Rating: 
Summary: So-So
Review: This book is fairly well-written and somewhat thought-provoking in places. However, it also feels quite dated, self-important, and boring. I was excited to read it, but was ultimately disappointed. It's not that it's bad...it's just not good.
Rating: 
Summary: what's all the fuss about?
Review: What a disappointment.This book was recommended to me by a workmate. I stuck with it to the end but I'm sorry I did as it never improved. I won't be reading Lila, that's for sure.
Rating: 
Summary: Where is the Quality in science and technology?
Review: If you are thinking of reading this book there are some things you should know right off. 1. This is not a book about Buddhism, or Zen. It explores the ways in which eastern philosophies can help western thinkers move toward Quality. 2. This book covers a lot of ground, very quickly and is not a philosophical textbook. If you don't know much about philosophy, this book will not change that fact, but it will make you question a lot of the assumptions you have made. 3. This book will change your life! This book is about Quality. If you have read the Tao Te Ching, you have already read a book which attempts to explain Quality. It is the unnamable, the One. Pirsig asks us to question whether science and logic can really bring us closer to the "Truth." Ever since Socrates began using the dialectic to try to discover Truth, humans have been on a quest to find it. The tool we use is known as scientific method. We have been using scientific method for a long time, and it has given us a lot of useful knowledge. It has not, however, brought us any closer to finding an absolute Truth, which is true for everyone everwhere. Quality is undefinable. It comes before thought, and before actions. Any attempt at describing it is useless, because as soon as you attempt to categorize it, you are only talking about one aspect of it. What Pirsig does in this book, is attempt to show us ways that we can use Quality in our lives. He calls his main character Phaedrus. Which comes from Plato's dialogue by the same name. Reading this dialogue will help you immensely in following the arguments he presents. Don't be fooled by this into thinking that Pirsig is a Platonist. Phaedrus was a Sophist, as is the Phaedrus in this book. Neither the historical Sophists, or Pirsig, buy into Plato's concept of absolute "Truth." If you are at all interested in the ideas of subjectivity and the influence of location (in time and space) as it relates to philosophical, religious and scientific claims, this book will greatly interest you. If you're a "post-modernist" you've probably already read this book, and if not, this book will help you to crystallize a lot of your objections to Modernism. If you feel that the world is becoming more and more empty and hollow, and think that part of your basic humanity has been stolen by alarm clocks, concrete, automobiles, and (can I say it?) computers, this book may help you in finding the Quality that resides within technology, yet is so often ignored by those who wield technology like a biological weapon. If you've ever thought that the whole world was crazy, and want to learn more about what really makes a person "insane," you should know that this book is written from the perspective of an insane man. If you are searching for answers, this book will give you a few more questions, and help you realize that life is about the questions, not the answers!
Rating:
Summary: Interesting read
Review: First off, if you enjoy philosophy and introspective writing you will find this book difficult to put down as that is entirely what it is. Now, if you need dead bodies, alien invasions, or journeys to retrieve the holy grail then you will not enjoy this book. Prisig's story is interesting and his quirky personal insights and observations are what keep the book moving. Much of the material about the motorcycle trip I found quite boring and unrelated to his internal journey. Prisig's genuine interest in philosophy is evident in his content and is readily digested because of his economical use of language. There is no verbose pretentious grand standing in his writing. I really was interested in the gradual revelations about his life and his relationships with his friends past and present. Don't expect to find any answers here, just enjoy the ride.
Rating: 
Summary: An over-rated and disappointing work
Review: When I studied philosophy at university, it was exciting and dynamic, and opened my eyes and mind in ways I'd never thought possible. Imagine my disappointment, therefore, when I read this highly-acclaimed work. Having heard so much about it, I wanted to like it, I really did, but, oh dear. All I can say is I'm glad Mr Pirsig wasn't one of my university tutors, for, barring a couple of passages, he succeeds only in turning a wonderful area of human experience into a cure for insomnia. I'll come back to 'Zen...' again some time in the future and hope for better things, but, for the time being, I have to consign it to my 'Most Disappointing Books' pile.
Rating:
Summary: This book forever changed my life
Review: I was in college when I first picked up this book and it absolutely knocked me down. I never quite saw things the same after reading it. Through the years, I have changed my philosophy and thinking but somehow this book has always been a part of me. A wonderful book that we all too often are hard-pressed to find in the 20th century.
Rating:
Summary: Not all that it's cracked up to be
Review: My philosophy course at university was exciting and dynamic and opened my eyes and mind to all manner of different ways of thinking about the world. Imagine my disappointment, therefore, when I finally got round to reading 'Zen and...' to find a subject I had loved as a student presented in such a messy and disjointed way. I'm sure Mr Pirsig means well, and there are a number of passages in his book (well, 2 or 3) which caught my attention, but when I'd finished I was left wondering what all the fuss was about. Essentially, having put the book back on the shelf, I can readily understand why 121 publishers turned it down. (What I find harder to understand is why no.122 accepted it!) Probably I should give the book another chance, but, to be honest, I feel I have better things to do with my time.
Rating:
Summary: An intensely personal view of the history of thought.
Review: My 10-year-old son asked me what I wanted for Christmas last year, and I suggested two books I had known about for 20 years or more, but had never actually read: "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac, and "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig. He got them both for me, and now, at age 47, I've read them both. Kerouac's book is a breathless, almost endless series of cross-country treks, written in a continuous "present" with little concept of a past or future. "Zen", in contrast, is a book I wish I had read years ago, knowing full well I would not have understood or appreciated it until now. Pirsig's literary journey is careful and methodical, painstakingly documenting both the physical landscape through which he and his son are riding, and the elaborate philosophical landscape through which humanity has traveled in the last several millennia. It is a history of philosophy which ultimately rejects much of the Aristotelian analysis underlying Western scientific method. I hated philosophy and theology in college, for a variety of reasons, and wish I had this guidebook (and 40+ years of experience) handy as I sat through Metaphysics. Pirsig makes clear the seminal importance of many of the competing ideas of Eastern and Western philosophy, in ways I don't think any of my college professors could have. On a more personal note, Pirsig develops his complex line of thought while traversing the American west with his son Chris on the back of his motorcycle. His discourse with the reader is extensive, highly emotional and intensely personal, while his interaction with his son is almost non-existent. More than once I wanted to yell at Pirsig to stop the bike and talk to Chris instead, only to realize that my own conversations with my own son Chris were, in many ways, similarly perfunctory and self-limiting. In my opinion, no one can read this book without gaining some insight into their own soul, their own values and their place in the world.
Rating:
Summary: Inspired, intellectual entertainment of the highest order
Review: Stirring, interesting entertainment of the highest order. A profound book that is enjoyable to read. This extraordinary book works on many levels. 1) Pirsig traces the split between Eastern and Western philosophy (and, by extension, religion) to the misunderstandings of a rational, linear Aristotle in interpreting the great mystic Plato. (An original idea I've never encountered in any book, philosophical or otherwise). 2) He provides the non-philosophically inclined reader with insight into Plato's greatness (and why Plato is revered to this day). 3) He connects Plato with the Transcendent ("the One") and then provides a basis to begin understanding eastern philosophy and what is wrong with the western philosophical tradition. 4) He offers insights into life and the ills of our present society in an entertaining fashion. He also tells a nice story about a journey he takes with his son, and his struggle to reach some profound intellectual conclusions about life. If there is anything to be said negatively--and having read the book three times for enjoyment I am loath to say anything negative--it is that in writing for dramatic impact, some points are not explained in sufficient detail for readers encountering philosophical ideas for the first time, and they may miss the importance of his ideas altogether (as some of these other reviews might suggest).
Rating:
Summary: The book who have changed my life !
Review: ÷øàúé àú ¢æï¢ áôòí äøàùåðä áâéì °² åîàæ çæøúé å÷øàúé áå ùåá åùåá® æï ñééò ìé ìîöåà àú î÷åîé áòåìí åìâìåú áúåëé àú äëåçåú ùäúòìîúé î÷éåîí§ áâìì äùôòä ñáéáúéú® òã ù÷øàúé àú æï äééúé òëáø ñôøéí äìäåè ìçôù øéâåù àéðèì÷èåàìé® äøéâåù ùæï äëðéñ àåúé àìéå§ âøí ìé ìäôñé÷ ì÷øåà ñôøéí ìú÷åôä ùìîòìä î°± ùðéí§ åàðé ìà îöèòø òì ëê ìøâò® æï äéä äãìú ùôúçä àåúé àì òöîé åäùìéîä áéï äçì÷éí äîôåöìéí ùîäí àðé îåøëá® úåãä ìê ôéøñéâ òì äñôø äæä®
|
