his character become despicable, self-absorbed, mean, closed-minded, and, well, a hypocrite in a number of ways. This change may be a large part of the appeal of this book as a sort of psychological novel, though I am still not sure whether that is what Pirsig intended it to be. Despite the disgust and boredom I sometimes felt while reading, the book has a lot of good things to say about living and the self. Most importantly, if you pay enough attention it will definitely get you thinking. Overall, a controversial book, but worth reading if only for the thought and controversy it will provoke within your own mind.
Rating:
Summary: You can tell whether this book holds any meaning for you...
Review: by reading the first few pages. If you continue, this book will hold something of value to you.
Maybe it's the state of mind you are in. When the book first came out, I was 21, invincible, "right" about my attitudes on every subject, questioned authority and everyone else in the world and the book didn't mean much to me then. Now, I'm near 50, have faced a near fatal health crisis, have a five year old son and am "smarter" or maybe "wiser" and do question myself, my happiness or maybe my own meaning in Life.
That IS important now. I am enjoying and learning from this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Best book ever!
Review: This was great! I really related to the events!
Rating:
Summary: Required Reading For The Human Race....
Review: Read this if you are a searcher. Read this if you've ever had a tinge of metaphysical questioning. Read this if reality and waking existence amazes you when reflected upon. Read this if you've ever been weary of "it all" and wondered what the point was. Read this if eccentrics bother you. Read this if intellectuals bother you. Read this if you've yearned for a truly spiritual experience in vain. I discovered this book 8 years ago and have been sure to read it at least once annually. How this work has struck me can only be put cryptically at best. If ever this book has been recommended to you in passing and you have never found the time. I urge you as I would urge you for no other book I have found so far.....FIND THE TIME AND KNOW THAT IT WILL CHANGE YOU
Rating: 
Summary: I waited 20 years to read it...
Review: I should have waited 20 more. First of all, this book was not what I expected, so in that light I could only be disappointed. I had seen others reading it, walked past it in bookstores, etc and finally decided I'd like to learn a bit more about the Zen of motorcycle maintenance. Hey, where's the zen? Also, Pirsig's quest for Quality was of no interest to me and I didn't understand why it interested him or how understanding it was of any benefit to anyone. I'm an intelligent man, but I was not interested in thinking this hard. Per my own experience, I'd give it one star, but I picked it for the wrong reasons to start and others who are interested in Quality likely found it facinating. So I'll give it two.
Rating:
Summary: Depth, Not Danielle Steele
Review: It seems as though many of the people who have recently reviewed this book missed much of what makes this book great - fascinating philosophic discussion and an interesting story. To really appreciate the depth of this book one should have at least the faintest of notions about the general movements in Ancient and Modern philosophy. While doubtless many will find such discussions boring, which is a sorry state of affairs to begin with, what makes this book excel is that it's not a traditional philosophic treatise - it has a storyline component as well. As a book of considerable depth and well-written fiction, it stands as one of the best books I've ever read. Certainly it's not a book to breeze through, instead, it should be read slowly with contemplation. If you're looking for a quick, shallow read please go elsewhere. If you're looking for an intellectually stimulating read that discussions issues from Hume's skepticism, Aristotle and Plato, and Eastern monism, then you've come to the right place.
Rating:
Summary: A harrowing look at self
Review: I finally read 'Zen', one of those books that nags at you for years before you've even read it. Every copy I've ever run across is dog-eared, warped from water and tinged brown from time and the smoke from fire places and camp fires. Here is my take: Pirsig's entire "inquiry into values" (a subject which he seems to take too far, and no wonder he goes a bit nutty trying to subdivide and take the subject to its logical end, when there is no logical end, because it is largely subjective in my opinion)was less important to me than his stark look at his own weaknesses and eventual madness, which he recovers from by being, at least in part, a different person. That he does this gradually, teasing us with glimpses through the looking glass to the thoughts and doings of 'Phaedrus', is gripping. I empathized with Pirsig's railings against the system, although his intellecutal arrogance perhaps stopped me short of complete sympathy. But I really admired him for facing himself this way - it is harrowing and kind of beautiful - and his realization in the end, when for a crucial moment he gets out of his head and sees what has been before him the whole time - really gave me the shivers. This human oddyssey, of a man too intelligent for his own good, is what I think makes 'Zen' an extraordinary, special book that stands on its own and will for many decades to come.
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