The Books Suggested Below Are Good Reading Plus They Will Support and or Extend Your Understanding of the Ideas That Robert Pirsig Wrote Into His Book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

This page offers "comparable" books so you may learn more about the topics covered in ZMM, and/or related ideas. In a sense this is my list of recommended books, in addition of course, to my solid recommendation for ZMM itself.

This ZMM Alternatives Page is dedicated to USCA Professor Donald Blount who firmly believes ONLY two authors, Shakespeare (All of his) and Cervantes' Don Quixote, are worthy of the designation Classic. Thus, in Dr. Blount's judgment, ZMM can hardly be worth any consideration at all! In fact he has repeatedly tried to convince me to quit bothering with ZMM ….. period.! To support his judgment, Dr. Blount has promised an essay. While we await his essay, please read-on below for much good reading on topics related to ZMM.

"Lila", the sequel to Pirsig's "ZMM", Must Be Mentioned First, As an Alternate / Supplement to ZMM. (And Of Course, "Lila" Has Its Own Mentioned Books/Authors. These Are an Implied Pirsig Book Recommendation. A List Of These Books Will Be Reported Here ASAP, Or Perhaps Amazon "Look In the Book" will get there first?)

We may assume Mr. Pirsig answers (in his second book "Lila") many objections and questions, which were raised by readers of ZMM. "Lila", written in the same manner as ZMM, follows the trail of Phaedrus along the Erie Canal, down the Hudson River to New York City, and on to the expansive freedom of the Atlantic Ocean. See explanation at:

Concerning the Creative Force Called LILA, Answers.com says:

'''The Person Who Really Likes ZMM Should OWN and Immediately Read
"The Guidebook to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance."
Or http://www.usca.edu/math/~mathdept/hsg/ZMMFindSiteInfo.html#Guidebook

When considering books that might be alternatives to ZMM, we should quickly mention those books mentioned by Robert Pirsig himself in either ZMM or Lila.

We may consider his mention as actually a recommendation of those books.
But are there more books/articles Mr. Pirsig might suggest? In Sept 07 I asked Mr. Pirsig for his own recommendation reading list. In the letter following mine, you will see that he declined, implying that in essence ZMM stands alone. (after click here, scroll to last letter.)

"Zen and Now: On the Trail of Robert Pirsig and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." By Mark Richardson

A journalist and motorcycle enthusiast – Mark Richardson – decides to get on his Jackie New (Suzuki One Banger) with his leather jacket, factory repair manual, and a bag of tools, ..... to retrace the seminal journey taken by author Robert Pirsig, described in the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values (ZMM).
Mr. Richardson started in Toronto early July 2004 and ended at the Zen Center in San Francisco, two weeks later. His book recounts his experiences on the road: the people he meets, the long night bar binges, and the re-living of scenes from ZMM. He comes up with some fantastic & gripping stories. With him always is his fear of accidents in the heavy hi speed traffic and on the high mountain switch-back turns. His fear becomes real, as he faces, with instant reflex skill, several harrowing brushes with the taste of death!!
Mr. Mark Richardson expands on Pirsig’s journey with his own quest to escape the malaise of passing middle age, which precipitates his search for "the meaning of life". The Zen sense of "right now" flows in and out of his thoughts.
In the process he learns more about himself and more about the enigmatic author of Zen and the Art. The result manages to be a biography of Mr. Richardson and of Mr. Pirsig -- a discovery of an unknown life of madness, murder and eventual resolution -- and a splendid meditation on creativity and problem-solving, sanity and insanity.
It is fascinating to read and I am sure you will not want to miss it!. Henry Gurr.
Mark Richardson is the editor of the Wheels section of the Toronto Star. Zen and Now is his first book.
To be published by Knopf, Sept. 2008
Scroll down to the 4th Album to see Mark Richardson's photos of his trip followed the ZMM Route.
search/scroll this Toronto Star Newspaper page for about 6 articles by Mark Richardson.----

The Following Lettered Items (A thru E) Are Actually Mentioned In ZMM Book Itself.

[On ZMM page 226 Phaedrus quotes extensively from the The Tao Te Ching. He discusses how close his own analysis of Quality matches that of the The Tao Te Ching. In describing the meaning of the The Tao, The following passage, explains Lao Tzu's ancient book of wisdom, but in the process, actually does a great job in describing what ZMM is all about as well!! ]

"The philosophy of Lao Tsu is simple: Accept what is in front of you without wanting the situation to be other than it is, Study the natural order of things and work with it rather than against it, for to try to change what is only sets up resistance. Nature provides everything without requiring payment or thanks and also provides for all without discrimination—therefore let us present the same face to everyone and treat all men as equals, however they may behave. If we watch carefully, we will see that work proceeds more quickly and easily if we stop "trying," if we stop putting in so much extra effort, if we stop looking for results. In the clarity of a still and open mind, truth will be reflected. We will come to appreciate the original meaning of the word "understand," which means to stand under". We serve whatever or whoever stands before us, without any thought for ourselves. Te—which may be translated as “virtue” or "strength"—lies always In Tao, or "natural law." In other words: Simply be."

B) On ZMM Page 36, The Narrator Mentions The Three Books With Them On The Trip. Here Is His Statement:

"1. The shop manual for this cycle.
"2. A general troubleshooting guide containing all the technical information I can never keep in my head. This is Chilton’s Motorcycle Troubleshooting Guide written by Ocee Rich and sold by Sears, Roebuck.
"3. A copy of Thoreau’s Walden . . . which Chris has never heard and which can be read a hundred times without exhaustion. I try always to pick a book far over his head and read it as a basis for questions and answers, rather than without interruption. I read a sentence or two, wait for him to come up with his usual barrage of questions, answer them, then read another sentence or two. Classics read well this way. They must be written this way. Sometimes we have spent a whole evening reading and talking and discovered we have only covered two or three pages. It’s a form of reading done a century ago . . when Chautauquas were popular. Unless you’ve tried it you can’t imagine how pleasant it is to do it this way." [End passage from ZMM page 36.]

B-cont) ZMM, Page 36, Mentions "Chilton’s Motorcycle Troubleshooting Guide written by Ocee Rich".

B-cont) ZMM, Page 36, Mentions a "Motorcycle Repair Manual For Your Specific Cycle or Car or Truck, from your vehicle manufacturer or Powell's."

B-Cont. ZMM Is A General Trouble-Shooting & Problem-Solving Guide. Below are Two WebPages that echo ZMM In Practical Maintenance. Let me know if you know of others.

a) This Site Offers strategies for computers, but their advice can be generalized to most any endeavor. http://www.directron.com/strategy.html

b) This Site Has strategies for maintenance and repair of liquid & Hi pressure hydraulic systems, but their advice can be generalized to most any endeavor.

C) The ZMM Narrator Discusses At Length An Abbreviated History Of Western Philosophy. This Is Done So As Prepare the Reader For His Own Meta Physics of Quality (MOQ). Shall we say Mr. Pirsig recommends these Philosopheres?

Of the authors mentioned above, the following have the most mention in ZMM: Aristotle , David Hume ("A Treaties On Human Nature"), Immanuel Kant, ("The Critique of Pure Reason" = "Greatest philosophical treatises ever written"), Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel ("The Science of Logic,")
Although ZMM is known to be many kinds of books, we see these mentioned authors clearly show that ZMM is a philosophy treaties. Indeed word philosopher (or philosophic) is used 106 times in ZMM! The word Quality is used 471 times!

E) The University of Chicago's "Great Books Program" Is Mentioned In ZMM, Pages 308 - 324. The Narrator also says that Phaedrus " .....was there solely to write a Great Book of his own."!! .

The ZMM Narrator Mentions favorably UC's Innovative Educational Reforms Which the use of what they called "The Great Books". This eventually lead to the publication of The Great Books, as a "library set" by the Encyclopedia Britannica Company. On page 309 he says: "The work of Aquinas and of the Greeks, as interpreted by Aquinas, was to Adler the capstone of the Western intellectual heritage. Therefore they provided a measuring rod for anyone seeking the good books. ..... man is counted a rational animal, capable of seeking and defining the good life and achieving it. When this 'first principle' about the nature of man was accepted by the president of the University of Chicago, it was inevitable that it would have educational repercussions. ..... ."
"Adler and Hutchins were concerned fundamentally with the "oughts" of life, with values, with Quality and with the foundations of Quality in theoretical philosophy. Thus they had apparently been traveling in the same direction as Phædrus ...... "
Since the ZMM Narrator mentions how The Great Books Program fostered Quality in the study of man, we deduce he supports the contents of these books. The story of Phaedrus going to U. Chicago, and why. starts on p 302. Click to go to this site for history and an example list of the 137 Great Books by Mortimer Adler and Charles VanDoren.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Books
End "Books Mentioned In ZMM". Continue with "Alternates & Extensions" below.

In This Talk Robert Pirsig stated: "For those who would like more information about this "Conceptually Unknown" than I can give today, there is a valuable book called Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel from which I derived the title for my own first book. When the Zen Archer refers to an "it" that shoots the arrow he is referring to what I mean by Dynamic Quality. For those who prefer to stay more within the confines of Western analytical thought there is a book by Prof. F.S.C. Northrop of Yale University called The Meeting of East and West. It is the book that really started me on this philosophic quest that has now lasted 47 years."

F) In the Passage Above Pirsig Mentions How He Was Influenced By The Book Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel, Daisetz T. Suzuki.

F-cont) Another Review of Zen in the Art of Archery at Amazon.com

F-cont) A Third review of Zen in the Art of Archery Review: From Audio File

G) In the Passage Above Pirsig Mentions How He Was Influenced By The Book The Meeting of East and West, by F. S. C. Northrop.

Also on ZMM page 108, the Narrator says: "The difference is that the classic reality is primarily theoretic but has its own esthetics too. The romantic reality is primarily esthetic, but has its theory too. The theoretic and esthetic split is between components of a single world. The classic and romantic split is between two separate worlds. The philosophy book, which is called The Meeting of East and West, by F. S. C. Northrop, suggests that greater cognizance be made of the "undifferentiated aesthetic continuum" from which the theoretic arises." Thus Northrop Is Suggested By Pirsig in Both ZMM, and his above mentioned talk Subjects, Objects, Data and Values. We take these mentions as recommendations to read Northrop.

G-cont) A Review of The Meeting of East and West,

G-cont) My Own Review of The Meeting of East and West by Henry Gurr = ZMMQ Web Master is at

MORE ZMM Alternatives Collected By Henry Gurr, WebMaster For This Site.

"But why did Mr. Pirsig spent years crafting a compelling metaphysical theory then disguised it as [two] novels published over 15 years apart? Fiction has a long history of seriously discussing important issues. One only has to scratch fiction's surface to recall Swift's Gulliver's Travels, Orwell's 1984 or the plays and satire of Voltaire. The publishing of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's 1962 novel "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" is said to have played a significant role in starting the process that led to the recent break up of the Soviet Union. If the following quotes [on web page] are any indication, current novelists also feel their fictions contain strong truths."

The Following Book Is Regularly Mentioned, With ZMM, as a Popular Story Based Philosophy Book. (I Include Four Reviews.)

Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder.

{These are two questions Sophie, a fifteen year-old Norwegian girl,
Mr. Thomas in his essay Novel Reality , mentioned above, could have added Sophie's World in his examples of books that are really philosophy discourse presented as a novel.]
Who are you? Where does the world come from? The writer of these questions to teenage Sophie is an enigmatic philosopher called Albert Knox, and his two teasing questions are the beginning of an extraordinary tour through the history of Western Philosophy from the pre-Socratics to Satre. In a series of brilliantly entertaining letters, and then in person (with his dog, Hermes), Albert Knox opens Sophie's enquiring mind to the fundamental questions that philosophers have been asking since the dawn of civilization. .. But as soon as Sophie begins to find her feet in this dazzling, exciting new world, she and Albert find themselves caught up in a plot which itself is a most perplexing philosophical conundrum...

"Sophie's World is set to become a unique popular classic: a wonderfully engaging mystery story that also forms a completely accessible and lucid introduction to philosophy and philosophers." - The Times

"Remarkable...What Jostein Gaarder has managed to do is to condense 3,000 years of thought into 400 pages; to simplify some extremely complicated arguments without trivialising them...Sophie's World is an extraordinary achievement." - Sunday Times
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sophie's-World (Item for sale has great Info!)

Wikipedia Says"Sophie's World (Sofies verden in the original Norwegian) is a novel by Jostein Gaarder, published in 1991. It was originally written in Norwegian, but has since been translated into English (1995) and many other languages. .. Mostly consisting of dialogues between Sophie Amundsen and a mysterious man named Alberto Knox, interwoven with an increasingly bizarre and mysterious plot, Sophie's World acts as both a novel and a basic guide to philosophy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie's_World

[These, like ZMM, are thought provoking books that will make you think about your life and what you are about. You will be a better person after reading them.]

"Pilgrim at Tinker Creek" By Annie Dillard

An exhilarating meditation on nature and its seasons-a personal narrative highlighting one year's exploration on foot in the author's own neighborhood in Tinker Creek, Virginia. In the summer, Dillard stalks muskrats in the creek and contemplates wave mechanics; in the fall she watches a monarch butterfly migration and dreams of Arctic caribou. She tries to con a coot; she collects pond water and examines it under a microscope. She unties a snake skin, witnesses a flood, and plays -King of the Meadow' with a field of grasshoppers.
http://books.google.com/books?id=9HCxkii9oGsC&dq=pilgrim+at+tinkers+creek

Cont: "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek" By Annie Dillard

The Pulitzer Prize-winning Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is a series of interconnected essays which challenge the listener to contemplate the natural world beyond its commonplace surfaces. ….. Dillard's beautiful alliterative phrasing, glorious imagery, and inspired themes. ….[makes the book full of] …. meanings of this energetic, Thoreauvian ramble through Nature's seasons and secrets. Coming across a cedar tree one day, Dillard sees "the tree with the lights in it," a spiritual phenomenon emblematic of her uncanny way of knowing what is real and true about a universe designed by "a maniac." Cassidy brilliantly conveys Dillard the seer interacting with the grotesque majesties of the scene.
http://www.amazon.com/Pilgrim-Tinker-Creek-Annie-Dillard/dp/0060953020

Pilgrims Progress. Customer Review.

"Let it be clear that I am commenting on "The Pilgrim's Progress" as literature, indeed, as great literature. The religious content of the book is plain in any version. From Bunyan, it is a plain-spoken tale effectively told by a plain-spoken and popular preacher. Bunyan's book, though, is far from being the touchy-feely, ecumenically-friendly thing that the modernized versions might suggest. After all, Bunyan managed to get himself into hot legal water in 1658 when the Puritan-dominated English Republic was in power and then again when the Anglican-dominated Restoration of Charles II came along."
Pilgrims Progress. Customer Review.

''The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Steven Covey

Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstadter.

Editorial Reviews Amazon.com.
Twenty years after it topped the bestseller charts, Douglas R. Hofstadter's "Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid" is still something of a marvel. Besides being a profound and entertaining meditation on human thought and creativity, this book looks at the surprising points of contact between the music of Bach, the artwork of Escher, and the mathematics of Gödel. It also looks at the prospects for computers and artificial intelligence (AI) for mimicking human thought. For the general reader and the computer techie alike, this book still sets a standard for thinking about the future of computers and their relation to the way we think.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465026567/104-5936441-9895138?v=glance&n=283155

ZMM Alternatives Mentioned by Various People.

The Catcher in the Rye is a novel by J. D. Salinger.

First published in the United States in 1951, the novel has been a frequently challenged book[1][2][3] in its home country for its liberal use of profanity and portrayal of sexuality and teenage angst. .. Originally published for adults,[4] the novel has become a common part of high school and college curricula throughout the English-speaking world; it has also been translated into almost all of the world's major languages.[5] Around 250,000 copies are sold each year, with total sales of more than 65 million.[6] .. The novel was chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present.[7]

The novel's protagonist, Holden Caulfield, has become an icon for teenage rebellion and defiance.[8] Written in the first person, The Catcher in the Rye follows Holden's experiences in New York City in the days following his expulsion from Pencey Prep, a college preparatory school.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Catcher_in_the_Rye
Scroll Down for the reviews at Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Catcher-Rye-J-D-Salinger/dp/0316769487

Blue Highways, by William Least Heat-Moon

[This book] spent 42 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list in 1982-83, is a chronicle of a three-month-long road trip that Heat-Moon took throughout the United States in 1978, after losing his teaching job and being left by his wife. He travelled 13,000 miles, as much as possible on secondary roads (often drawn on maps in blue, esp. on the old style Rand McNally road atlas) and tried to avoid cities, living out of the back of his van "Ghost Dancing" and visiting small towns such as Nameless, Tennessee; Hachita, New Mexico; and Bagley, Minnesota in an attempt to find places in America that were untouched by fast food chains and interstate highways. The book chronicles the people he talked to in roadside cafés as well as his personal soul-searching.

Prairyerth, also by William Least Heat-Moon.

[this] is a deep map account of Chase County, Kansas, and River Horse is an account of a four-month coast-to-coast boat trip across the U.S., using only the nation's waterways, and explores Heat-Moon's continuing observation of American culture. River Horse details Heat-Moon's retracing of Lewis and Clark's exploration of the American frontier in a nation at the end of the Twentieth century and only a short time from the rude awaking of September 11th. The reader can sense the same internal search through River Horse that the writer began with Blue Highways: for an America stripped of the commercial fog and tabloid mentality that often masks the great strengths of her people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Least_Heat-Moon

Following Are Suggestions Of Good Alternatives Collected From the Book Reviews for ZMM, On Amazon.com. The Books Mentioned Are Stated To Be Valuable, Interesting, and Cover similar subjects to ZMM.

END file = WikiZmmAlternativesToZMMv30

This page offers "comparable" books so you may learn more about the topics covered in ZMM, and/or related ideas. In a sense this is my list of recommended books, of course, in addition to my solid recommendation for ZMM itself.

When considering recommended books, we should first consider those books mentioned by Robert Pirsig in either ZMM or Lila as his recommendations of those books. But are there more books/articles Mr. Pirsig might suggest? In Sept 07 I asked Mr. Pirsig for his own recommendation reading list. In the letter following mine, you will see that he declined, implying that in essence ZMM stands alone. (See last letter here.)

This ZMM Alternatives Page is dedicated to USCA Professor Donald Blount who firmly believes only two authors, Shakespeare and Cervantes, are worthy of the designation Classic. Thus, in Dr. Blount's judgment, ZMM can hardly be worth any consideration at all! In fact he has repeatedly tried to convince me to quit bothering with ZMM ….. period.! To support his judgment, Dr. Blount has promised an essay. While we await his essay, please read-on below for much good reading on topics related to ZMM.

AND .... For those persons who have considerable reservations (misgivings?) re ZMM, I offer this collection of "Alternates and Extensions" to ZMM so they don't have to read ZMM!

"Lila", the sequel to Pirsig's "ZMM", Must Be Mentioned First, As an Alternate / Supplement to ZMM. (And Of Course, "Lila" Has Its Own Mentioned Books/Authors. These Are Of Course an Implied Pirsig Book Recommendation. A List Of These Books Will Be Reported Here ASAP, Or Perhaps Amazon "Look In the Book" will get there first?)

We may assume Mr. Pirsig answers in his second book, "Lila", many objections and questions, which were raised by readers of ZMM. "Lila", written in the same manner as ZMM, follows the trail of Phaedrus along the Erie Canal, down the Hudson River to New York City, and on to the expansive freedom of the Atlantic Ocean. See explanation at:

The Following Numbered Items Are 'Actually Mentioned' In ZMM Book Itself.

A) The Tao Te Ching By Lao Tzu: Any one who has read ZMM should become more familiar with (or read) the The Tao Te Ching !!

[On ZMM page 226 Phaedrus quotes extensively from the The Tao Te Ching. He discusses how close his own analysis of Quality matches that of the The Tao Te Ching. In describing the meaning of the The Tao, The following passage, explainins Lao Tzu's ancient book of wisdom, but in the process, actually does a great job in describing what ZMM is all about!! ]

B) "The Shop Manual For Honda 305", Chiltons Motorcycle Manual, and Walden Pond by Henry David Thoreau,:

1. "The shop manual for this cycle.
2. A general troubleshooting guide containing all the technical information I can never keep in my head. This is Chilton’s Motorcycle Troubleshooting Guide written by Ocee Rich and sold by Sears, Roebuck.
3. A copy of Thoreau’s Walden . . . which Chris has never heard and which can be read a hundred times without exhaustion. I try always to pick a book far over his head and read it as a basis for questions and answers, rather than without interruption. I read a sentence or two, wait for him to come up with his usual barrage of questions, answer them, then read another sentence or two. Classics read well this way. They must be written this way. Sometimes we have spent a whole evening reading and talking and discovered we have only covered two or three pages. It’s a form of reading done a century ago . . when Chautauquas were popular. Unless you’ve tried it you can’t imagine how pleasant it is to do it this way.]

B-cont.) Walden Pond by Henry David Thoreau:

B-cont.) A Review: Walden Pond, What Is It?

B-cont) Chilton’s Motorcycle Troubleshooting Guide written by Ocee Rich.

B-cont) Motorcycle Repair Manual For Your Specific Cycle or Car or Truck, from your vehicle manufacturer or Powell's.

[Here are WebPages that echo ZMM In Practical Maintenance. Let me know if you know of others!!!]

This Site Offers strategies for computers, but their advice can be generalized to most any endeavor. http://www.directron.com/strategy.html

This Site Has strategies for maintenance and repair of liquid & Hi pressure hydraulic systems, but their advice can be generalized to most any endeavor.

C) The ZMM Narrator Discusses At Length An Abbreviated History Of Western Philosophy. This Is Done So As Prepare the Reader For His Own Meta Physics of Quality (MOQ),

Philosophical authors mention, or just named, include: Socrates, Plato (Platonist), Aristotle (Aristotelian), St. Thomas Aquinas, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, Bradley, Bosanquet, Whitehead, Mathematician Jules Henri Poincaré, and Astronomer- Mathematician. Nicholos Copernicus (Each of these can be well studied at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents .)
Of the authors mentioned above, the following have the most mention in ZMM: Aristotle , David Hume ("A Treaties On Human Nature"), Immanuel Kant, ("The Critique of Pure Reason" = "Greatest philosophical treatises ever written"), Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel ("The Science of Logic,") Although ZMM is known to be many kinds of books, we see these mentioned authors clearly show that ZMM is a philosophy treaties. Indeed word philosopher (or philosophic) is used 106 times in ZMM! The word Quality is used 471 times!

D) Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam By Omar Khayyam

[On ZMM page 271 the Narrator, seeing a Persian-like desert cliff above them, is reminded of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. He is thus is inspired to recite several verses of this poem, much to Chris's dismay! May we conclude that this 1000 year old Persian poem has some of the same messages as ZMM? Here, excerpted from the much longer poem, are the several verses that appear in ZMM:]

[Mr. Pirsig Recommends These Two Books As Key Influences In Writing His Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Any one who has liked ZMM, will learn much from these, especially "Zen and Art In Archery". But "The Meeting of East and West" is a difficult book. Pirsig even says so as he discusses Northrop in ZMM.]
Robert Pirsig stated: "For those who would like more information about this "Conceptually Unknown" than I can give today, there is a valuable book called Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel from which I derived the title for my own first book. When the Zen Archer refers to an "it" that shoots the arrow he is referring to what I mean by Dynamic Quality. For those who prefer to stay more within the confines of Western analytical thought there is a book by Prof. F.S.C. Northrop of Yale University called The Meeting of East and West. It is the book that really started me on this philosophic quest that has now lasted 47 years."

E) Somewhere Pirsig Mentions How He Was Influenced By The Book Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel, Daisetz T. Suzuki.

Zen in the Art of Archery (ISBN 0679722971) is a book written by Eugen Herrigel in 1953. This was one of the first books to introduce Zen to westerners, and still one of the best for taking the practical route rather than the contemplative. He describes Zen in archery as follows: "The archer ceases to be conscious of himself as the one who is engaged in hitting the bull's-eye which confronts him. This state of unconscious is realized only when, completely empty and rid of the self, he becomes one with the perfecting of his technical skill, though there is in it something of a quite different order which cannot be attained by any progressive study of the art..."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_in_the_Art_of_Archery

E-cont) Another Review of Zen in the Art of Archery at Amazon.com

So many books have been written about the meditation side of Zen and the everyday, chop wood/carry water side of Zen. But few books have approached Zen the way that most Japanese actually do--through ritualized arts of discipline and beauty--and perhaps that is why Eugen Herrigel's Zen in the Art of Archery is still popular so long after it first publication in 1953. Herrigel, a philosophy professor, spent six years studying archery and flower-arranging in Japan, practicing every day, and struggling with foreign notions such as "eyes that hear and ears that see." In a short, pithy narrative, he brings the heart of Zen to perfect clarity--intuition, imitation, practice, practice, practice, then, boom, wondrous spontaneity fusing self and art, mind, body, and spirit. Herrigel writes with an attention to subtle profundity and relates it with a simple artistry that itself carries the signature of Zen. --By Brian Bruya
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375705090/104-5936441-9895138?v=glance&n=283155

E-cont) A Third review of Zen in the Art of Archery Review: From Audio File

There's more to archery than you think, according to this compact audio, which is based on a 1953 book by a German philosophy professor. His philosophical work addresses intention and personal integration, and the importance of the unconscious in dealing with life's realities. The program's lessons are so broad and practical that you don't have to be attracted to Zen or archery to be thoroughly transported by what's expressed through the teacher-student dialogue. Selecting reader Ralph Blum was a great way to resurrect the ideas in this rich and satisfying book. His academic tone inspires respect and makes the
ideas even more intriguing. T. W. © Audio File
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375705090/104-5936441-9895138?v=glance&n=283155

F) The Meeting of East and West, by F. S. C. Northrop, Is Suggested By Pirsig in ZMM.

F-cont) A Review of The Meeting of East and West,

F-cont) My Review of The Meeting of East and West by Henry Gurr = ZMMQ Web Master is at

G) The University of Chicago's "Great Books Program" Is Mentioned In ZMM, Pages 308 - 324. The Narrator also says that Phaedrus " .....was there solely to write a Great Book of his own."!! .

The ZMM Narrator Mentions favorably UC's Innovative Educational Reforms Which the use of what they called "The Great Books". This eventually lead to the publication of The Great Books, as a "library set" by the Encyclopedia Britannica Company. On page 309 he says: "The work of Aquinas and of the Greeks, as interpreted by Aquinas, was to Adler the capstone of the Western intellectual heritage. Therefore they provided a measuring rod for anyone seeking the good books. ..... man is counted a rational animal, capable of seeking and defining the good life and achieving it. When this 'first principle' about the nature of man was accepted by the president of the University of Chicago, it was inevitable that it would have educational repercussions. ..... ."
"Adler and Hutchins were concerned fundamentally with the "oughts" of life, with values, with Quality and with the foundations of Quality in theoretical philosophy. Thus they had apparently been traveling in the same direction as Phædrus ...... "
Since the ZMM Narrator mentions how The Great Books Program fostered Quality in the study of man, we deduce he supports the contents of these books. The story of Phaedrus going to U. Chicago, and why. starts on p 302. Click to go to this site for history and an example list of the 137 Great Books by Mortimer Adler and Charles VanDoren.

H) George Steiner, "The New Yorker Magazine", In Discussing ZMM, Points To Moby Dick As Being a Comparable Book to ZMM.

Collection Amazon ZMM reviews having Steiner are here:

Because of Steiner's Great Recommendation, I Include the following two Moby Dick Reviews, and where to see an online copy of the book.

H-cont) Moby Dick. Book Description.

H-cont) Moby Dick The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

H-cont) Moby Dick by Herman Melville. A Searchable Online Version: Has Author Information:

I) The Essay Novel Reality by David L Thomas Recommends Several More Books, Which Like ZMM, Are Philosophy Discourse Presented In the Framework of a Novel. Thomas asks:

Gulliver's Travels (1726, amended 1735) is a novel by Jonathan Swift that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of the "Travelers' tales" literary sub-genre. Swift's masterpiece is his most celebrated work and one of the indisputable classics of the English language.

file = WikiZmmAlternativesToZMMv24B

Possible Alternatives & Extensions To Book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.(ZMM).

Offers strategies for computers, but their advice can be generalized to most any endeavor. http://www.directron.com/strategy.html

Offers strategies for maintenance and repair of liquid & Hi pressure hydraulic systems, but their advice can be generalized to most any endeavor.

 !Possible Alternatives & Extensions To Book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.(ZMM). 

Hydraulic Hints & Trouble Shooting Guide General Product Support (PDF File)

For the entire poem and commentary, see http://www.therubaiyat.com/fitzindex.htm

Since the ZMM Narrator mentions how The Great Books Program fostered Quality in the study of man, we deduce he supports the contents of these books. The story of Phaedrus Going to U. C., and why. starts on p 302. Here is history and an example list of the 137 Great Books by Mortimer Adler and Charles VanDoren.

Amazon.com "Look Inside Book" Says That 660 Books Cite ZMM Somewhere in their Text!!

The Authors Of These Books Thus Implicitly Recommend ZMM! And it is likely that these books offer similar reading and topics as ZMM itself.
Click here to see these 660 books.

Possible Alternatives & Extensions To Book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.(ZMM).

The Books Suggested Below Are Good Reading Plus They Will Support and or Extend Your Understanding of the Ideas That Robert Pirsig Wrote Into His Book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

This page offers "comparable" books so you may learn more about the general topics covered in ZMM.

AND .... For those persons who have considerable reservations re ZMM, I offer this collection of "Alternates and Extensions" to ZMM. This page is dedicated to USCA Professor Donald Blount who firmly believes only two authors, Shakespeare and Cervantes, are worthy of designation "Classic". Thus. in his judgment, ZMM can hardly be worth any consideration! This of course (for him and like minded people) leaves ZMM "out of the running". He has promised an essay supporting his opinions. While you await his essay, here is much good reading on topics related to ZMM.

The following books are found in ZMM itself, from author Pirsig ,and the suggestions of my personal friends as well as the suggestions readers on the World Wide Web including the reviewers of ZMM on Amazon.com. Of course many additional ZMM alternatives/extensions may be found on various "Best Books Lists". See for examples:] http://www.usca.edu/math/~mathdept/hsg/ZMMFindSiteInfo.html#BestBooks

"Lila", the sequel to Pirsig's ZMM Must Be Mentioned First, And Of Course, the Book "Lila" Has Its Own Book Mentions, Not Pursued Here.

Concerning the Creative Force Called LILA, Answers.com says:

"Inside of the sleeping Hindu (see Hinduism entries) god Viṣṇu (see Viṣṇu), the Goddess (see Devī, Lakṣmī) is the world contained within him waiting to be created. In creation she is Māyā (see Māyā) or the illusion of reality. That is to say, she becomes Lila or “divine play,” divine illusion in the created world." More (including Wikipedia) at

The Following Numbered Items Are Actually Mentioned In ZMM Book Itself.

3) The ZMM Narrator Discusses At Length An Abbreviated History Of Western Philosophy. This Is Done So As To Introduce and Lay Ground Word For His Own Meta Physics of Quality (MOQ),

Philosophical authors mention, or just named, include: Socrates, Plato (Platonist), Aristotle (Aristotelian), St. Thomas Aquinas, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, Bradley, Bosanquet, Whitehead, and Jules Henri Poincaré (also astronomer, physicist, & mathematician.) plus astronomer Copernicus (Each of these can be well studied at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents .)
Of the authors mentioned above, the following have the most mention in ZMM: Aristotle , David Hume ("A Treaties On Human Nature"), Immanuel Kant, ("The Critique of Pure Reason" = "Greatest philosophical treatises ever written"), Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel ("The Science of Logic,") Although ZMM is known to be many kinds of books, we see these mentioned authors clearly show ZMM is a philosophy treaties. Indeed word philosopher (or philosophic) is used 106 times in ZMM! The word Quality is used 471 times.

4) Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam By Omar Khayyam

C) The ZMM Narrator the University of Chicago's "Great Books Program" Is Mentioned In ZMM, Pages 308 - 324. He Also Says Phaedrus " .....was there solely to write a Great Book of his own."!! .

The ZMM Narrator Mentions favorably UC's Innovative Educational Reforms Which Eventually Lead To the Creation of The Great Books. On page 309 he says: "The work of Aquinas and of the Greeks, as interpreted by Aquinas, was to Adler the capstone of the Western intellectual heritage. Therefore they provided a measuring rod for anyone seeking the good books. ..... man is counted a rational animal, capable of seeking and defining the good life and achieving it. When this "first principle" about the nature of man was accepted by the president of the University of Chicago, it was inevitable that it would have educational repercussions. ..... .

Since the ZMM Narrator mentions how The Great Books Program fostered Quality in the study of man, we deduce he supports the contents of these books. The story of Phaedrus Going to U. C., and why. starts on p 302.

 Here is history and an example list of 137 Great Books by Mortimer Adler and VanDoren. 

End "Books Mentioned In ZMM". Continue with "Alternates & Extensions" below.

Robert Pirsig's ZMM discusses how to teach good writing, and how to support the creative process. And because of this emphasis, author Pirsig has stated that "he better be damed sure" his book was good writing!! I and many others believe he was quite successful at this. Indeed ZMM is used as a text in university writing courses around the world! I was able to find 16 universities where ZMM is used in writing courses. To see these use the Edit > Find [write] at the top of
http://ww2.usca.edu/ResearchProjects/ProfessorGurr/index.php/Documents/ZmmAmpUniversity

Other Books on the writing process.

See Amazon.com for more info and for "View Inside the Book".

"The Elements of Style" by William Strunk and E. B. White
Strunk and White's book reviewed by New York Times: "Buy it, study it, enjoy it. It's as timeless as a book can be in our age of volubility".

Those who need help on writing might take a university writing course or get editing help.

http://www.firstediting.com/

Learn More About Robert Pirsig's Book "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance at:

How To Avoid Potential Frustration In Reading ZMM.
Why Some Readers Are Frustrated, Bitter, & Negative About ZMM.
ZMM Helps University Students Learn Apply Science & Other Forms of Knowledge.

So for those persons who have considerable reservations re ZMM, I offer this collection of "Alternates and Extensions" to ZMM. This page is dedicated to USCA Professor Donald Blount who firmly believes only two authors, Shakespeare and Cervantes, are worthy of designation "Classic". Thus. in his judgment, ZMM can hardly be worth any consideration! This of course (for him and like minded people) leaves ZMM "out of the running". He has promised an essay supporting his opinions. While you await his essay, here is much good reading on topics related to ZMM.

Possible Alternatives To & Extensions From, Book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.(ZMM).

The Books Suggested Below Are Good Reading Plus They Will Support and or Extend Your Understanding of the Ideas That Robert Pirsig Wrote Into His ZMM.

 So for those persons who have considerable reservations re ZMM, I offer this collection of "Alternates and Extensions" to ZMM. This page is dedicated to USCA Professor Donald Blount who firmly believes only two authors, Shakespeare and Cervantes, are worthy of designation "Classic". Thus. in his judgment, ZMM can hardly be worth any consideration! This of course (for him and like minded people) leaves ZMM "out of the running". He has promised an essay supporting his opinions. While you await his essay, here is much good reading on topics related to ZMM.  

The following books are the suggestions of my personal friends as well as the suggestions readers on the World Wide Web. Of course many additional ZMM alternatives/extensions may be found on various "Best Books Lists". See for examples:] http://www.usca.edu/math/~mathdept/hsg/ZMMFindSiteInfo.html#BestBooks
See also
http://www.religiousworlds.com/taoism/ttc-list.html

"Lila", the sequel to Pirsig's ZMM Must Be Mentioned First.

ZMM raised many objections and questions, which Pirsig answers in his second book, "Lila". Written in the same manner as ZMM, "Lila" follows the trail of Phaedrus along the Erie Canal, down the Hudson River to New York City, and on to the expansive freedom of the Atlantic Ocean. See explanation at:
http://www.answers.com/topic/lila-an-inquiry-into-morals

Concerning the Creative Force Called Lila, Answers.com says: "Inside of the sleeping Hindu (see Hinduism entries) god Viṣṇu (see Viṣṇu), the Goddess (see Devī, Lakṣmī) is the world contained within him waiting to be created. In creation she is Māyā (see Māyā) or the illusion of reality. That is to say, she becomes Lila or “divine play,” divine illusion in the created world." More (including Wikipedia) at

http://www.answers.com/topic/lila-1

The Following Are Actually Mentioned In ZMM Book Itself.

1) The Tao Te Ching By Lao Tzu: Any one who plans to read ZMM should read the The Tao Te Ching !!

[On ZMM page 226 Phaedrus quotes extensively from the The Tao Te Ching. He discusses how close his own analysis of Quality matches that of the The Tao Te Ching. In describing the meaning of the The Tao, The following passage, actually does a great job in describing what ZMM is all about, as well as explaining Lao Tzu's ancient book of wisdom.]

"The Tao Te Ching, the esoteric but infinitely practical book written most probably in the sixth century B.C. by Lao Tsu, has been translated more frequently than any work except the Bible. This translation of the Chinese classic, which was first published twenty-five years ago, has sold more copies than any of the others. It offers the essence of each word and make Lao Tsu’s teaching Immediate and alive. " The above passages were taken from the back cover of: Tao de Ching: 25th Anniversary Edition. See link below.
Those that that already have read ZMM, should also read Lao Tzu!! Here is a good place to start:

[On ZMM page 36, the Narrator mentions the three books with them on the trip as follows:]
"Books. I don’t know of any other cyclist who takes books with him. They take a lot of space, but I have three of them here anyway, with some loose sheets of paper in them for writing. These are:"
1. "The shop manual for this cycle. 2. A general troubleshooting guide containing all the technical information I can never keep in my head. This is Chilton’s Motorcycle Troubleshooting Guide written by Ocee Rich and sold by Sears, Roebuck. 3. A copy of Thoreau’s Walden . . . which Chris has never heard and which can be read a hundred times without exhaustion. I try always to pick a book far over his head and read it as a basis for questions and answers, rather than without interruption. I read a sentence or two, wait for him to come up with his usual barrage of questions, answer them, then read another sentence or two. Classics read well this way. They must be written this way. Sometimes we have spent a whole evening reading and talking and discovered we have only covered two or three pages. It’s a form of reading done a century ago . . when Chautauquas were popular. Unless you’ve tried it you can’t imagine how pleasant it is to do it this way.]

2-cont.) Walden Pond by Henry David Thoreau:

[In the Amazon.com reviews of the ZMM book, Mr. D. Waldrep pointed out the parallels between ZMM and Walden as follows:] ...... And if ZMM isn't a sequel to Walden, I don't know what else it could be. Pirsig invokes Thoreau, who used an extremely similar technique, early on. Pirsig, in one of my favorite parts, elucidates in a VERY tedious manner the various equipment he takes with him on the road, and I couldn't help but be reminded of Thoreau's bean-planting ventures in Walden (especially since Pirsig mentions how boring Thoreau can be right after he's gone on about his knapsack for 5 pages; it's called tongue-in-cheek humor). On the whole, though. ZMM is just too idealistic, yet again just like Thoreau. Editing by HSG.

2-cont.) A Review: Walden, What Is It?

2-cont) Chilton’s Motorcycle Troubleshooting Guide written by Ocee Rich.

[See second & third items down, in this list of Chilton's for every possible vehicle!!]
http://www.alibris.com/books/isbns/2529

2-cont) Motorcycle Repair Manual For Your Specific Cycle or Car or Truck.

[Powell's has 69 Cycle Manuals for seemingly every possible vehicle!! Hit "next" for 25 more results.]
http://www.powells.com/s?kw=Motorcycle+Repair+Manual&x=26&y=15

ZMM Is "A General Trouble-Shooting & Problem-Solving Guide.

[Here are WebPages that echo ZMM. Let me know if you know of others.]
http://www.directron.com/strategy.html
hydraulics.eaton.com/products/pdfs/694.pdf
[[ http://hydraulics.eaton.com/products/pdfs/694.pdf

 | Hydraulic Hints & Trouble Shooting Guide General Product Support (PDF File)]]

[On ZMM page 271 the Narrator, seeing a Persian-like desert cliff above them, is reminded of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. He is thus is inspired to recite several verses however much to Chris's dismay! May we conclude that this 1000 year old Persian poem has some of the same messages as ZMM? Here, excerpted from the much longer poem, are the several passages that appear in ZMM:]

For the entire poem and commentary,

 see http://www.therubaiyat.com/fitzindex.htm

[Mr. Pirsig Recommends These Two Books As Key Influences In Writing His Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Robert Pirsig stated: "For those who would like more information about this "Conceptually Unknown" than I can give today there is a valuable book called Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel from which I derived the title for my own first book. When the Zen Archer refers to an "it" that shoots the arrow he is referring to what I mean by Dynamic Quality. For those who prefer to stay more within the confines of Western analytical thought there is a book by Prof. F.S.C. Northrop of Yale University called The Meeting of East and West. It is the book that really started me on this philosophic quest that has now lasted 47 years."

A-cont) A Review of The Meeting of East and West,

A-cont) My Review of The Meeting of East and West by Henry Gurr = ZMMQ Web Master is at

B) Somewhere Pirsig Mentions How He Was Influenced By The Book Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel, Daisetz T. Suzuki.

B-cont) Another Review of Zen in the Art of Archery at Amazon.com

B-cont) A Third review of Zen in the Art of Archery Review: From Audio File

C) The ZMM Narrator the University of Chicago's "Great Books Program" Is Mentioned In ZMM, Pages 309 - 324..

The ZMM Narrator Mentions favorably UC's innovative Great Books: "The work of Aquinas and of the Greeks, as interpreted by Aquinas, was to Adler the capstone of the Western intellectual heritage. Therefore they provided a measuring rod for anyone seeking the good books. ..... man is counted a rational animal, capable of seeking and defining the good life and achieving it. When this "first principle" about the nature of man was accepted by the president of the University of Chicago, it was inevitable that it would have educational repercussions. ..... .
Adler and Hutchins were concerned fundamentally with the "oughts" of life, with values, with Quality and with the foundations of Quality in theoretical philosophy. Thus they had apparently been traveling in the same direction as Phædrus ...... "
Since the ZMM Narrator mentions how The Great Books Program fostered Quality in the study of man, we deduce he supports the contents of these books. Here is history and an example list of 137 Great Books by Mortimer Adler and VanDoren.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Books
End books mentioned in ZMM. Continue with "Alternates & Extensions" below.

George Steiner, The New Yorker, In Discussing ZMM, Points To Moby Dick As Being a Comparable Book to ZMM.

D) Moby Dick. Book Description.

D-cont) Moby Dick The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

D-cont) Moby Dick by Herman Melville. A Searchable Online Version: Has Author Information:

The Following Are Regularly Mentioned, With ZMM, as a Popular Story Based Philosophy Book. (I Include Three Reviews.)

"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" (ZMM) Is a Writers Book!

ZMM discusses how to teach good writing, and how to support the creative process. Robert Pirsig, author of ZMM did his very best to be sure his book was good writing and I believe he was successful. Indeed ZMM is used as a text in university writing courses around the world! For universities where ZMM is used in writing courses see ..........

"The Elements of Style" by William Strunk and E. B. White

"The Making of Truth" by Theodore L. Brown

"Science As Writing" by David Locke (1992)

Following Are Suggestions Of Good Alternatives Collected From the ZMM Book Reviews On Amazon.com. The Books Mentioned Are Stated To Be Valuable, Interesting, and Cover similar subjects to ZMM.

Other resources available in the Menu at top left:

ZMM In the University
ZMM In Teaching And Dearning
ZMM Reviews on Amazon.Com

END

life and what you are about. You will be a better person after reading them.]

"The Tao Te Ching, the esoteric but infinitely practical book written most probably in the sixth century B.C. by Lao Tsu, has been translated more frequently than any work except the Bible. This translation of the Chinese classic, which was first published twenty-five years ago, has sold more copies than any of the others. It offers the essence of each word and make Lao Tsu’s teaching Immediate and alive. "The above passages were taken from the back cover of: Tao de Ching: 25th Anniversary Edition.

The Following Is Regularly Mentioned, With ZMM, as a Popular Story Based Philosophy Book. (I Include Three Reviews.)

''The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Steven Covey

Editorial Reviews Amazon.com.
Powerful Lessons in Personal Change was a groundbreaker when it was first published in 1990, and it continues to be a business bestseller with more than 10 million copies sold. [Recent figure is over 15 Million.] Stephen Covey, an internationally respected leadership authority, realizes that true success encompasses a balance of personal and professional effectiveness, so this book is a manual for performing better in both arenas. His anecdotes are as frequently from family situations as from business challenges.
Before you can adopt the seven habits, you'll need to accomplish what Covey calls a "paradigm shift"--a change in perception and interpretation of how the world works. Covey takes you through this change, which affects how you perceive and act regarding productivity, time management, positive thinking, developing your "proactive muscles" (acting with initiative rather than reacting), and much more.
This isn't a quick-tips-start-tomorrow kind of book. The concepts are sometimes intricate, and you'll want to study this book, not skim it. When you finish, you'll probably have Post-it notes or hand-written annotations in every chapter, and you'll feel like you've taken a powerful seminar by Covey. --Joan Price --

'The Knowledge-Creating Company, by Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi, .

Following Are Suggestions Of Good Alternatives are From the ZMM Book Reviews On Amazon.com. The Books Mentioned Are Stated To Be Valuable, Interesting, and Cover similar subjects to ZMM.

"Zen etc." is a haunting, quintessentially American jewel of insight, reflection and expression. It ranks alongside James Agee's and Walker Evans' "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men" in the richness of its subject and its defiance of easy categorization.

But In Actual Fact Books Suggested Below Really Are Good Reading To Extend Your Appreciation of ZMM.

[USCA Professor Donald Blount believes only two authors, Shakespeare and Cervantes, are worthy of designation "Classic". Therefore by comparison, in his judgment, ZMM can hardly be worth any consideration. So for those persons who have likewise have considerable reservations, I offer this collection of Alternatives to ZMM.]

[The following books are the suggestions of my personal friends as well as the suggestions readers on the World Wide Web. Of course many additional ZMM alternatives may be found on various "Best Books Lists". See for examples:] http://www.usca.edu/math/~mathdept/hsg/ZMMFindSiteInfo.html#BestBooks See also http://www.religiousworlds.com/taoism/ttc-list.html

[On ZMM page 226 Phaedrus quotes extensively from the The Tao Te Ching. He discusses how close his own analysis of Quality matches that of the The Tao Te Ching. In describing the meaning of the The Tao, The following passage, actually does a great job in describing what ZMM is all about as well. Any one who plans to read ZMM (and those that have) should read the The Tao Te Ching !!]

"The philosophy of Lao Tsu is simple: Accept what is in front of you without wanting the situation to be other than it is, Study the natural order of things and work with it rather than against it, for to try to change what is only sets up resistance. Nature provides everything without requiring payment or thanks and also provides for all without discrimination—therefore let us present the same face to everyone and treat all men as equals, however they may behave. If we watch carefully, we will see that work proceeds more quickly and easily if we stop "trying," if we stop putting in so much extra effort, if we stop looking for results. In the clarity of a still and open mind, truth will be reflected. We will come to appreciate the original meaning of the word "understand," which means to stand under" We serve whatever or whoever stands before us, without any thought for ourselves. Te—which may be translated as “virtue” or "strength"—lies always In Tao, or "natural law." In other words: Simply be."
"The Tao Te Ching, the esoteric but infinitely practical book written most probably in the sixth century B.C. by Lao Tsu, has been translated more frequently than any work except the Bible. This translation of the Chinese classic, which was first published twenty-five years ago, has sold more copies than any of the others. It offers the essence of each word and make Lao Tsu’s teaching Immediate and alive. "The above passages were taken from the back cover of: Tao de Ching: 25th Anniversary Edition.

[On ZMM page 36, the Narrator mentions the three books with them on the trip: "Books. I don’t know of any other cyclist who takes books with him. They take a lot of space, but I have three of them here anyway, with some loose sheets of paper in them for writing. These are: ]
1. The shop manual for this cycle. 2. A general troubleshooting guide containing all the technical information I can never keep in my head. This is Chilton’s Motorcycle Troubleshooting Guide written by Ocee Rich and sold by Sears, Roebuck. 3. A copy of Thoreau’s Walden . . . which Chris has never heard and which can be read a hundred times without exhaustion. I try always to pick a book far over his head and read it as a basis for questions and answers, rather than without interruption. I read a sentence or two, wait for him to come up with his usual barrage of questions, answer them, then read another sentence or two. Classics read well this way. They must be written this way. Sometimes we have spent a whole evening reading and talking and discovered we have only covered two or three pages. It’s a form of reading done a century ago . . when Chautauquas were popular. Unless you’ve tried it you can’t imagine how pleasant it is to do it this way.]

2 cont.) Walden Pond by Henry David Thoreau:

[In the Amazon.com reviews of the ZMM book, Mr. D. Waldrep pointed out the parallels he saw between ZMM and Walden as follows: ...... And if ZMM isn't a sequel to Walden, I don't know what else it could be. Pirsig invokes Thoreau, who used an extremely similar technique, early on. Pirsig, in one of my favorite parts, elucidates in a VERY tedious manner the various equipment he takes with him on the road, and I couldn't help but be reminded of Thoreau's bean-planting ventures in Walden (especially since Pirsig mentions how boring Thoreau can be right after he's gone on about his knapsack for 5 pages; it's called tongue-in-cheek humor). On the whole, though. ZMM is just too idealistic, yet again just like Thoreau. Editing by HSG.

2 cont.) A Review: Walden, What Is It?

Is it a book on nature, a book on ecology, a book on human nature, a prescient description of the struggle between modern civilization and the land that nurtured it, a critique of mankind, a string of quotable gems, an account of a mind, or, like Star Wars, a way of slipping a deep and human spirituality into someone else's mind without their recognizing it? It depends on who is doing the reading and when. Read it for any of these purposes, and it will not disappoint. If you've never read it, read it. If you read it for class years ago and hated it, read it again. This may be the most subtle, multi-layered and carefully worked piece of literature you'll ever find. By keeping the down-to-earth tone (no doubt in reaction to the high-flying prose of his friend, R. W. Emerson) Thoreau pulls a Columbo, and fools us into thinking he's writing simply about observing nature, living in a cabin, or sounding a pond. Somehow by the end of Walden, however, you may find it is your self he has sounded. People have accused Thoreau of despising mankind, but read deeper and you will discover he loved people well enough to chide us, show us our faults (admitting he's as bad as the worst of us), and give to all of us this wonderful gift, a book you could base your life on. There is more day to dawn, he reminds us at the end: the sun is but a morning star.

[On ZMM page 271 the Narrator, seeing a Persian-like desert cliff above them, is reminded of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and attempts to recite several verses. May we conclude that this 1000 year old poem has some of the same messages as ZMM? Here, excerpted from the much longer poem, are the several passages that appear in ZMM:]

The Following Two Alternatives to ZMM Are Mentioned by ZMM Author Pirsig In His Talk: Subjects, Objects, Data and Values.

Mr. Pirsig Recommends These Two Books As Key Influences In Writing His Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Robert Pirsig stated: "For those who would like more information about this "Conceptually Unknown" than I can give today there is a valuable book called Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel from which I derived the title for my own first book. When the Zen Archer refers to an "it" that shoots the arrow he is referring to what I mean by Dynamic Quality. For those who prefer to stay more within the confines of Western analytical thought there is a book by Prof. F.S.C. Northrop of Yale University called The Meeting of East and West. It is the book that really started me on this philosophic quest that has now lasted 47 years."

A) The Meeting of East and West, by F. S. C. Northrop, Is Suggested By Pirsig in ZMM.

[On ZMM page 108, the Narrator says: "The difference is that the classic reality is primarily theoretic but has its own esthetics too. The romantic reality is primarily esthetic, but has its theory too. The theoretic and esthetic split is between components of a single world. The classic and romantic split is between two separate worlds. The philosophy book, which is called The Meeting of East and West, by F. S. C. Northrop, suggests that greater cognizance be made of the "undifferentiated aesthetic continuum" from which the theoretic arises."]
http://www.virtualschool.edu/mon/Quality/PirsigZen/part2.html

A) Continued: Review: The Meeting of East and West,

This is one of those truly great books that slaps your mind awake, offering you a completely new world view and interpretation of intellectual history. This book is partially responsible for my choice to study for a PhD in philosophy. It was a life-changer for me and is especially relevant now with its novel, and I believe, accurate understanding of Mexican culture. A monumental work!

A) Continued: For My (i.e. Web Master's) Review of The Meeting of East and West go to

B) Continued: B) Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel, Daisetz T. Suzuki.

Zen in the Art of Archery (ISBN 0679722971) is a book written by Eugen Herrigel in 1953. This was one of the first books to introduce Zen to westerners, and still one of the best for taking the practical route rather than the contemplative. He describes Zen in archery as follows: "The archer ceases to be conscious of himself as the one who is engaged in hitting the bull's-eye which confronts him. This state of unconscious is realized only when, completely empty and rid of the self, he becomes one with the perfecting of his technical skill, though there is in it something of a quite different order which cannot be attained by any progressive study of the art..."

B) Continued: Editorial Reviews Zen in the Art of Archery Amazon.com

So many books have been written about the meditation side of Zen and the everyday, chop wood/carry water side of Zen. But few books have approached Zen the way that most Japanese actually do--through ritualized arts of discipline and beauty--and perhaps that is why Eugen Herrigel's Zen in the Art of Archery is still popular so long after it first publication in 1953. Herrigel, a philosophy professor, spent six years studying archery and flower-arranging in Japan, practicing every day, and struggling with foreign notions such as "eyes that hear and ears that see." In a short, pithy narrative, he brings the heart of Zen to perfect clarity--intuition, imitation, practice, practice, practice, then, boom, wondrous spontaneity fusing self and art, mind, body, and spirit. Herrigel writes with an attention to subtle profundity and relates it with a simple artistry that itself carries the signature of Zen. --By Brian Bruya

B) Continued: Zen in the Art of Archery Review: From Audio File

There's more to archery than you think, according to this compact audio, which is based on a 1953 book by a German philosophy professor. His philosophical work addresses intention and personal integration, and the importance of the unconscious in dealing with life's realities. The program's lessons are so broad and practical that you don't have to be attracted to Zen or archery to be thoroughly transported by what's expressed through the teacher-student dialogue. Selecting reader Ralph Blum was a great way to resurrect the ideas in this rich and satisfying book. His academic tone inspires respect and makes the
ideas even more intriguing. T. W. © Audio File
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375705090/104-5936441-9895138?v=glance&n=283155

George Steiner, The New Yorker, In Discussing ZMM, Points To Moby Dick As Being a Comparable Book.

"It [ZMM] lodges in the mind as few recent novels have...The book is inspired, original...the narrative tact, the perfect economy of effect defy criticism. The analogies with "Moby Dick" are patent. Robert Pirsig invites the prodigious comparison. What more can one say?" Entire Steiner Review Here:
http://www.mrbauld.com/steiner.html

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0553277472/104-5936441-9895138

Because of Steiner's Great Recommendation, I Include the Following Moby Dick Reviews.

Moby Dick. Book Description.

No American masterpiece casts quite as awesome a shadow as Melville's monumental Moby Dick. Mad Captain Ahab's quest for the White Whale is a timeless epic--a stirring tragedy of vengeance and obsession, a searing parable about humanity lost in a universe of moral ambiguity. It is the greatest sea story ever told. Far ahead of its own time, Moby Dick was largely misunderstood and unappreciated by Melville's contemporaries. Today, however, it is indisputably a classic. As D.H. Lawrence wrote, Moby Dick "commands a stillness in the soul, an awe . . . [It is] one of the strangest and most wonderful books in the world."

(in full Moby-Dick; or, The Whale) Novel by Herman Melville, published in London in October 1851 and published a month later in the United States. Moby-Dick is generally regarded as its author's masterpiece and one of the greatest American novels. The basic plot of Moby-Dick is simple. The narrator (who asks to be called "Ishmael") tells of the last voyage of the ship Pequod out of New Bedford, Mass. Captain Ahab is obsessed with the pursuit of the white whale Moby-Dick, which finally kills him. On that level, the work is an intense, superbly authentic narrative. Its theme and central figure, however, are reminiscent of Job in his search for justice and of Oedipus in his search for truth. The novel's richly symbolic language and tragic hero are indicative of Melville's deeper concerns: the equivocal defeats and triumphs of the human spirit and its fusion of creative and murderous urges.

Essay Novel Reality by David L Thomas Recommends Several More Books, Which Like ZMM, Are Philosophy Discourse Presented In the Framework of a Novel.

"But why did Mr. Pirsig spent years crafting a compelling metaphysical theory then disguised it as [two] novels published over 15 years apart? Fiction has a long history of seriously discussing important issues. One only has to scratch fiction's surface to recall Swift's Gulliver's Travels, Orwell's 1984 or the plays and satire of Voltaire. The publishing of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's 1962 novel "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovic"h is said to have played a significant role in starting the process that led to the recent break up of the Soviet Union. If the following quotes [on web page] are any indication, current novelists also feel their fictions contain strong truths."

Gulliver's Travels (1726, amended 1735) is a novel by Jonathan Swift that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of the "Travellers' tales" literary sub-genre. Swift's masterpiece is his most celebrated work and one of the indisputable classics of the English language.
The book was tremendously popular immediately after it was published (Alexander Pope stated that "it is universally read, from the cabinet council to the nursery") and it is likely that it has never been out of print since then. George Orwell declared it amongst the six most indispensable books in world literature. It is claimed the inspiration for Gulliver came from the sleeping giant profile of the Cavehill in Belfast.

Nineteen Eighty-Four is an allegorical political novel written by George Orwell. The story takes place in a nightmarish dystopia where the omnipresent State enforces perfect conformity among members of a totalitarian Party through indoctrination, propaganda, fear, and ruthless punishment. The novel introduced the concepts of the ever-present, all- seeing Big Brother, Room 101, the Thought Police, and the bureaucrats' and politicians' language of control, Newspeak. The novel was successful in terms of sales, and has remained one of the most influential books of the 20th century.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is a novel by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, set in a Soviet work camp in the 1950s. The novel describes a single day for Ivan Denisovich, more commonly referred to as Shukhov. Ivan Denisovich was first published under the Russian title of Odin den Ivana Denisovicha in 1962. Although it is widely available in book form today, it was originally published in the Soviet literary magazine Novy Mir in November, 1962. The novel was originally written in Russian, so it should be noted that any English copy is a translation. At least four English translations have been made.

[ Mr. Thomas in his essay Novel Reality , mentioned above, could have added Sophie's World in
his examples of books that are really philosophy discourse presented as a novel.]
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~djmp/SophiesWorld.html -

This long, dense novel, a bestseller in the author's native Norway, offers a summary history of philosophy embedded in a philosophical mystery disguised as a children's book-but only sophisticated young adults would be remotely interested. Sophie Amundsen is about to turn 15 when she receives a letter from one Alberto Knox, a philosopher who undertakes to educate her in his craft. Sections in which we read the text of Knox's lessons to Sophie about the pre-Socratics, Plato and St. Augustine alternate with those in which we find out about Sophie's life with her well-meaning mother. Soon, though, Sophie begins receiving other, stranger missives addressed to one Hilde Moller Knag from her absent father, Albert. As Alberto Knox's lessons approach this century, he and Sophie come to suspect that they are merely characters in a novel written by Albert for his daughter. Teacher and pupil hatch a plot to understand and possibly escape from their situation; and from there, matters get only weirder. Norwegian philosophy professor Gaarder's notion of making a history of philosophy accessible is a good one. Unfortunately, it's occasionally undermined by the dry language he uses to describe the works of various thinkers and by an idiosyncratic bias that gives one paragraph to Nietzsche but dozens to Sartre, breezing right by Wittgenstein and the most influential philosophy of this century, logical positivism. Many readers, regardless of their age, may be tempted to skip over the lessons, which aren't well integrated with the more interesting and unusual metafictional story line. Author tour. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Wanting to understand the most fundamental questions of the universe isn't the province of ivory-tower intellectuals alone, as this book's enormous popularity has demonstrated. A young girl, Sophie, becomes embroiled in a discussion of philosophy with a faceless correspondent. At the same time, she must unravel a mystery involving another young girl, Hilde, by using everything she's learning. The truth is far more complicated than she could ever have imagined.

[These, like ZMM, are thought provoking books that will make you think about your
live and what you are about.]

"Most gulls don't bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight--how to get from shore to food and back again," writes author Richard Bach in this allegory about a unique bird named Jonathan Livingston Seagull. "For most gulls it is not flying that matters, but eating. For this gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight." Flight is indeed the metaphor that makes the story soar. Ultimately this is a fable about the importance of seeking a higher purpose in life, even if your flock, tribe, or neighborhood finds your ambition threatening. (At one point our beloved gull is even banished from his flock.) By not compromising his higher vision, Jonathan gets the ultimate payoff: transcendence. Ultimately, he learns the meaning of love and kindness. The dreamy seagull photographs by Russell Munson provide just the right illustrations--although the overall packaging does seem a bit dated (keep in mind that it was first published in 1970). Nonetheless, this is a spirituality classic, and an especially engaging parable for adolescents. --Gail Hudson

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a bird who teaches us how to follow our dreams and reach our goals, no matter what anyone else might think. Jonathan is a seagull who wants to master the art of flying, even though his flock has told him many times that all seagulls should concentrate on is getting food. Jonathan has tried to be a "good gull," but he cannot quell his urge to fly. Richard Bach reads this fable in a calm voice that sounds like a blowing wind. When there's fighting among the gulls, the tone of his voice reflects that

Anne Morrow Lindbergh's lyrical words are still relevant and presage so many of the themes of today's most popular books: simplicity, peaceful solitude, caring for the soul, a woman finding her place in society and life. I heard that the woman who had lived in the cabin had actually passed away some time before. Thank you, Eve, for your gift... from the sea.

A modern-day classic. Gift from the Sea is like a shell itself in its small and perfect form . . . It tells of light and life and love and the security that lies at the heart."--New York Times Book Review.

Twenty years after it topped the bestseller charts, Douglas R. Hofstadter's "Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid" is still something of a marvel. Besides being a profound and entertaining meditation on human thought and creativity, this book looks at the surprising points of contact between the music of Bach, the artwork of Escher, and the mathematics of Gödel. It also looks at the prospects for computers and artificial intelligence (AI) for mimicking human thought. For the general reader and the computer techie alike, this book still sets a standard for thinking about the future of computers and their relation to the way we think.

The Knowledge-Creating Company, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi, .

"We found it the book most frequently cited by practicing managers. It offers a good blend of theory (distinguishing tact and explicit knowledge, describing knowledge conversion processes and the knowledge-creating spiral) and practical examples including innovation at Matushita, Canon and Honda. The seminal book on the subject."

"Let it be clear that I am commenting on "The Pilgrim's Progress" as literature, indeed, as great literature. The religious content of the book is plain in any version. From Bunyan, it is a plain-spoken tale effectively told by a plain-spoken and popular preacher. Bunyan's book, though, is far from being the touchy-feely, ecumenically-friendly thing that the modernized versions might suggest. After all, Bunyan managed to get himself into hot legal water in 1658 when the Puritan-dominated English Republic was in power and then again when the Anglican-dominated Restoration of Charles II came along."

Web Page Asks: What Is the Most Important Work of Philosophy To Be Written In the Last Fifty Years? Answer Suggests Several More Books:

Ask a panel of experts and you'll probably be told it's something like Rawls's Theory of Justice , Mac Intyre's After Virtue , or Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, all books the average person in the street has never heard of. Jo Public is most likely to remember an international bestseller: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values by Robert M Pirsig, published in 1974.

Other people, coming from different religious traditions or inspired by such writers as Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Albert Schweitzer, recognize an invisible bond between themselves and the physical world--a universal stream of inner vitality they may label "spiritual." Their experience of being "in unity with nature" isn't mere aesthetic appreciation; it is a profound recognition that humankind and the Earth share a common lifeblood, a common pulse, and a common destiny. Whatever the origins of our Earth-consciousness, we can explore and nurture it by intimate contact with nature herself:

See http://www.worldtrans.org/whole/wsquotes.html

Following Are Suggestions Of Good Alternatives are From the ZMM Book Reviews On Amazon.com. The Books Mentioned Are Stated To Be Their Reasons Interesting and Cover similar subjects to ZMM.

Ajai Narendran_ (Amrita Institutions) -
I'm just reminded of a brilliant short story "Inside and Outside" by Hermman Hesse that gives immense insight into the sprit lurking within ZAAMM!

J. A. Geary "jageary"_ (Lakeland, FL USA)
"Zen etc." is a haunting, quintessentially American jewel of insight, reflection and expression. It ranks alongside James Agee's and Walker Evans' "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men" in the richness of its subject and its defiance of easy categorization.

Fire Captain_ (New York City) -
Another book which I truly appreciate is by Ariel & Shya Kane called "Working On Yourself Doesn't Work." The Kanes' book is a classic one that guides you in creating an easy, fulfilling and rich life. The Kanes' also have some great audio tapes available such as Magical Relationships, which bring the listener right into one of their inspiring and fun seminars.

Prof Sir Harvey Crichton_ (London, England) -
It [ZMM] did change my life. I grew up to be a Philosophy Professor and know a few school fellows who went mentally ill. Utterly relevant wonderful journey of insight, freedom of the human soul. ...... I'm shocked at some of the middle of the road views on this book. Ignore them. I mean it. It's a really special book to make top critical acclaim and be a underground classic and something that a BA Philosophy graduate would cherish. I read it pre degree. A RARE book. It is a genuine modern classic. in the first class sense. I can think of stuff like Wilde`s "The Happy Prince" or something equally inspiring and beautiful... It has the same kind of greatness and depth to it and beauty and wisdom and all rolled into one ...... Also, the travel journal parts of the story are enjoyable in the same way as another traveler's writing--William Least-Heat Moon's "Blue Highways."

colin malone_ (Denton, TX, USA)
I just wanted to say that although this book is a work of great importance and genius on its own, and can be very valuable without any knowledge of zen, an understanding of some zen principles can bring on a whole new level of comprehension of the book (and no, you don't have to be a Buddhist for this to help). A good place to start is with the writings of D. T. Suzuki. Although his writings are many years old now, the language is timeless, and his simple, reverent style is very readable. Read his Introduction to Zen, and then read this book again. You'll be amazed at what you missed the first time around.

Reviewer: A Reader
[ZMM Is] Good book. This book taught me to "pay attention when life goes awry." In some ways, this is a mysterious book because it is not so much fiction as it is the author's life. Not your average sort of book - it's wise, honest and solid. I also highly recommend "Open Your Mind, Open Your Life: A Little Book of Eastern Wisdom" by Taro Gold. Excellent.

Siddhartha Azad "http://www.ashtophoenix.com" (New York, NY, USA) - .
But if you are looking for a REAL philosophy, "The Gita" presents this idea most beautifully, building it upon the Veda and Sankhya philosophies.

Reviewer: A Reader
For a better search on 'what it all means' read Gregg Easterbrook's "Beside Still Waters", and for the fascination with our day to day lives, I prefer the first two Nicholson Baker novels. Nevertheless, I still highly recommend this book [ZMM]. The interspersion of the trip with Pirsig's study of values is quite well done.

Reviewer: A Reader.
But in contrast to most other philosophers, Pirsig writes a compelling story. And he is a true innovator in his attempt to popularize a reconciliation of Eastern mindfulness and nonrationalism with Western subject/object dualism. The magic of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance turns out to lie not in the answers it gives, but in the questions it raises and the way it raises them. Like a cross between "The Razor's Edge" and "Sophie's World", Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance takes us into "the high country of the mind" and opens our eyes to vistas of possibility.

jmk444'''"_ (Staten Island, New York USA) -
There are only a handful of books that have really changed the way I've looked at things; Jerzy Kosinski's "The Painted Bird", Victor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning', Julian Jayne's "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bi-Cameral Mind", Ludwig von Mises' Human Action' and Robert M. Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" (ZMM). Pirsig's book may be the most profound because it not only challenges, but re-labels our entire thought process, challenging many of our most deeply held values.

Reviewer: magellan (Santa Clara, CA) -
Didn't live up to my expectations. I'm sure this book [ZMM] did literally affect and change the lives of millions of people who read it and thought it was great, but then, they probably weren't that well read in philosophy so it was all new. ..... but I personally found it to be pretty thin gruel considering the book's amazingly stellar reputation. If you want to read a better book on eastern philosophy, I would recommend you try Alan Watt's The Book: "On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are". I never gave Watts his full due of respect back in the 60's and 70's, .....Well, looking back, that's perhaps too harsh an assessment, and I will say that Watt's book is an extremely well-written, concise, and clear introduction to "Vedantic" thought that is as relevant today as it was 35 years ago.

Reviewer Title: The Joy of Engagement!,
Perhaps the closest book to this one [ZMM] is Hermann Hesse's "Siddharta". At the same time, there is also a strong flavor of Zen and the Art of Archery. "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac covers some of the same intellectual and emotional territory. John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" considers some of the same questions of personal perspective. In terms of challenging the constrictions of society, there is also an element of "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit"''' . .... Ultimately, I felt uplifted by the high respect that Mr. Pirsig has for his readers. He takes us very seriously, thinks we are intelligent, and pays us the compliment of believing that we can learn to fundamentally change all of our perspectives and experiences.
After you finish this book (if you decide to read it), I suggest that you think about where you disengaged from the challenges, tasks, and people around you. Then, pick out one area and get deeply involved. As you master that one, take on another. And so on. Soon, you will have new and greater respect for yourself . . . and more rewarding relationships.
Get your hands dirty! ALL ZMM ENTHUSIASTS MUST TRY THIS LAST PARAGRAPH.

James Rose (London)
I would refer the reader to a much more rewarding philosophical journey, equally as good in exercising the mind, and one in which there is actually a significant philosophical outcome. Try "God, Science and the Cosmic Jigsaw" by Jonathan Kingsley. This provides a very thought-provoking bridge between science and religion.

kaia_espina'''"_ (Quezon City, Philippines)
I can find connections between the ideas in this novel and those in the essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson, "The parables of Kahlil Gibran", the poetry of T. S. Eliot, the books of the Bible, and other great spiritual or philosophical literature that generations have read and shared.

END

The Following Two Alternatives to ZMM Are Mentioned by ZMM Author Pirsig In His Talk: Subjects, Objects, Data and Values. Mr. Pirsig Recommends These Two Books As Key Influences In Writing His Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

B) Review: The Meeting of East and West,

B) For My (i.e. Web Master's) Review of The Meeting of East and West go to

A) Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel, Daisetz T. Suzuki.

Zen in the Art of Archery (ISBN 0679722971) is a book written by Eugen Herrigel in
1953. This was one of the first books to introduce Zen to westerners, and still one of the
best for taking the practical route rather than the contemplative. He describes Zen in
archery as follows: "The archer ceases to be conscious of himself as the one who is
engaged in hitting the bull's-eye which confronts him. This state of unconscious is
realized only when, completely empty and rid of the self, he becomes one with the
perfecting of his technical skill, though there is in it something of a quite different order
which cannot be attained by any progressive study of the art..."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_in_the_Art_of_Archery

This Web Page Whole Systems Quotes Offers Another Way To Discover Recommended Books and Authors.

Tao de Ching: 25th Anniversary Edition

http://www.virtualschool.edu/mon/Quality/PirsigZen/part2.html

"Conceptually Unknown" than I can give today there is a valuable book called ''Zen in
the Art of Archery'' by Eugen Herrigel from which I derived the title for my own first
book. When the Zen Archer refers to an "it" that shoots the arrow he is referring to what
I mean by Dynamic Quality. For those who prefer to stay more within the confines of
Western analytical thought there is a book by Prof. F.S.C. Northrop of Yale University
called The Meeting of East and West. It is the book that really started me on this
philosophic quest that has now lasted 47 years."

Also: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0918024110/104-5936441-9895138?v=glance&n=283155

Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel, Daisetz T. Suzuki.

Zen in the Art of Archery (ISBN 0679722971) is a book written by Eugen Herrigel in
1953. This was one of the first books to introduce Zen to westerners, and still one of the
best for taking the practical route rather than the contemplative. He describes Zen in
archery as follows: "The archer ceases to be conscious of himself as the one who is
engaged in hitting the bull's-eye which confronts him. This state of unconscious is
realized only when, completely empty and rid of the self, he becomes one with the
perfecting of his technical skill, though there is in it something of a quite different order
which cannot be attained by any progressive study of the art..."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_in_the_Art_of_Archery

For My (i.e. Web Master's) Review of The Meeting of East and West go to

Entire Steiner Review Here: http://www.mrbauld.com/steiner.html
Amazon reviews here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0553277472/104-5936441-9895138

Because of Steiner's Great Recommendation, I Include the Following Moby Dick Reviews.

Moby Dick Amazon.com Reviews.

http://www.online-literature.com/melville/mobydick/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Day_in_the_Life_of_Ivan_Denisovich

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0380012863/104-5936441-9895138?v=glance&n=283155

Audio File 2004, Portland, Maine--
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0380012863/104-5936441-9895138?v=glance&n=283155

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679732411/104-5936441-9895138?v=glance&n=283155

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679732411/104-5936441-9895138?v=glance&n=283155

Pilgrims Progress. Customer Review.

"Let it be clear that I am commenting on "The Pilgrim's Progress" as literature, indeed, as great literature. The religious content of the book is plain in any version. From Bunyan, it is a plain-spoken tale effectively told by a plain-spoken and popular preacher. Bunyan's book, though, is far from being the touchy-feely, ecumenically-friendly thing that the modernized versions might suggest. After all, Bunyan managed to get himself into hot legal water in 1658 when the Puritan-dominated English Republic was in power and then again when the Anglican-dominated Restoration of Charles II came along."
Pilgrims Progress. Customer Review.

"What Is the Most Important Work of Philosophy To Be Written In the Last Fifty Years?".

Web Page Asks
'What Is the Most Important Work of Philosophy To Be Written In the Last Fifty Years?'.
Answer Suggests Several More Books:

Revolutions'', all books the average person in the street has never heard of. Jo Public is

This Web Page Whole Systems Quotes Offers Another Way To

Possible Alternatives To Book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.(ZMM).

[[[USCA Professor Donald Blount believes only two authors, Shakespeare and
Cervantes, are worthy of designation "Classic". Therefore by comparison, in his
judgment, ZMM can hardly be worth any consideration. So for those persons who have
likewise have considerable reservations, I offer this collection of Alternatives to
ZMM.]]]

[[[The following books are the suggestions of my personal friends as well as the
suggestions readers on the World Wide Web. Of course many additional ZMM
alternatives may be found on various "Best Books Lists". See for examples:]]]
http://www.usca.edu/math/~mathdept/hsg/ZMMFindSiteInfo.html#BestBooks
See also http://www.religiousworlds.com/taoism/ttc-list.html

The Following Alternatives to ZMM Are Actually Mentioned In ZMM Book Itself.

1) The Tao Te Ching By Lao Tzu.

[[[On ZMM page 226 Phaedrus quotes extensively from the The Tao Te Ching. He
discusses how close his own analysis of Quality matches that of the The Tao Te Ching.
In describing the meaning of the The Tao, The following passage, actually does a great
job in describing what ZMM is all about as well.]]]

"The philosophy of Lao Tsu is simple: Accept what is in front of you without wanting the
situation to be other than it is, Study the natural order of things and work with it rather than
against it, for to try to change what is only sets up resistance. Nature provides everything without
requiring payment or thanks and also provides for all without discrimination—therefore let us
present the same face to everyone and treat all men as equals, however they may behave. If we
watch carefully, we will see that work proceeds more quickly and easily if we stop "trying," if
we stop putting in so much extra effort, if we stop looking for results. In the clarity of a still and
open mind, truth will be reflected. We will come to appreciate the original meaning of the word
"understand," which means to stand under" We serve whatever or whoever stands before us,
without any thought for ourselves. Te—which may be translated as “virtue” or "strength"—lies
always In Tao, or "natural law." In other words: Simply be."
"The Tao Te Ching, the esoteric but infinitely practical book written most probably
in the sixth century B.C. by Lao Tsu, has been translated more frequently than any work
except the Bible. This translation of the Chinese classic, which was first published
twenty-five years ago, has sold more copies than any of the others. It offers the essence of
each word and make Lao Tsu’s teaching Immediate and alive.
"The above passages were taken from the back cover of:
Tao de Ching: 25th Anniversary Edition.
Translated by Gia-Fu Feng & Jane English (March 97, Vintage Publishers.)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0679776192/ref=sib_rdr_bc/104-5936441-9895138?%5Fencoding=UTF8&p=S04Y&j=0#reader-page

2) Walden Pond by Henry David Thoreau:

[[[On ZMM page 36, the Narrator mentions the three books with them on the trip:
"Books. I don’t know of any other cyclist who takes books with him. They take a lot of space,
but I have three of them here anyway, with some loose sheets of paper in them for writing. These
are:
1. The shop manual for this cycle. 2. A general troubleshooting guide containing all the technical
information I can never keep in my head. This is Chilton’s Motorcycle Troubleshooting Guide
written by Ocee Rich and sold by Sears, Roebuck. 3. A copy of Thoreau’s Walden . . . which
Chris has never heard and which can be read a hundred times without exhaustion. I try always to
pick a book far over his head and read it as a basis for questions and answers, rather than without
interruption. I read a sentence or two, wait for him to come up with his usual barrage of
questions, answer them, then read another sentence or two. Classics read well this way. They
must be written this way. Sometimes we have spent a whole evening reading and talking and
discovered we have only covered two or three pages. It’s a form of reading done a century ago . .
when Chautauquas were popular. Unless you’ve tried it you can’t imagine how pleasant it is to
do it this way.]]]

2) A Review: Walden, What Is It?

Is it a book on nature, a book on ecology, a book on human nature, a prescient description
of the struggle between modern civilization and the land that nurtured it, a critique of
mankind, a string of quotable gems, an account of a mind, or, like Star Wars, a way of
slipping a deep and human spirituality into someone else's mind without their recognizing
it? It depends on who is doing the reading and when. Read it for any of these purposes,
and it will not disappoint. If you've never read it, read it. If you read it for class years ago
and hated it, read it again. This may be the most subtle, multi-layered and carefully
worked piece of literature you'll ever find. By keeping the down-to-earth tone (no doubt
in reaction to the high-flying prose of his friend, R. W. Emerson) Thoreau pulls a
Columbo, and fools us into thinking he's writing simply about observing nature, living in
a cabin, or sounding a pond. Somehow by the end of Walden, however, you may find it is
your self he has sounded. People have accused Thoreau of despising mankind, but read
deeper and you will discover he loved people well enough to chide us, show us our faults
(admitting he's as bad as the worst of us), and give to all of us this wonderful gift, a book
you could base your life on. There is more day to dawn, he reminds us at the end: the sun
is but a morning star.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3895082090/104-5936441-9895138?v=glance&n=283155

3) Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam By Omar Khayyam

[[[On ZMM page 271 the Narrator, seeing a Persian-like desert cliff above them, is
reminded of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and attempts to recite several verses. May we
conclude that this 1000 year old poem has some of the same messages as ZMM? Here, excerpted
from the much longer poem, are the several passages that appear in ZMM:]]]

Morning a thousand Roses brings, you say;
Yes, but where leaves the Rose of Yesterday?
And this first Summer Month that brings the Rose
Shall take Jamshýd and Kaikobád away.

But come with old Khayyám, and leave the Lot
Of Kaikobád and Kaikhosrú forgot!
Let Rustum cry "To Battle!" as he likes,
Or Hátim Tai cry Supper--heed them not.

With me along the strip of Herbage strown
That just divides the Desert from the sown,
Where name of Slave and Sultán is forgot --
And pity Máhmúd on his golden Throne!
http://www.therubaiyat.com/fitzindex.htm

4) The Meeting of East and West, by F. S. C. Northrop, Is Suggested By Pirsig in ZMM.

[[[On ZMM page 108, the Narrator says: "The difference is that the classic reality is primarily
theoretic but has its own esthetics too. The romantic reality is primarily esthetic, but has its theory
too. The theoretic and esthetic split is between components of a single world. The classic and
romantic split is between two separate worlds. The philosophy book, which is called The Meeting of East and West, by F. S. C. Northrop, suggests that greater cognizance be made of the
"undifferentiated aesthetic continuum" from which the theoretic arises."]]]

The Following Two Alternatives to ZMM Are Mentioned by ZMM Author Pirsig

In His Talk: Subjects, Objects, Data and Values. Mr. Pirsig

Recommends These Books As Key Influences In Writing His ''Zen and the Art of

Motorcycle Maintenance''.

Robert Pirsig stated: "For those who would like more information about this
"Conceptually Unknown" than I can give today there is a valuable book called ''Zen in the
Art of Archery'' by Eugen Herrigel from which I derived the title for my own first book.
When the Zen Archer refers to an "it" that shoots the arrow he is referring to what I mean
by Dynamic Quality. For those who prefer to stay more within the confines of Western
analytical thought there is a book by Prof. F.S.C. Northrop of Yale University called ''The
Meeting of East and West''. It is the book that really started me on this philosophic quest
that has now lasted 47 years."
http://www.moq.org/forum/Pirsig/emm.html
See also: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0918024110/104-5936441-9895138?v=glance&n=283155

A Review: The Meeting of East and West,

This is one of those truly great books that slaps your mind awake, offering you a
completely new world view and interpretation of intellectual history. This book is
partially responsible for my choice to study for a PhD in philosophy. It was a life-changer
for me and is especially relevant now with its novel, and I believe, accurate
understanding of Mexican culture. A monumental work!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0918024110/104-5936441-9895138?v=glance&n=283155
For more information on this and other Northrop books go to
http://www.oxbowpress.net/author/NaturalPhilosophy.htm

For My (ie Web Master's) Review of The Meeting of East and West go to

http://ww2.usca.edu/ResearchProjects/ProfessorGurr/index.php?n=Documents.NorthropInfluencedZMM

Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel, Daisetz T. Suzuki.

Zen in the Art of Archery (ISBN 0679722971) is a book written by Eugen Herrigel in
1953. This was one of the first books to introduce Zen to westerners, and still one of the
best for taking the practical route rather than the contemplative. He describes Zen in
archery as follows: "The archer ceases to be conscious of himself as the one who is
engaged in hitting the bull's-eye which confronts him. This state of unconscious is
realized only when, completely empty and rid of the self, he becomes one with the
perfecting of his technical skill, though there is in it something of a quite different order
which cannot be attained by any progressive study of the art..."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_in_the_Art_of_Archery

Editorial Reviews Zen in the Art of Archery Amazon.com

So many books have been written about the meditation side of Zen and the everyday,
chop wood/carry water side of Zen. But few books have approached Zen the way that
most Japanese actually do--through ritualized arts of discipline and beauty--and perhaps
that is why Eugen Herrigel's Zen in the Art of Archery is still popular so long after it first
publication in 1953. Herrigel, a philosophy professor, spent six years studying archery
and flower-arranging in Japan, practicing every day, and struggling with foreign notions
such as "eyes that hear and ears that see." In a short, pithy narrative, he brings the heart of
Zen to perfect clarity--intuition, imitation, practice, practice, practice, then, boom,
wondrous spontaneity fusing self and art, mind, body, and spirit. Herrigel writes with an
attention to subtle profundity and relates it with a simple artistry that itself carries the
signature of Zen. --By Brian Bruya
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375705090/104-5936441-9895138?v=glance&n=283155

A Zen in the Art of Archery Review: From Audio File

There's more to archery than you think, according to this compact audio, which is based
on a 1953 book by a German philosophy professor. His philosophical work addresses
intention and personal integration, and the importance of the unconscious in dealing with
life's realities. The program's lessons are so broad and practical that you don't have to be
attracted to Zen or archery to be thoroughly transported by what's expressed through the
teacher-student dialogue. Selecting reader Ralph Blum was a great way to resurrect the
ideas in this rich and satisfying book. His academic tone inspires respect and makes the
ideas even more intriguing. T. W. © Audio File
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375705090/104-5936441-9895138?v=glance&n=283155

George Steiner, The New Yorker, In Discussing ZMM, Points To Moby Dick

As Being a Comparable Book.
"It [ZMM] lodges in the mind as few recent novels have...The book is inspired,
original...the narrative tact, the perfect economy of effect defy criticism. The analogies
with Moby Dick are patent. Robert Pirsig invites the prodigious comparison. What more can one say?"
Entire Steiner Review Here: http://www.mrbauld.com/steiner.html
Amazon reviews here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0553277472/104-5936441-9895138

Because of Steiner's Great Reco, I Include the Following Moby Dick Reviews.

Moby Dick. Book Description.

No American masterpiece casts quite as awesome a shadow as Melville's monumental
Moby Dick. Mad Captain Ahab's quest for the White Whale is a timeless epic--a stirring
tragedy of vengeance and obsession, a searing parable about humanity lost in a universe
of moral ambiguity. It is the greatest sea story ever told. Far ahead of its own time,
Moby Dick was largely misunderstood and unappreciated by Melville's contemporaries.
Today, however, it is indisputably a classic. As D.H. Lawrence wrote, Moby Dick
"commands a stillness in the soul, an awe . . . [It is] one of the strangest and most
wonderful books in the world."
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0553213113/104-5936441-9895138

Moby Dick The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

(in full Moby-Dick; or, The Whale) Novel by Herman Melville, published in London in
October 1851 and published a month later in the United States. Moby-Dick is generally
regarded as its author's masterpiece and one of the greatest American novels. The basic
plot of Moby-Dick is simple. The narrator (who asks to be called "Ishmael") tells of the
last voyage of the ship Pequod out of New Bedford, Mass. Captain Ahab is obsessed with
the pursuit of the white whale Moby-Dick, which finally kills him. On that level, the
work is an intense, superbly authentic narrative. Its theme and central figure, however,
are reminiscent of Job in his search for justice and of Oedipus in his search for truth. The
novel's richly symbolic language and tragic hero are indicative of Melville's deeper
concerns: the equivocal defeats and triumphs of the human spirit and its fusion of creative
and murderous urges.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0553213113/qid=1141411631/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-5936441-9895138?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

Moby Dick by Herman Melville. A Searchable Online Version: Has Author Information:

www.online-literature.com/melville/mobydick/

Essay Novel Reality by David L Thomas Recommends Several More Books,

Which Like ZMM, Are Philosophy Discourse Presented In the Framework of a Novel.
"But why did Mr. Pirsig spent years crafting a compelling metaphysical theory then disguised it
as [two] novels published over 15 years apart? Fiction has a long history of seriously discussing
important issues. One only has to scratch fiction's surface to recall Swift's Gulliver's Travels,
Orwell's 1984 or the plays and satire of Voltaire. The publishing of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's
1962 novel A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is said to have played a significant role in
starting the process that led to the recent break up of the Soviet Union. If the following quotes [on vweb page] are any indication, current novelists also feel their fictions contain strong truths."
http://www.moq.org/forum/DavidThomas/novelreality.html

Gulliver's Travels From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Gulliver's Travels (1726, amended 1735) is a novel by Jonathan Swift that is both a
satire on human nature and a parody of the "travellers' tales" literary sub-genre. Swift's
masterpiece is his most celebrated work and one of the indisputable classics of the
English language.
The book was tremendously popular immediately after it was published (Alexander Pope
stated that "it is universally read, from the cabinet council to the nursery") and it is likely
that it has never been out of print since then. George Orwell declared it amongst the six
most indispensable books in world literature. It is claimed the inspiration for Gulliver
came from the sleeping giant profile of the Cavehill in Belfast.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulliver's_Travels

Nineteen Eighty-Four From Wikipedia.

Nineteen Eighty-Four is an allegorical political novel written by George Orwell. The
story takes place in a nightmarish dystopia where the omnipresent State enforces perfect
conformity among members of a totalitarian Party through indoctrination, propaganda,
fear, and ruthless punishment. The novel introduced the concepts of the ever-present, all-
seeing Big Brother, Room 101, the Thought Police, and the bureaucrats' and politicians'
language of control, Newspeak. The novel was successful in terms of sales, and has
remained one of the most influential books of the 20th century.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is a novel by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, set in a
Soviet work camp in the 1950s. The novel describes a single day for Ivan Denisovich,
more commonly referred to as Shukhov. Ivan Denisovich was first published under the
Russian title of Odin den Ivana Denisovicha in 1962. Although it is widely available in
book form today, it was originally published in the Soviet literary magazine Novy Mir in
November, 1962. The novel was originally written in Russian, so it should be noted that
any English copy is a translation. At least four English translations have been made.

Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder. Who are you? Where does the world come from?

These are two questions Sophie, a fifteen year-old Norwegian girl,
[[[ Mr. Thomas in his essay Novel Reality , mentioned above, could have added Sophie's World in
his examples of books that are really philosophy discourse presented as a novel.
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~djmp/SophiesWorld.html -

Sophie's World. From Publishers Weekly

This long, dense novel, a bestseller in the author's native Norway, offers a summary
history of philosophy embedded in a philosophical mystery disguised as a children's
book-but only sophisticated young adults would be remotely interested. Sophie
Amundsen is about to turn 15 when she receives a letter from one Alberto Knox, a
philosopher who undertakes to educate her in his craft. Sections in which we read the text
of Knox's lessons to Sophie about the pre-Socratics, Plato and St. Augustine alternate
with those in which we find out about Sophie's life with her well-meaning mother. Soon,
though, Sophie begins receiving other, stranger missives addressed to one Hilde Moller
Knag from her absent father, Albert. As Alberto Knox's lessons approach this century, he
and Sophie come to suspect that they are merely characters in a novel written by Albert
for his daughter. Teacher and pupil hatch a plot to understand and possibly escape from
their situation; and from there, matters get only weirder. Norwegian philosophy professor
Gaarder's notion of making a history of philosophy accessible is a good one.
Unfortunately, it's occasionally undermined by the dry language he uses to describe the
works of various thinkers and by an idiosyncratic bias that gives one paragraph to
Nietzsche but dozens to Sartre, breezing right by Wittgenstein and the most influential
philosophy of this century, logical positivism. Many readers, regardless of their age, may
be tempted to skip over the lessons, which aren't well integrated with the more interesting
and unusual metafictional story line. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0425152251/104-5936441-9895138?v=glance&n=283155

Sophie's World. Editorial Reviews Amazon.com

Wanting to understand the most fundamental questions of the universe isn't the province
of ivory-tower intellectuals alone, as this book's enormous popularity has demonstrated.
A young girl, Sophie, becomes embroiled in a discussion of philosophy with a faceless
correspondent. At the same time, she must unravel a mystery involving another young
girl, Hilde, by using everything she's learning. The truth is far more complicated than she
could ever have imagined.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0425152251/104-5936441-9895138?v=glance&n=283155

Other Books That Have Been Suggested as Alternatives to ZMM.

[[[These, like ZMM, are thought provoking books that will make you think about your
live and what you are about.]]]

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. Editorial Reviews. Amazon.com

"Most gulls don't bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight--how to get from
shore to food and back again," writes author Richard Bach in this allegory about a unique
bird named Jonathan Livingston Seagull. "For most gulls it is not flying that matters, but
eating. For this gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight." Flight is indeed
the metaphor that makes the story soar. Ultimately this is a fable about the importance of
seeking a higher purpose in life, even if your flock, tribe, or neighborhood finds your
ambition threatening. (At one point our beloved gull is even banished from his flock.) By
not compromising his higher vision, Jonathan gets the ultimate payoff: transcendence.
Ultimately, he learns the meaning of love and kindness. The dreamy seagull photographs
by Russell Munson provide just the right illustrations--although the overall packaging
does seem a bit dated (keep in mind that it was first published in 1970). Nonetheless, this
is a spirituality classic, and an especially engaging parable for adolescents. --Gail Hudson

Jonathan Livingston Seagull From Audio File.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a bird who teaches us how to follow our dreams and reach
our goals, no matter what anyone else might think. Jonathan is a seagull who wants to
master the art of flying, even though his flock has told him many times that all seagulls
should concentrate on is getting food. Jonathan has tried to be a "good gull," but he
cannot quell his urge to fly. Richard Bach reads this fable in a calm voice that sounds like
a blowing wind. When there's fighting among the gulls, the tone of his voice reflects that
anger. Jonathan's tale moves us as much as Richard Bach's voice does. J.F.M. ©
Audio File 2004, Portland, Maine--

Gift from the Sea: by Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh's lyrical words are still relevant and presage so many of the
themes of today's most popular books: simplicity, peaceful solitude, caring for the soul,
a woman finding her place in society and life. I heard that the woman who had lived in
the cabin had actually passed away some time before. Thank you, Eve, for your gift...
from the sea.

Gift from the Sea: by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Book Description

A modern-day classic. Gift from the Sea is like a shell itself in its small and perfect form .
. . It tells of light and life and love and the security that lies at the heart."--New York
Times Book Review.

Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstadter.

Editorial Reviews Amazon.com.
Twenty years after it topped the bestseller charts, Douglas R. Hofstadter's
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid is still something of a marvel. Besides
being a profound and entertaining meditation on human thought and creativity, this book
looks at the surprising points of contact between the music of Bach, the artwork of
Escher, and the mathematics of Gödel. It also looks at the prospects for computers and
artificial intelligence (AI) for mimicking human thought. For the general reader and the
computer techie alike, this book still sets a standard for thinking about the future of
computers and their relation to the way we think.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465026567/104-5936441-9895138?v=glance&n=283155

The Knowledge-Creating Company, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi, .

"We found it the book most frequently cited by practicing managers. It offers a good
blend of theory (distinguishing tact and explicit knowledge, describing knowledge
conversion processes and the knowledge-creating spiral) and practical examples
including innovation at Matushita, Canon and Honda. The seminal book on the subject."
http://www.skyrme.com/resource/kmres.htm

'''Web Page Asks
"What Is the Most Important Work of Philosophy To Be Written In the Last Fifty Years?".
Answer Suggests Several More Books:'''
Ask a panel of experts and you'll probably be told it's something like Rawls's ''Theory of
Justice , Mac Intyre's After Virtue , or Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific

 Revolutions'', all books the average person in the street has never heard of. Jo Public is 

most likely to remember an international bestseller: ''Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values'' by Robert M Pirsig, published in 1974.
http://www.philosophersnet.com/magazine/printer_friendly.php?id=980

Web Page Suggests Several More Important Authors.

Other people, coming from different religious traditions or inspired by such writers as
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Albert Schweitzer, recognize an invisible bond between
themselves and the physical world--a universal stream of inner vitality they may label
"spiritual." Their experience of being "in unity with nature" isn't mere aesthetic
appreciation; it is a profound recognition that humankind and the Earth share a common
lifeblood, a common pulse, and a common destiny. Whatever the origins of our Earth-consciousness, we can explore and nurture it by intimate contact with nature herself:
http://www.fcun.org/spiritual/spiritual.html

'This Web Page Whole Systems Quotes'' Offers Another Way To
Discover Recommended Books and Authors. '''
See http://www.worldtrans.org/whole/wsquotes.html