
On Quality
An Inquiry into Excellence: Unpublished and Selected Writings
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Narrated by:
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Mark Bramhall
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Abby Craden
Featuring long-awaited selections from Robert M. Pirsig's unpublished writings, from before and after Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, an original collection illuminating the central theme of Pirsig's thought: “Quality”
“The ultimate goal in the pursuit of excellence is enlightenment." —Robert M. Pirsig, 1962
More than a decade before the release of the book that would make him famous, Robert M. Pirsig had already caught hold of the central theme that would animate Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: “Quality,” a concept loosely likened to “excellence,” “rightness,” or “fitness” that Pirsig saw as kindred to the Buddhist ideas of “dharma” or the “Tao.” As he later wrote in Zen, “Quality is the Buddha.”
Though he was revered by fans who considered him a guru, the famously private Pirsig published only two books and consented to few interviews and almost no public appearances in later decades. Yet he wrote and thought almost continually, refining his “Metaphysics of Quality” until his death in 2017.
Now, for the first time, listeners will be granted access to five decades of Pirsig’s personal writings in this posthumous collection that illuminates the evolution of his thinking to an unprecedented degree. Skillfully edited and introduced by Wendy K. Pirsig, Robert’s wife of four decades, the collection includes previously unpublished texts, speeches, letters, interviews, and private notes, as well as key excerpts from Zen and the Art of the Motorcycle Maintenance and his second book, Lila.
Since its publication in 1974, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance has established itself as a modern classic of popular philosophy; selling millions of copies and inspiring a generation, while serving as a perennial touchstone for the generations that follow. On Quality is a remarkable contribution to our understanding of one of the most influential thinkers and writers of our time.
©2022 Robert M. Pirsig and Wendy K. Pirsig (P)2022 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...




















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A Bridge to Knowing Quality
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Succinct dove into Pirsig
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Great work
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The narrators voice is impeccable. I am very sensitive to reader style and articulation. She could not be more enjoyable to listen to.
Read ZMM and Lila, then this
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Really enjoyed
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This is what happened to Pirsig and this little book is a diary of his journey. Reading brief snippets of his letters, speeches and essays was very comforting as I have often found myself in similar mental straits.
His obsession was the word Quality, or Value or Dharma, and he saw it as a Unifying concept that would help him make sense of every aspect of the World around him. Mine is “Truth” and the search has been equally perilous. His search led him across America and Asia, helped him write a best-selling book, got him invited to speak all over the World, and even found him admitted to a Mental Hospital.
Those Rabbit Trails can be hazardous but reading about them was very enlightening and inspiring for this Reader. I thoroughly enjoyed riding along with him. Five Stars *****
Interesting trip inside an obsessed mind.
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Wendy Persig!: Thank you!!!
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The entire second chapter takes excerpts from the book without the preceding parts and with a great deal of the logic missing in the middle.
As the narrator noted in "zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance" ... "if I were to babble what's really on my mind about, say, the a priori presumption of the continuity of a motorcycle from second to second and do this without benefit of the entire edifice of the Chautauqua, they'd just be startled and wonder what's wrong."
too much is left out.
Don't read before zen and the art of motorcycle...
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Variable quality
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