Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values
First edition
AuthorRobert M. Pirsig
LanguageEnglish
GenrePhilosophical fiction, Autobiographical novel[1]
Published1974 (William Morrow and Company)
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback)
Pages418 pp
ISBN0-688-00230-7
OCLC673595
917.3/04/920924 B
LC ClassCT275.P648 A3 1974
Followed byLila: An Inquiry into Morals 

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values is a book by Robert M. Pirsig first published in 1974. It is a work of fictionalized autobiography and the first of Pirsig's texts in which he discusses his concept of Quality.[2]

The title is an apparent play on the title of the 1948 book Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel. In its introduction, Pirsig explains that, despite its title, "it should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice. It's not very factual on motorcycles, either."

Pirsig received 121 rejections before an editor finally accepted the book for publication—and he did so thinking it would never generate a profit. 50,000 copies sold in the first three months, and more than 5 million in the decades since.[3]