Rating: 
Summary: What an amazing book
Review: I tried to read ZAMM years ago and didn't get past the first chapter. My mindset was impatient and I wasn't prepared to think about the issues he was raising. One of Pirsig's classic gumption traps, I guess.Something told me to try it again, so I checked out a copy of the original edition from the library. I just finished the book and now I'm buying my own copy. Prisig is one of those rare authors who can express emotions so subtly and naturally that you actually feel them rather than just read about them. He also has a remarkable way of blending the past, the present and the deep thoughts of two distinct points of view into one smoothly flowing narrative. Just when things might start to drag he switches gears (no pun intended) and lets us all just ride along for a while. This isn't the type of book that everyone will read straight through, or that everyone will appreciate right away. And there's really no reason to force it: Put it down, come back later, read back over the part you didn't quite get. There's no hurry. And when you finally arrive at the destination, the end of that cross-county motorcycle ride, and contemplate the remarkable ideas you've picked up along the way you'll smile, think back, and realize how much you enjoyed the trip. -Bryan
Rating: 
Summary: Why is this book so popular?
Review: Perhaps this book is so popular because of the timing of when it was published and since then it has run on its own momentum. In any case, to the curious reader, be prepared for an unoriginal, mostly dry, dull book. If one wants and intro to Philosophy, one would do better to read Durant's "The Story of Philosophy", Russell's "History of Western Philosophy", or nearly any intro to philosophy written by someone qualified to speak on the subject. The attribute lacking in the author of "Zen" is humility. He seems to think that any pedestrian insight he has is original with him. He does not seem to be aware of even the basics of western philisophical thought. Although he apparently has had much classroom instruction on the matter, maybe he doesn't listen well, or he can't give credit to others for having ideas also. On the positive side he has a few good analogies, but these are few and far between. If the point of the book is that "quality" is a mysterious word because its difficult to define, that's true of many words, try to define "the" or "of". Is his point we should not always chose quantity over quality? Oh ,please! That is hardly an original idea. The author and his fans seem to believe that any idea that crosses his mind is worthy of worldwide attention. A dialogue on philosophy has been going on for hundreds of years, and many very bright people have contributed their thoughts. It is very naive and arrogant to imagine that one's own thoughts would revolutionize the subject (although that is what every barroom know-it-all believes). Professing one's adoration for this book only gives away one's ignorance.
Rating: 
Summary: Thought Provoking
Review: If I have to describe this book in two words, I would describe it as "Thought Provoking". If I try to attempt to say anything more about this book, I am sure I would fail. There are parts of the book which didn't make sense to me immediately. I still don't know if I have understood it completely. But I am happy that it made me think and get a new perspective about certain things.
Rating:
Summary: Zentastic
Review: Ever realise just how accessible high thought is. O.K. so it's not that easy, but people who can't digest other philosophical literature might find insight here. Pirsig makes a good cas for the reasons for the division between classical and romantic, and his ideas on quality are worth reading. He even tells a good story. But the beauty of it is that it may make you feel excited about thinking. Isn't the phrase "the high country of the mind" and inspiring one. It made me excited about thinking and understanding the world all over again, although it didn't bring me that close to achieving it. And it might make you enthusiastic about motorcycles, too.
Rating:
Summary: CONTEMPLATIONS OF THE MAVERICK MYSTIC!
Review: It would indeed be a sacrilage if one goes about talking on ZAAMM without dwelling on the cover page itself...here we find the symbolic representation of the work in its entiriety...a spanner head at one end and a flower(white) at the other end > the spanner symbolises this era of technological and scientific advances...the rational facet of our reality!The flower at the other end represents the emotional/spiritual aspect of our reality... the combination of both makes it an interplay of polar opposites....and it is this conflict Pirsig resolves in a masterly way!...It is indeed possible to be scientific and at the same time spiritual...and this is the way to evolve at the inner level in this age of paradigm shifts! Though Pirsig starts with the description of a cross country bike ride with his curious son.. the journey soon becomes an amazing spiritual odyssey of a man in search of himself.. the route maps without charts the pathways within..the very motorcycle becomes the extention of the rider...and here the inanimate assumes the soulfulness of Life itself!...I'm just reminded of a brilliant short story "Inside and Outside" by Hermman Hesse that gives immense insight into the sprit lurking within ZAAMM! Surely, Pirsig talks much like our fellow pilgrim on our journey towards light...the inner light...call it "QUALITY" or "SELF"...his gleamings from the way side becomes our lamp posts ..and soon we realize that the path we tread outside is the very path we closed within...and the musings of this maverick mystic knocks that door open...! ZAAMM is a modern scripture for this millennium!
Rating:
Summary: For Your Childrens' Childrens' Children
Review: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is, primarily, nothing less than an explanation of the actual nature of the process of a sentient entity interacting with physical reality. Within the book, Mr. Pirsig "labels" this process as Quality. To understand this work's breadth, interlace the above with an impossibly frank and human self-examining account of a lost father, tenderly cradling the damaged mind of his son, on a cross-America motorcycle odyssey. Introduce a haunting spectre from a terrifying past reality; an inscrutable horror, ever so slightly out of sight, but roiling into a recognizable truth. To this already writhing brocade add a nose-to-nose staredown with madness, at a mind-shaking level of lucidity. Incorporate the tragedy of a shattered family. Then interweave these components into a vast streaming scroll encompassing ancient thought, the absolute edge of human understanding, morality, family, society (East and West), and the meaning and power of love. This is an offering from the humble yet utterly fantastic mind of Mr. Robert Pirsig. Make no mistake, this book is a tall task, with the unavoidable frustrations of lost channels of thought (yours, not his), seemingly bottomless vessels of philosophical exploration, and a knowledge that you are, for a time, as one with a soaring intellect. The reward is a thunderous quiet; a fast-fading visit to a realm of laser definition. Mr. Pirsig will melt your heart, electrify your mind and recolor forever how you look at everything. It is one of those incredibly rare books which you will read again and again, every few years, just to re-establish contact with that awesome multi-dimensional clarity, Mr. Pirsig's trademark. I have owned likely 20 copies of this book. I don't have one now, so I am buying more here. I don't know why, I just keep giving them away. Many people I know do the same. If the book eludes you the first or second time, set it aside and pick it up again in a few months. You will align with it in time. And there will come a time when you will look at your children, then grandchildren and say, "I have something for you; something wonderful." Oh, one more small thing: "Lila" is as good, maybe better. It is a brush with the universe. I would, however, counsel all to read "Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance" first. Its a great primer.
Rating:
Summary: Everchanging and timeless
Review: I read this book every now and then since I was 17. Every time I find new meanings, angles and metaphores. This book is different every time because you are different every time. I like the way it juggles three or four storylines at the same time weaving them perfectly. You need to be in the right state of mind to read it, if not, it's just confusing and just plain difficult. I highly recommend it to anyone with an open mind ready to look at things in different light. It perfectly brings the modern way of thought about science and art into perspective. It transmits the simplicity of beauty and the role quality plays in every decision we make. Definetly a must.
Rating:
Summary: Most Valuable
Review: This is the most valuable book I've ever read. It gets to the soul of our society's thrust toward specialization instead of applying a Renaissance approach to the totality of our brains and spirits. Art and science can coexist peacefully and harmoniously if we let go and live them.
Rating:
Summary: Quality Discovered
Review: This book is a timeless classic. It is an easy read in most places and you'll be cruising down the highway enjoying the scenery. But hold on to your helmet. Pirsig is brilliant and will take you so deep into thought that you may take a day or two on a single page if you care enough,that is, to learn a lot about what Quality is.
Rating:
Summary: A review of the book and the other reviews
Review: After reading about 1/2 of the 170+ comments on this book i see two types, those who soaked in Pirsig's point of view, and those who read it specifically for the philosophical (or is it psychological) worth. The former were tromendously satisfied and the latter were not so. After reading the book two and a half times (first as required reading in a Psychology course) i felt it necissary to expound my views on it. The first time through i was reading for content and answers for quiz material - i truly missed the spirit of the book, the underlying truth that was presented by a confused and enlightened man. Once the pressure was over, i read it as Phaedrus would have - line by line. I started mulling over the unknowns and unanswerables that were presented and i found that the voice of the book was the voice of my proverbial soul - i had believed what the book presented before i read it which is just as confusing and bewildering as my mind and the world. It made me understand that truth is not always rational, what is rational is not always right, and what is right not always the truth. The crux, I believe, is that this book is meant for those who are seeking something more, and those who are forced into reading it, or read it merely because it was suggested will not truly get out of it what is intended - a bit of enlightenment that proves how unenlightened our world and ourselves are.
| 
