It was a popular book that has many dimensions. The subtitle "An Inquiry Into Values" hints at Pirsig's core thrust: a philosophical exploration of what we call

It was a popular book that has many dimensions. The subtitle "An Inquiry Into Values" hints at Pirsig's core thrust: a philosophical exploration of what we call "quality". The title and Zen references made for me, a techie-nerd, the concept of Zen very concrete and my personal Zen tagline, "mindfulness through mastery, mastery through mindfulness" applies to most things I care about. The book was also my gateway to Plato and ancient Greek philosophy. It's not touchy feely. Pirsig is a scientist and technologist exploring Zen and quality. It is the best example of what John Brockman calls "The Third Culture" in reference to C.P. Snow's famous essay.