Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values – A Philosophical Travel Memoir of Personal Growth - Couverture souple

Pirsig, Robert M.

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0061673730 ISBN 13 : 9780061673733

Editeur : Mariner Books Classics, 2008

Synopsis

A man and his young son embark on a summer motorcycle road trip across America’s Northwest, seeking to reconnect and explore the open country.

But this is no ordinary vacation. As the miles unspool, the journey transforms into a profound philosophical inquiry, a rolling Chautauqua that seeks to answer one of life’s most essential questions: What is best?

On a vintage motorcycle, the narrator grapples not only with the mechanics of his machine but with the very nature of Quality itself. He confronts the deep split in modern life between a cold, rational view of technology and a romantic, emotional engagement with the world, searching for a way to heal the divide. Yet, the biggest questions lie within.

Dogging his every thought is the ghost of his former self, a brilliant and dangerous man named Phaedrus, whose obsessive pursuit of truth led to his own destruction. This cross-country odyssey is more than a search for answers; it is a confrontation with a haunting past, a flight for sanity, and a powerful meditation on how we ought to live.

This profound and deeply personal story is an exploration of life’s most fundamental questions—a search for how to live, not just how to get by.

• A Father-Son Journey: Across the backroads of America, a man and his eleven-year-old son, Chris, share a motorcycle trip that uncovers the deep, complex, and often fraught bonds between them.
• The Philosophy of Quality: Through a series of philosophical discussions, or “Chautauquas,” the narrator grapples with the essential nature of what makes something good, from a well-maintained engine to a well-lived life.
• Technology and The Human Spirit: The narrative explores the deep divide between those who run from the cold logic of machines and those who engage with it, seeking a way to unite our rational and creative selves.
• A Divided Self: Haunting the entire journey is the ghost of Phaedrus, a former self the narrator must confront, forcing a reckoning with his own past, his sanity, and the very nature of his identity.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

Robert M. Pirsig (1928–2017) is the author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, which has sold more than five-million copies since its publication in 1974, and Lila, a finalist for the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. He graduated from the University of Minnesota (B.A., 1950; M.A., 1958) and attended Benares Hindu University in India, where he studied Eastern philosophy, and the University of Chicago, where he pursued a PhD in philosophy. Pirsig’s motorcycle resides in the Smithsonian Institution.

À propos de la quatrième de couverture

“The real cycle you’re working on is a cycle called ‘yourself.’”

One of the most important and influential books of the past half-century, Robert M. Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a powerful, moving, and penetrating examination of how we live and a meditation on how to live better. Pirsig’s narrative of a father and son on a summer motorcycle trip across America’s Northwest becomes a profound personal and philosophical odyssey into life’s fundamental questions. A true modern classic, it remains at once touching and transcendent, resonant with the myriad confusions of existence and the small, essential triumphs that propel us forward.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Mariner Books Classics
• Date d'édition: 2008
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0061673730
• ISBN 13: 9780061673733
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 448
• Coordonnées du fabricant: Product Safety Manager; enquiries@harpercollins.ie; ; HarperCollins, Macken House, 39/40 Mayor Street Upper; Dublin 1; D01 C9W8; Irlande