Rating: 
Summary: waste of time
Review: This book is obsessive, condescending claptrap, and a self-indulgent attempt to justify obsessive, condescending behavior.
Rating: 
Summary: a truly Great Book
Review: You can read it as a novel, a cross-country journey a man takes with his adolescent son.You can read it as a handbook to good living, advice on how to take on an attitude that naturally leads one toward achieving great results with creativity and passion, bringing meaning to even life's most mundane tasks. And you can read it with its companion, "Lila", as arguably the greatest philosophical work of the 20th century, creating a whole new Metaphysics from scratch that fundamentally alters our view of reality. No matter how you read it, read it carefully (I've read it three times now and am just starting to really feel like I "get it"). Read it slowly. Savor it like a good meal. It is a work of tremendously high Quality.
Rating:
Summary: Truly a Great Book
Review: This book can be read as a novel about a cross-country journey a man takes with his son. And it can be read as a book about Zen, and Art, and Motorcycle Maintenance, and how, if you begin with the right mental approach, these three seemingly disparate things really aren't different at all. And it can be read as a guide to how to live your life better, giving meaning to otherwise mundane daily tasks. And, when combined with it's sequel, "Lila", it can be read as (arguably) the deepest and greatest philosophical work the 20th century produced, laying the groundwork for a whole new Metaphysics and fundamentally altering our view of reality. But no matter how the book is read, there's no denying that it is a work of astoundingly high Quality.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Exactly a "Novel"
Review: And I shouldn't be complaining about something like that ... this guy had some good ideas and why shouldn't he publish them? So he did in the form of a psuedo-novel type book, where the scanty plot line depends on the philosophy and the philosophy depends on the plot line. Sometimes his ideas sound more like ramblings than a highly organized explanation of life. I wouldn't suggest taking on this book unless you plan on reading it in a very plain and quiet room where you can get a whole lot of concentration ... otherwise it is just plain impossible.
Rating:
Summary: Very good book - Must read
Review: This is one of those books where, after you are finished reading it: you are never the same. Its like pressing the "refresh" button for your mind. You feel so fresh after reading this book that words cannot express it.
This book is not about motorcycle maintenance though! It is about life in general, positive things about life, a bit of philosophy, and good narrative about Montana.
You have to be patient in reading this book. It is not for fast reading. Enjoy it slowly and steadily. Good Luck!
Rating:
Summary: The limits and capacity of reason
Review: It was an easy book to read, yet a difficult one to follow. The pace was slow and conversational but the issues were deep and meaningful - I was wondering if I was missing something. The author and his son take a motorcycle trip. All during the trip there are effectively two stories: the first one concerning the trip itself as the author attempts to connect with his son and the second the author (as Phaedrus) is conversing with us, the reader concerning all sort of philosophical considerations. When the author is on the Chautauqua mode, the author's alter ego Phaedrus is conversing with us concerning deep issues of existential significance. Coming back to the first issue, concerning the trip, the reader - at least this reader - felt like the narrator was talking to me. In this subtext concerning the son, the author reveals much of his past life with John, the author's wife, with the De Weeses and a host of other things. It seems, at times that the stories would intertwine - the reader is confused about whether it is Phaedrus or the narrator speaking and about what. The story of Phaedrus is a remarkable one. He muses over such topics the value of technology in society. This ex-computer manual turned motorcycle jockey/mechanic muses over such things a Quality and the various approaches to it. More subtext arises with Pirsig's thoughts on the practical use of the classical and romantic modes of thought, his understanding of metaphysics, and Greek philosophy. Needless to say the book is ambitious, which was perhaps the reason for his eventual breakdown and several shock treatments. It is clear that this will eventually crescendo into his eventual mental breakdown while at the same time coming together with him and his son. The realization and impotence regarding his son leaves me cold. His eventual admission seemed like an inevitability. It did take a long time to get there. I learned much about motorcycle maintenance but I thought it was a bit light on the Zen. Criticized for not really being a primer on Zen, I assume that his meditations are his connection to Zen. How does this book impact the question: Who are we? From a psychological perspective, it gives one the sense that there are no essential, we are re-inventing ourselves almost everyday. The fragility of our existence is, although lightly covered, is present in the book. Moreover, there is a sense that one needs to face his demons if one is to make peace with oneself. Within this framework, it seemed that the narrator needed to come to terms with Phaedrus in order to save his son. The book asks all sorts of questions about what frames our lives, the limits and capacity or our reason and the extent to which we need to allow our obsessions to get the better of us. Sometimes it does not pay to sweat the details while keeping the big picture in mind. Miguel Llora
Rating: 
Summary: Horribly dull
Review: Read an over padded book about the reasons of "quality" versus aesthetic. In short, the author goes in endless circles and I wondered why I was reading the book to begin with. Some very absurd statements are printed in this book that I had a horrible time trying to agree with. I can't with a good mind recommend this to anyone. If you want to be philosophical, there are many other books that's points are much more valid than this.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the effort
Review: Just finished reading ZAMM for the third time. Once again, I got something different from this great book. ZAMM is inspiring, challenging, difficult, fun, thought-provoking ... it requires you to THINK. It isn't an easy read, but it is well worth the effort. The last time I finished reading ZAMM, I persuaded three friends (all intelligent people) to read it. They all hated it. Go figure.
Rating:
Summary: Dont take it all at face value
Review: I just wanted to say that although this book is a work of great importance and genius on its own, and can be very valuable without any knowledge of zen, an understanding of some zen principles can bring on a whole new level of comprehension of the book (and no, you dont have to be a buddhist for this to help). A good place to start is with the writings of d.t. suzuki. Although his writings are many years old now, the language is timeless, and his simple, reverent style is very readable. Read his Introduction to Zen, and then read this book again. Youll be amazed at what you missed the first time around.
Rating:
Summary: Fine Tuning Your Life
Review: Sitting in the sunlight, seeing others darkly in the shade. The universal human experience of separateness and differentness during interactions with others. Experience as experience instead of scorekeeping. Noticing what is being experienced while it is being experienced. Dispassionate. Interested observing of one's own feelings, thoughts, imagination; one's own life. The human experience from a high place of observation.
Fearlessly describing human fear.
Joyously presenting human exuberance. Telling us the story of human frustration in challenges that don't go away, until - like the eventual choice of focusing on one brick of a building of bricks in a block of buildings - we get to the absolute simplicity of the situation and see clearly. Within this new view, this new thought, this new action, is a new life and a new choice and another step in the direction of being our self. A man discovers the spiritual world is not the world of the dead. He discovers it is not up there somewhere but right here, right now and he discovers that he has been a ghost of his real self. The Holy Grail is his own body and the Quest is to be his real self buried under layers of habits of thought frightened into him by past experience. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is one of the great books of our time. I read it more than twice and listened to it on tape. It is an inspired work.
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