Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Dramatised)

The book requires two reads. after the first read you can go back and with the knowledge gained from the back half of the book more completely soak in all of the knowledge from the first half. It's amazing how on a second read, all of the details stand out as having a significance well beyond their letters and words.BUT! Be warned: The CD currently listed here is NOT an audio book. It has a run time of just over an hour! It was just some episode on a talk radio show about the book. Steer clear from the single CD "Audio Book" currently listed as one of the options on the product page. The book is the real deal.

So, crossing midlife, I've become more introspective and interested in philosophy. Being a Karateka, interested in pursuing Zen, and someone with mechanical aptitude, I decided that I should finally check out this renowned book for its application of transcendent philosophy to something mundane like maintenance of a machine. Also being someone who has more time to walk or drive and listen than to sit and read, I purchased the CD copy of this book. I did *not* realize that I'd be getting a dramatization or that there would be almost no Zen or Motorcycle Maintenance in this audio recording.As others have said in their reviews - this is very short. I think I completed it in only a couple.. maybe three... hours. I was left with a feeling of WTF? Why do people go on and on about this book? I should go back to Alan Watts and the I-Ching. I did a quick check with Wikipedia to make sure that this was actually the right plot for the much-lauded book. I was disappointed to learn that I did indeed have the right book with he right plot. So did all the people and authors, and movies, and TV shows that mention this book get it wrong? Well, not entirely.After reading many reviews I've now realized that this is greatly diminished version of the book. I have to assume that all of the Zen and Motorcycle Maintenance that I expected to find was cut from the audio version to fit a schedule.I *still* haven't had time to read the paper book, but now I know that this wasn't the version to start with.

It was an interesting perspective on life and how one lives. It took a bit of getting used to the multi voice and sound effects when you are used to one reader, just reading the book. It kind of reminded me of a radio program of yesteryear. Worth the read, it makes you think.

This is one of those books that it seems everybody has heard of. I have never read it myself and thought I would listen to this to get an idea if it is the kind of thing I would be interested in reading. I came to this recording with no real idea what to expect but knowing this book is seen as a classic/cult classic ("One of the most important and influential books of the past half-century").I found the production to be well done and the story was of some interest. Some of the ideas were kind of interesting (the Metaphysics of Quality) but I guess I expected more given the book's reputation. That said of course, one should never judge a book by the abridged radio dramatization which is, of necessity, a different animal. This is worth a listen if you haven't read the book but given that this costs about the same as the book you might be better off just buying that.This is an abridged full cast dramatization originally broadcast on 4th June 2012 on BBC Radio 4 (and containing 10 minutes of bonus material not previously broadcast).

This is a BBC Radio 4's full-cast dramatisation of the multi-million best-selling philosophical novel which tells the story of a father and son's motorcycle trip across the USA in the '60s. It describes a personal and philosophical journey asking questions about how to live a meaningful life. Still relevant today as it ever was. It stars James Purefoy (Rome, The Following). It consists of 2 CDs lasting 1hour and 40 minutes. It is compelling and interesting and above all, well-acted.