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Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values
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Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values

by Pirsig, Robert M

  • Used
  • Paperback
Condition
About Fine/Wraps
ISBN 10
0060839872
ISBN 13
9780060839871
Seller
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
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About This Item

New York: Mariner Books, 2005. 5th or later Printing. Trade Paperback. About Fine/Wraps. Later printing. trade PB 9n illustrated wraps. About Fine w/light edgewear, else Fine and unmarked. xiv, 430pp + P. S. [16]/

Synopsis

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values was written in 1974 by Robert M. Pirsig, a commentary on the Metaphysics of Quality within a growing commercialized society. The work is a fictionalized autobiography narrating a 17-day motorcycle journey across the U.S. with his son, Chris, and his friends John and Sylvia Sutherland.  The trip is punctuated by numerous philosophical discussions, referred to as Chautauquas by the author, on topics including epistemology, the history of philosophy, and the philosophy of science. The interactions of these romantic philosophically driven discussions are tied by the author, who refers to his past self as Phaedrus.  Author Robert M. Pirsig, a teacher of creative and technical writing at a small college, became engrossed in the question of what defines good writing, and what in general defines good, or "Quality", which he understood similar to Tao. His philosophical inventions and investigations later left him mentally ill, forcing him to reconcile with his past during his trip.  "Quality . . . you know what it is, yet you don't know what it is. But that's self-contradictory. But some things are better than others, that is, they have more quality. But when you try to say what the quality is, apart from the things that have it, it all goes poof! There's nothing to talk about. But if you can't say what Quality is, how do you know what it is, or how do you know that it even exists? If no one knows what it is, then for all practical purposes it doesn't exist at all. But for all practical purposes, it really does exist."

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Details

Bookseller
Basement Books US (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #
038188
Title
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values
Author
Pirsig, Robert M
Format/Binding
Trade Paperback
Book Condition
Used - About Fine
Jacket Condition
Wraps
Quantity Available
1
Edition
5th or later Printing
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10
0060839872
ISBN 13
9780060839871
Publisher
Mariner Books
Place of Publication
New York
Date Published
2005
Pages
464
Keywords
PHILOSOPHY VALUES EASTERN
Bookseller catalogs
Literature; Non-fiction;

Terms of Sale

Basement Books

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About the Seller

Basement Books

Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Biblio member since 2003
Albuquerque, New Mexico

About Basement Books

BASEMENT BOOKS, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, specializes in hard-to-find non-fiction, Western Americana, History, and First Edition mysteries and literature.

Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Trade Paperback
Used to indicate any paperback book that is larger than a mass-market paperback and is often more similar in size to a hardcover...
PB
...
Fine
A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...

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