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The BBC is running a podcast on "Archive on 4" called "Turning 50: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001zfqh [bbc.co.uk]

I remember greatly enjoying that book in the 1970s, made a real impression and it changed how I thought about certain things. This podcast was a great refresher. It even includes original interviews with Robert Persig (the author) and others close to the creation of the book.

Some of the backstory behind the book was eye opening (but other parts were easy enough to work out just by reading it). For example, Persig flogged his original manuscript to many, many publishers before he got a nibble. Then he gives a lot of credit to a young editor who convinced him to change from (iirc) first to third person (via an unmamed observer) -- resulting in the eventual great success of the book.

Of course, the podcast can't resist revisiting the oft-quoted beer can shim story...or am I confusing that with a recent post on a motorcycle maintenance forum(grin).

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