Profoundly important...full of insights into our most perplexing contemporary dilemmas ? New York TimesMr Pirsig has written a work of great, perhaps urgent, importance... Read this book ? ObserverThe book is inspired, original...the narrative tact, the perfect economy of effect defy criticism. The analogies with Moby Dick are patent ? New YorkerZen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is an unforgettable trip ? TimeDisturbing, deeply moving, full of insights...this is a wonderful book ? Times Literary Supplement Robert M. Pirsig was born in 1928 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He holds degrees in chemistry, philosophy, and journalism and also studied Oriental philosophy at Benares Hindu University in India. He is the author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Lila.