Robert Pirsig, author of 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' dies at 88

Robert M. Pirsig, author of the counterculture “novelistic autobiography” Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance died Monday at his home in South Berwick, ME, "after a period of failing health,” the LA Times reports. He was 88.

Pirsig finally published Zen—his recollection of a 1968 motorcycle trip with his son Christopher—in 1974, after being rejected by 121 publishers. The books became a best-seller.

In addition to Zen, Pirsig also wrote Lila: An Inquiry into Morals.