Rating: 
Summary: 21 Students Say: "insightful" but also "boring"
Review: [This review is a composite of 21 student reviews after we completed reading the book in a freshman composition class] The book starts out with a motorcycle journey--undertaken by the narrator and his son Chris--as its focus, but it quickly turns into more of a mental journey, guiding readers through the narrator's inner questions about and quest for "quality." While the plot is not physically exciting, it is mentally complex and insightful. It makes you think about simple things you may take for granted and asks questions that everyone supposedly knows the answer to but can not express in words. In addition to the narrator's personal, philosophical "inquiry into values," the book explores the relationships between the narrator and his son, between artistic and scientific aspects of everyday situations, between sanity and insanity, and between the motorcycle (as a machine) and us (as people). Such concrete examples can help readers, yet the book is often redundant, confusing, and vague. Patient readers may find Pirsig's views on quality, discovery, truth, and life intriguing, but it is also easy to get lost in the many details and tangents in the text and miss the main idea. Some readers may also resent Pirsig's sometimes overwhelming and overdetermined theories. However, for those inclined to lengthy analysis and inquiry into our common ways of seeing the world, this may be just the right book.
Rating:
Summary: A mixed response.
Review: This book seemed to ask a lot of questions yet give no real answers to them. Pirsig spends his time confused over a definition of 'quality' and yet he gives three within the main body of the book.The narratives between the philosophy, whilst relating, work more as light relief from the heavy-duty philosophy we are dealing with. Pirsig has some excellent ideas on University and education, however, if your looking for enlightenment. Don't expect much. Otherwise excellent.
Rating: 
Summary: Quality eh?
Review: First off, when I finished the book (in a twelve hour reading marathon) I was breathless. But... If its quality he preaches, I'm not sure how Pirsig stacks up against his own rigorous standards. Surely he is deeply involved in his work. Surely he has become one with this book. But... It's that profound involvement that I think sometimes alienates the reader from what is a remarkably difficult piece. But... As I flipped through pages about mathemeticians and scientests I never cared about, banging the book on the wall waiting for it all to make sense, I could NOT put it down. In the end he does not dissapoint, but if I hadn't read some passages six times over, I may have been in the dark. It was all worth it, as I mull over in my mind some of the last lines the chills down my spine freeze my fingers. Read it with all your heart or you won't do it or yourself justice.
Rating: 
Summary: A Disgruntled Philosophy Student
Review: As required reading for our philosophy class our teacher assigned us Zen... However, he failed to tell us how boring and unelightening the book actually was. Pirsig is not really a philosopher, but more of a rambler who just goes on and on about quality...whatever he means by that. The chautaquas were dry and the narratives only slightly better. I don't recommend this book at all.
Rating: 
Summary: Extraordinary... It's changed my life
Review: There's really nothing more I can say. Trying to describe the effect this book's had on me is useless... it's far too great, far too powerful, far too unbelievable to put into words. Perhaps I've read more into this book that was warranted... So be it. I fully realize that there are those out there who claim Pirsig is an unintelligible hack who got lucky, and others who aren't so vicious but who agree that Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenence is not what the "hype" said it was... but it doesn't matter. This book represents so many things to me. I _care_ about it. And I've learned to care about other things. Some would scoff at the use of the word "care" in this way, because they fall back on the easy to use and ultimately ridiculous view that such "new age, baby boomer/twenty something spirituality" is empty and fake. But I _care_ now, I understand Quality in all its infinite forms. This book has done so much for me.... See? I even began this review by saying "there's not much I can say," but Pirsig's book has drawn me in yet again. Read this book. Cherish this book. The two go hand in hand, so just do the former first, and the latter will inevitable happen of its own accord.
Rating:
Summary: Best ever - but its about values, not motorbikes, stupid
Review: This book deals with the question of "why". Have a look on a one dollar note and the pyramide on the greenback. If you think the eye is god, fine, if ya don`t, everything is put into question. Read this book to become clear about. The book does not provide answers, but it clarifies the question of the meaning of life and personal values and provides you an opportunity to rewiew yaself. If ya ever care, what was in the black case in the movie "pulp fiction" evrybody was fighting for (ya remember the shining light out of the case, an everyone died, who saw this light) you will love this book. All other sqareheads like the mechanics and engeniering students who vote one star didn't understood anything. This book isn't about maintaining motorcycles, its about maintaining your life, as free as possible, without fixed values, but not without content. For those not familiar with philosophy I recommend the guide to this book. Have fun and enjoy yaself Andreas
Rating:
Summary: FULL OF REVELATIONS...INDEED!
Review: DEEP AND MEANINGFULL,A TRUE JOURNEY,PHAEDRU
Rating:
Summary: Finding Truth from a unique perspective
Review: I think this book should be considered as a course prior to do any kind of research. In this book, Pirsig successfully transcends science and logic to seek truth. Knowledge is seen as a state of mind, which needs not to be stored in places such as universities. Very touching style of writing of the book makes the reader flow with Pirsig's journey.
Rating:
Summary: A classic
Review: I liked this book very much. I give it a 4, rather than a 5 simply because I have a few minor structural or stylistic complaints. To me it was a novel and successful approach to bring the philosophical ranting and daily life together, as well as find connecting links between religion, art and science. I think, for example, that ZAMM does a better and more beautiful job at it then Hofstadter's "Goedel, Echer, Bach". I was particularly interested to read negative criticism for the book by readers here at Amazon. I wasn't happy with them. A score of ad hominem attacks on Pirsig, from people who are either bored with this kind of non-academic or philosophical stuff or were looking for a tractate on Zen, a manual for motorcycle maintenance, or a doctoral dissertation in philosophy. This book is neither, and perhaps that was exactly the point of it. I am really open for someone to rip this book apart, to show that it does not have Quality. They could start, for example, by telling us what Quality is.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book MUST READ
Review: This is one of the greatest books ever written. Robert Pirsig has a masterpiece here This #1 New York Times bestseller was rejected by over 100 publishers befor it was finally accepted. Rumor has it that the head of one of the rejecting publishers resigned after the book hit the bestseller list. I highly reccomend this book for all readers and bibliophiles
| 
