Robert M. Pirsig | Author

About the Author

Robert Maynard Pirsig was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on September 6, 1928. While serving in the Army, he visited Japan on a leave and became interested in Zen Buddhism. After his service, he received bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Minnesota. He later show more studied philosophy at the University of Chicago and at Banaras Hindu University in India. He taught writing at Montana State University in Bozeman and the University of Illinois at Chicago. He was also a freelance writer and editor for corporate publications and technical magazines. His first novel, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values, was published in 1974. His follow-up novel, Lila: An Inquiry Into Morals, was published in 1991. He died on April 24, 2017 at the age of 88. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the names: Pirsig, Robert Pirsig, Pirsig Robert, Robsrt MPirsig, Robrrt MPirsig, Robert M. Persig, Robert M. Pirsig, Robert M. Prisig, Robert M. Pirsig, Pirsig Robert M., Robert 17 Pirsing, Robert M. Pirsing, Pirsig M. Robert R2H2, Роберт Пирсиг, רוברט מ פירסיג, Робърт М. Пърсиг, Robert Pirsig; Robert M Pirsig, Robert Maynard Pirsig, (1928-), Robert Pirsig, M.; Robert M.Pirsig

Image credit: (c) Ian Glendinning 2005 http://www.psybertron.org

Works by Robert M. Pirsig

Popular Recent

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values (1974) — Author — 19,370 copies, 291 reviews

Lila: An Inquiry Into Morals (1991) 2,242 copies, 27 reviews

On Quality: An Inquiry into Excellence: Unpublished and Selected Writings (2022) 60 copies

SULLA QUALITA (2024) 4 copies

PISA 2003 (2004) 2 copies

! SCHEDA DOPPIA (2013) 1 copy

Dieses Buch handelt von wahren Begebenheiten [Lesezeichen] : Roebrt Pirsig 1 copy

Work Explorer

Associated Works

For the Love of Books: 115 Celebrated Writers on the Books They Love Most (1999) — Contributor — 461 copies, 4 reviews

Coffee with Plato (Coffee with...Series) (2007) — Foreword — 70 copies, 3 reviews

Lila's Child: An Inquiry into Quality (2002) — Introduction — 32 copies

Tagged

20th century (104) American (97) American literature (110) autobiography (113) biography (119) Buddhism (300) classic (68) classics (58) ebook (57) ethics (93) fathers and sons (39) fiction (1,073) goodreads (68) literature (162) memoir (286) metaphysics (71) motorcycles (196) non-fiction (609) novel (201) own (75) owned (42) paperback (69) philosophy (2,495) Pirsig (43) psychology (135) quality (94) read (210) religion (155) road trip (126) Robert M. Pirsig (43) Roman (54) self-help (61) spirituality (235) to-read (768) travel (286) unread (101) USA (85) values (127) zen (428) Zen Buddhism (58)

Common Knowledge

Canonical name: Pirsig, Robert M.
Legal name: Pirsig, Robert Maynard
Other names: Pirsig, Robert M.
Birthdate: 1928-09-06
Date of death: 2017-04-24
Gender: male
Nationality: USA
Birthplace: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Place of death: South Berwick, Maine, USA
Cause of death: Pirsig died aged 88, at his home after a period of failing health.
Places of residence: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Hendon, England, UK
Korea
Japan
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA
South Berwick, Maine, USA
Education: Banaras Hindu University
University of Chicago
University of Minnesota (BA|1950|MA|1958| Journalism)
Occupations: writing teacher
novelist
philosopher
freelance technical writer
Relationships: Pirsig, Maynard (father)
Organizations: University of Illinois, Chicago
Montana State College
US Army
Awards and honors: American Academy of Arts and Letters Academy Award (Literature ∙ 1979)
Guggenheim Fellowship

Members

Reviews

Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance : an… by Robert M. Pirsig

Whew, that was a bit of a tough slog, but for some reason I felt compelled to finish this one. Glad I did, though I'm not sure the payoff was worth it to me.

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ppival | 290 other reviews | Nov 24, 2024 |

By Robert Pirsig - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle… by Robert M. Pirsig

Phil Jackson cites this book as one of the major guiding influences of his life, according to Wikipedia

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Virtuosity | 290 other reviews | Aug 27, 2024 |

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An… by Robert M Pirsig

Book 77
Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
Robert Pirsig.
Well I seem to have picked some difficult ones. But I give myself a gold star for trying. What can I say? I don't even understand the language of the explanation of the book.
This book might be appreciated by someone who can't boil an egg?
Can't score as I didn't understand a word.
16/100 books that changed the world.

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janicearkulisz | 290 other reviews | Aug 2, 2024 |

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An… by Robert M Pirsig

The title doesn't do it any justice. I highly recommend it, it's not an easy read, but it's a smooth one, a pleasant journey filled with plenty of philosophical revelations.

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gabrielrondelli | 290 other reviews | Jun 2, 2024 |

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