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Sample
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Unabridged
Narrated by
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Program Type
Audiobook
Publisher
Length
16 hrs
Audible Release Date
01-17-00
Audio Formats About Formats
2 3 4
Customer Rating

3.99 based on 420 ratings
 

Publisher's Summary

This lyrical, evocative, thought-provoking journal of a man's quest for truth - and for himself - has touched and changed an entire generation, and is ready to reach out to a new one. At its heart, the story is all too simple: a man and his son take a motorcycle trip across America. But this is not a simple trip at all, for around every corner, through mountain and desert, wind and rain, and searing heat and biting cold, their pilgrimage leads them to new vistas of self-discovery and renewal.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is an elemental work that has helped to shape and define the past 25-years of American culture. This special audio edition presents this adventure in an exciting new way - for the millions who have already taken this journey and want to travel these roads again, and for the many more who will discover for the first time the wonders and challenges of a story that will change the way they think and feel about their lives. Unique to audio, this edition features a new introduction by the author.

©1974 by Robert M. Pirsig; (P)1996 by Books on Tape, Inc.

What the Critics Say

"Profoundly important...intellectual entertainment of the highest order." (The New York Times)
"Brave wanderings, high adventures, extraordinary risks...A horn of plenty." (Los Angeles Times)

From AudioFile

A journey through philosophical inquiry and the landscape of the American West, this audiobook captures the rolling narrative of author Pirsig's uniquely American style. His form of Chautauqua, originally a spoken presentation combining education and entertainment, allows for a natural transition from the written word to audio. Michael Kramer has a friendly, confident voice, and he reads the thoughts of Pirsig's curious narrator as if they were his own. Although the book includes much dense philosophical speculation, Kramer's measured pace and clear delivery help to convey its complex ideas. He is equally convincing as the secondary characters, giving each a distinctive voice. Kramer's casual style suits the author's own informal tone, and he perfectly renders how the listener would imagine the voice of the fictional narrator. T.D.(c) AudioFile 2008

About AudioFile

Customer Reviews

Showing: 1-5 of 33
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful:
Rating 3.0Rating 3.0Rating 3.0Rating 3.0Rating 3.0 "Great book, poor reading"
By: Lucas (Austin, TX, USA)
October 03, 2009
This book had a big impact on me as a young adult and I've read it about three times. Tried it again in mid-life and it didn't have quite the impact but I think part of that was the reader; I don't usually complain about it but is reading sounded labored; there was a strange little cough at the end of so many sentences, like he's been a life-long smoker or something. I tend to think it's just his way of giving inflection and denoting the end of sentence/paragraph but it was really distracting.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful:
Rating 4.0Rating 4.0Rating 4.0Rating 4.0Rating 4.0 "a great book"
By: Dana (Troy, ME, USA)
September 12, 2009
This is one of the great books of postwar American literature partly because of its clear, direct and evocative exposition of complicated ideas, and partly because it distills the essences of what was going on socially and philosophically in the 1960s and 70s - beyond and inside the hippie facades. High Quality book. The narrative to me is adequate except - as one other reviewer noticed & others weirdly missed - that the narrator blows out a bubble air at the end of about two-thirds of the sentences, varying in loudness and duration in a range that runs from distracting to irritating. Mixed quality narration.
Rating 4.0Rating 4.0Rating 4.0Rating 4.0Rating 4.0 "Always an Adventure"
By: Stephen (Miami, FL, USA)
July 25, 2009
I like many others have listened to this after originally reading it many years ago. Now after my own experiences with an 11 year old son of my own I can say that the entire narrative seems almost autobiographical, as if I was somehow listening to my own story and inner thoughts (minus the shock therapy mind you!!). This book can not be listened to on the surface level. If one dimensional story telling is what you are expecting then you will surely write reviews similar to the many negative ones we see here. If you approach each chapter as a multi layered metaphor then in every detail you will find many "ahaa moments" that will stick with you for days, even years to come.
Rating 2.0Rating 2.0Rating 2.0Rating 2.0Rating 2.0 "It's the genre...."
By: Karen (Pinehurst, NC, USA)
July 14, 2009
The first third of this book held my attention as i enjoyed the author's analysis of life through the function of his motorcycle. But I grew tired of the philosophy and continuous self examination and so- did a lot of fast forwarding. Basically, a book dealing with this level of philosophy is not my genre so I feel my opinion is biased. My husband, on the other hand, listened to an hour's worth and wants it for his Kindle!
Rating 4.0Rating 4.0Rating 4.0Rating 4.0Rating 4.0 "Good good good good"
By: Alison (weare, NH, USA)
June 18, 2009
This is a nice mix of story telling in regards to the road trip with the author's son Chris, and nightmarish flashbacks to college philosophy 101 with a health dose of abnormal psychology tossed in just to make it interesting! I had to listen intensely to the philosophical arguments that I would have glazed over if reading it in the book but managed through the narration. At times the recording sounded tinny, but overall excellent narration and vocalization.
I've wanted to read this book for a few years now and can check it off my long list of books to read. The most shocking part of the whole thing happens at the afterward...
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