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News

News: June/July 2017

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance author dies • French Prez was assistant to Paul Ricouer • Hawking recommends leaving Earth — News reports by Anja Steinbauer

Robert Pirsig

Robert Pirsig, author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, died on 24 April. At the heart of the book is a fictionalised account of a motorcycle journey across America made by Pirsig and his young son Chris in 1968. The novel combined reflections on Greek philosophy, Zen Buddhism, technology and culture in a profound inquiry into the nature of values. Pirsig wrote it mainly in the small hours of each morning and had immense difficulty finding a publisher. On publication in 1974, it immediately became enormously popular, selling 5 million copies.

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