Book Review: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974)

An inquiry into values
by Robert Pirsig

Zen1974, Bantam Books (1984 edition), 380 pages w/afterword

This book was a staple of my college days, not among the Left—the Left in those days seemed to be as incapable of thinking for themselves as what we see in much of the Right today—but among more the more technical, individualistic reader types.

Pirsig, a technical writer for IBM with a genius-level IQ, recounts his journey on a motorcycle (he doesn’t mention the brand; Wikipedia says it’s a 1964 Honda Superhawk CB77) with his boy, Chris.  They head out across the high plains thru Montana, then down the Oregon-California coast. Continue reading