Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
An Inquiry Into Values
by Robert M. Pirsig · first published 1974
59% recommend37% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
Philosophical, semi-autobiographical road narrative about quality, craft and caring about your work. Suits programmers and makers who want to think about elegance and doing things well, and who can handle dense going.
Common criticism: Some find it a slog or overrated despite its reputation
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"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. The narrative of a father on a summer motorcycle trip across America's Northwest with his young son, it 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 confusio
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2007–2026Lila
Robert M. Pirsig
Recommended by 20 · mentioned by 3720 recommend · 37 mention20 recommend · 3720 recommend
2007–2026Siddhartha
Hermann Hesse
Recommended by 138 · mentioned by 186138 recommend · 186 mention138 recommend · 186138 recommend
2008–2026Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius, Meric Casaubon
Recommended by 184 · mentioned by 251184 recommend · 251 mention184 recommend · 251184 recommend
2007–2026Gödel, Escher, Bach
Douglas R. Hofstadter
Recommended by 505 · mentioned by 1,055505 recommend · 1,055 mention505 recommend · 1,055505 recommend
2007–2026Atlas Shrugged
Ayn Rand, Sophie Bastide-Foltz, Adrian Rand
Recommended by 207 · mentioned by 758207 recommend · 758 mention207 recommend · 758207 recommend
2008–2026The Brothers Karamazov
Fiódor Dostoievski, Constance Garrett
Recommended by 86 · mentioned by 18786 recommend · 187 mention86 recommend · 18786 recommend
2007–2026The Selfish Gene
Richard Dawkins
Recommended by 220 · mentioned by 431220 recommend · 431 mention220 recommend · 431220 recommend
2008–2026Tao Te Ching
Stephen Mitchell
Recommended by 103 · mentioned by 204103 recommend · 204 mention103 recommend · 204103 recommend
Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance This helped me understand the duality of the logical/mechanical and the creative/artistic. Then merging the two.
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗…Andrew Carnegie and Rockefeller biographies - for understanding the mental mindset to win in business (it's not what you think) Hackers and painters - for understanding startups and how/why they work Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance - for understanding beauty in the routine Essentialism, the disciplined pursuit of less and Walden - for understanding how "stuff" gets in the way of happiness Les Miserables - for understanding love
on “Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?” ↗…Lots of HN readers suggest reading lots of Feynman, and I agree. Godel Escher Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid has been recommended by multiple HN readers in most threads like this. Robert Pirsig's book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. How Buildings Learn by Stewart Brand. Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston. Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell. Freakonomics, by Levitt and Dubner. Against the Gods by Peter Bernstein. The art…
on “Ask HN: Books That Gratify One's Intellectual Curiosity?” ↗"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig. While it's also a tale of travel and self-exploration (the rediscovery of identity after a nervous breakdown and shock therapy), mostly the book is about thinking. I was a different…
on “Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?” ↗For me, it was reading “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” — one small part of it especially. Long before Pirsig begins asking fundamental questions like, “What can we know?”, and “What is the meaning of Quality?”, he mentions the seed of his destruction —…
on “Ask HN: What influenced your personal growth the most?” ↗…changed my way of looking at the world. His books are enjoyable to read, and his ideas thought provoking. I will continue to read the rest of his books over the next year. --- Author: Robert Pirsig Book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance A classic. I reread this for a bookclub. It's a bit esoteric, but I coupled it with Weinbergs General Systems Thinking and extracted some vague but interesting insights. --- Author: Timmothy Snyder…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗`Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance` The book looks at what it means to say something has 'quality'. It didn't teach me any new philosophical methods or theories, but it did make me look at my own work differently and start asking: how…
on “Ask HN: What book changed your life in 2014?” ↗…An Eternal Golden Braid", Hofstadter * Either "His Dark Materials", Pullman; or "Illuminatus!", Shea and Wilson * "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", Adams (all of its sequels are also good) * "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and "Lila", Pirsig * Either "Watchmen", Moore and Gibbons; or "1984" or "Animal Farm", Orwell * "Neuromancer" or "Pattern Recognition", Gibson Be wary of anybody who recommends self-help, attitude…
on “Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?” ↗…Karenina: Tolstoy knows people better than they know themselves - Brave New World: Aldous Huxley is a genius and a wordsmith - Dune: a sci-fi masterpiece, highly recommended to anyone into sci-fi - Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: not purely fiction but an amazing book I will surely re-read during my lifetime
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig takes you deep into the philosophy on what is 'quality'. Once you see it you can't unsee it. A powerful excerpt from the book: 'So the thing to do when working on a motorcycle, as in…
on “Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?” ↗Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
on “Ask HN: Interesting (Non software) books?” ↗I've really enjoyed Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Lila by Robert M. Pirsig. EDIT: Also, The Phoenix Project is very very good if you are into IT management: funny, and although a novel then the content will make you want to fix your company and…
on “Ask HN: Recommend one book I need to read this summer?” ↗“Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance” — Robert Pirsig “Siddhartha” — Herman Hesse “Stranger in a Strange Land" - Robert Heinlein "Wind Up Bird Chronicle" - Haruki Murakami The first two were handed to me by my father when I dropped out…
on “Ask HN: What book have you re-read 3x or more?” ↗As a work of popular philosophy, I think Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is unequalled. I think it got many people (including me) to an interest in philosophy where they had previously thought it to be boring hair-splitting. I think the format - part travelogue, part novel,…
on “Reflections on Robert Pirsig and Quality” ↗Quiet by Susan Cain, great book about introversion and why we have the "Extrovert Ideal". It's really fascinating to see how introverts have their qualities and how Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance - Robert Pirsig: Fantastic book that talks about philosophy in a new way and goes deeper into discovering what's "Quality" and what are the main 2 ways of interacting/reading the world around us. Adam…
on “Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?” ↗