Lila's Child: An Inquiry Into Quality

Amazing job editing email exchanges by multiple people formed over a couple of years lasting discussion into a book organized by meaningful sections. First ever MoQ discussion book, annotated by Pirsig himself.

A structured summary of internet discussions on Pirsig’s metaphysics, annotated by Pirsig himself, highly recommended to all Pirsig fans and especially to those interested in physics and biology.

i waited and waited to do this review. i'm being somewhat of a snob here. this is a book for those who deep into every nuance of the writing. for people who like to analyze everything. but analysis, in this case, to me is paralysis. i enjoyed the book lila's child as i did zen and motorcycle maintenance. they were enjoyable because they were a narrative that intertwined people with deep analytical thought and analysis. this book is more of an intellectual exercise. BUT, i'm sure i would have enjoyed this much more if i was still an academic...now i read for pleasure first AND knowledge second.

This book is an excellent compilation of on-line discussions which occurred in the late 1990's regarding the Metaphysics of Quality. The discussions themselves are a joy to read, but Pirsig's annotations and comments make this an absolute must for anyone deeply interested in the philosophical system of thought called the Metaphysics of Quality. The contributors bring up and discuss many of the problems and difficulties lesser philosophers than Pirsig, such as myself, have had with the MOQ. Pirsig's clarifications and notes go a long way toward solving many of these problems. This book is no Pirsig "lovefest." Dissenters abound in the discussions, many of whom are quite intelligent and learned. Pirsig's well-reasoned responses to the best dissenters provide some of the book's greatest insights. By integrating the age-old wisdom of the most enlightened Buddhist and mystic philosophers into a rational, scientific, metaphysical framework, the Metaphysics of Quality may be the greatest intellectual achievement of the 20th century. Lila's Child, the third in the trilogy started by Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Lila, is an important work to help integrate this achievement into our intellectual culture.

Brilliant compilation..

For the past 15 or so years two books by Robert Pirsig have become the nearest i have experienced to a personal bible. These books have travelled with me over 400,000 miles in the top box of my motorcycle. Over that same distance i have carried out over 200 oil changes and changed over 100 tyres by hand. I did not know what to expect from this book and by reading it so many years later. Partly i bought it to console myself that i never made the effort to contact Robert and i felt (and still acutely feel) a sense of sadness at his passing and of never having spoken with him. I know it must sound either unlikely or even plain corny but reading these books led to huge changes in my life out of all proportion to their cost. That is still the case today in my 60's and many years after i first read Zen in my late 20's. Alas my final thought on this book is how much i missed out by not being involved in the discussions also that my understanding could have helped to develop some of the themes.