Guidebook to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

This book opens up a lot of insights that were in ZMM. It gave me a fuller understanding of what ZMM was all about. Like another reviewer said, I'd read ZMM first, then read this book. It further explains the Eastern religions and Western philosophies that Pirsig talks about, or alluded to. Fans of ZMM will not be disappointed with this book.

For fans of ZMM, this is an incredible book that summarizes various aspects of the ZMM book. First and foremost, it gives you the necessary background on philosophy to get a better understanding of where the Pirsig is coming from.Secondly, it is great studying material for those of us who're interested in getting deeper into the issues that Pirsig gets to in the ZMM. Particularly, I liked the section in this book that relates Quality with Taoist principles.A must have!It can be read without reading ZMM, BTW.

Additional background material, both philosophical and historical, really illuminates the original Pirsig book. The bonus is sometimes startling insights, and new questions (often unanswered for the reader to work out). Think of it as an informal but well-written textbook by teachers who care both about the material and the student. It lures the reader into further self-study in epistemology, metaphysics, aesthetics, and ethics. Contains valuable passages that were edited out of the original Pirsig book.

Very profound. Not many books make you think like "Zen ..." does. Heightens the pleasure of reading by adding the dimension of thought to it. 'Phaedrus' leaps off the pages of the book to stay with you for the rest of your life...and perhaps beyond too. Keeps up to its own high quality values. If you liked "Zen ..." I would recommend "LILA" by Robert Pirsig which is another masterpiece.