Audio only
On Quality
An Inquiry into Excellence: Unpublished and Selected WritingsBy Robert M. Pirsig, Wendy K. PirsigNarrated by Mark Bramhall, Abby CradenLength2h 58m
About this audiobook
Featuring long-awaited selections from Robert M. Pirsig's unpublished writings, from before and after Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, an original collection illuminating the central theme of Pirsig's thought: “Quality”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, readers 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Skillfully edited and introduced by Wendy K. Pirsig, Robert’s wife of four decades, the collection includes previously unpublished texts, speeches, letters, interviews, and private notes, as well as key excerpts from Zen and the Art of the Motorcycle Maintenance and his second book, Lila.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.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.9 (812)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing, Amazon
GenrePhilosophy, Literary Classics
Length2 hrs 58 mins
Narrated byMark Bramhall, Abby Craden
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateApr 26, 2022
LanguageEnglish
Buddhist Boot CampTimber Hawkeye2h 39m4.4 (8.4K)$18 · $0.00
Enchiridion & The Discourses of Epictetus (Annotated)Arrian Epictetus18h 9m4.4 (3.5K)$2 · $0.00
The Meditations of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius AntoninusEmperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius5h 41m4.4 (1.8M)$1 · $0.00
Crime and PunishmentFyodor Dostoevsky23h 11m4.4 (1.3M)$12 · $0.00
MeditationsMarcus Aurelius5h 52m4.4 (433.7K)$1 · $0.00
Everyday DharmaSuneel Gupta5h 2m4.5 (761)$20 · $0.00
The Joyful Wisdom ("La Gaya Scienza")Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche11h 37m4.4 (26.6K)$1 · $0.00
The Art of LivingEpictetus, Sharon Lebell3h 16m4.4 (50.1K)$18 · $0.00
Sadhana: the realisation of lifeRabindranath Tagore3h 49m4.4 (8.6K)$6 · $0.00
SapiensYuval Noah Harari15h 18m4.3 (1.4M)$33 · $0.00
You BelongSebene Selassie8h 35m4.4 (2.7K)$26 · $0.00
The Song Celestial; Or, Bhagavad-Gîtâ (from the Mahâbhârata)Anonymous2h 18m4.4 (3.2K)$2 · $0.00
Chuang Tzu: Mystic, Moralist, and Social ReformerZhuangzi14h 42m4.4 (1.2K)$1 · $0.00
High-RisersBen Austen13h 33m4.4 (2.8K)$33 · $0.00
The Great OmissionDallas Willard7h 45m4.4 (4K)$26 · $0.00
The Grand InquisitorFyodor Dostoyevsky2h 24m4.3 (10.7K)$1 · $0.00
Praying with the PsalmsEugene H. Peterson7h 20m4.5 (312)$24 · $0.00
Right Story, Wrong StoryTyson Yunkaporta8h 46m4.5 (317)$29 · $0.00
Essays and DialoguesGiacomo Leopardi9h 24m4.4 (1.9K)$1 · $0.00
Thoughts Are ThingsPrentice Mulford6h 38m4.4 (1.1K)$6 · $0.00
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
These Precious DaysAnn Patchett11h 14m4.5 (45.2K)$29 · $0.00
Henry V (The Play, Historical Background and Analysis of the Character in the Play)William Shakespeare, William Hazlitt8h 40m4.6 (1.3K)$1 · $0.00
H. P. LOVECRAFT Ultimate Collection: Novellas, Short Stories, Poetry & Essays (Annotated)H. P. Lovecraft12h 28m4.6 (2.3K)$2 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust15h 54m4.5 (10.6K)$2 · $0.00
TORAH - Bilingual Edition: English/Hebrew (Annotated)Max Margolis, JPS28h 26m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
Betty Crocker picture cooky bookBetty Crocker, Inc. General Mills2h 13m4.5 (6.5K)$1 · $0.00
The Complete Tales of Beatrix PotterBeatrix Potter3h 36m4.5 (75K)$3 · $0.00
Crime and Punishment (The Unabridged Garnett Translation) (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoevsky24h 25m4.5 (15.4K)$1.99 · $0.00
The North American IndianEdward S. Curtis, Frederick Webb Hodge6h4.5 (1.2K)$2 · $0.00
The Picture of Dorian Gray: The Uncensored 13 Chapter Version + The Revised 20 Chapter Version (Annotated)Oscar Wilde16h 12m4.5 (2.8K)$1.99 · $0.00
Grimoire Of The Everyday WitchIsadora Lys / Virginia Santos5h 35m4.5 (3.9K)$9 · $0.00
Winnie-the-PoohAlan Alexander Milne2h 52m4.5 (401.1K)$3 · $0.00
Sitting PrettyRebekah Taussig7h 33m4.5 (18.9K)$26 · $0.00
The Poetic Edda & The Prose EddaSnorri Sturluson, Saemund Sigfusson9h 34m4.5 (4K)$1 · $0.00
The Complete Satires & Essays of Mark Twain (Annotated)Mark Twain23h 21m4.5 (1.1K)$2 · $0.00
Rilla of InglesideLucy Maud Montgomery10h 58m4.5 (46.7K)$1 · $0.00
The Posthumous Memoirs Of Brás CubasMachado De Assis7h 39m4.4 (120.4K)$5 · $0.00
The Iliad & The OdysseyHomer25h 12m4.4 (39K)$12 · $0.00
The Ladies' Paradise (Vizetelly Translation, Unabridged) (Annotated)Émile Zola19h 34m4.5 (1.2K)$2 · $0.00
You may also like
The Greatest SecretRhonda Byrne6h 20m4.0 (10.5K)$24 · $0.00
Creative AuthenticityIan Roberts3h 41m4.4 (650)$15 · $0.00
WaitFrank Partnoy8h 47m3.7 (2.2K)$25 · $0.00
Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of MoralsImmanuel Kant3h 20m4.0 (28K)$2.30
A Series of Lessons in Raja YogaWilliam Walker Atkinson8h 9m4.1 (281)$2.30
Groundwork of the Metaphysics of MoralsImmanuel Kant4h 47m4.0 (28.9K)$2 · $0.00
The Essential EnneagramDavid Daniels, Virginia Price4h 30m4.0 (4.4K)$20 · $0.00
Personal GrowthSteve Pavlina1h 30m4.1 (5.1K)$12 · $0.00
A Poetry HandbookMary Oliver3h 33m4.3 (11.9K)$18 · $0.00
That's What She SaidJoanne Lipman8h 29m4.1 (1.8K)$26 · $0.00
Above Lifes TurmoilJames Allen2h 12m4.1 (1.3K)$2.30 · $0.00
Tertium Organum: The Third Canon of ThoughtP. D. Ouspensky14h 48m4.3 (688)$1.99 · $0.00
The law of success - Lesson Six IMAGINATIONNapoleon Hill1h 57m4.4 (859)$4.60 · $0.00
How to Live on 24 Hours a DayArnold Bennett2h 4m3.6 (10.2K)$2 · $0.00
The Book of WisdomOSHO47h 9m4.5 (781)$29 · $0.00
The Myth of EnlightenmentOM C. Parkin50m$8 · $0.00
How to Read People like a BookVincent McDaniel2h 4m4.0 (131)$2.99 · $0.00
Rising to the TopMade for Success9h 36m3.4 (16)$20
Entering the MindC von Hassett5h 47m$17
The Art of Reading PeopleDanniel Silva3h 34m4.2 (21)$1.80 · $0.00