Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

By Robert M. Pirsig

Categories: Religion & Spirituality, Self-Help

A father and his son set off on a summer motorcycle trip. Along the way, the ride becomes a journey into big questions: how to live, and how to bring science, art, and spirit together. Robert M. Pirsig weaves the road trip with the story of his own past and a search for what he calls Quality, the idea that caring about doing things well, even fixing a motorcycle, lies at the heart of a good life. It was first published in 1974.

Recommended by 10 people

• Phil Jackson: “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Pirsig. It gives a summary of philosophy of Western Civilization.”
• Paul Graham
• Jordan Peterson
• Fred Wilson
• Drew Houston
• Bryan Johnson
• Austen Allred
• Jeff Immelt: “My daughter was reading “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,” which brought me back to my youth. I picked it up and read a couple of chapters just for old time’s sake.”
• David Heinemeier Hansson: “Which is exactly what I was thinking about when I cited motorcycle repair. Great book!”
• Jason Fried: “Yeah this entire chapter is about Persig's and Crawford's books. Both fantastic reads.”