In the roll-call of student summer reading certain volumes stand out, including Desmond Morris's body language phenomenon The Naked Ape and Richard Bach's Jonathan Livingston Seagull. To those can be added a volume by Robert M Pirsig that snuggled its way into every hitchhiker's hand-crocheted body satchel. Unlike Bach, whose books were like being hit with a wiffle bat full of pot-pourri, Pirsig is the real deal. Born in 1928, this precocious university student was eventually expelled for studying too hard, after growing bewildered by the choice of multiple hypotheses in his chosen field, biochemistry. Overwhelmed by the limitations of science, he tackled Eastern philosophy instead, spending time in India before returning to a US college.

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A father and son were mistakenly shot by a gunman in a revenge attack, the Old Bailey heard.

A woman in her 20s has been killed in a rush-hour collision in central London.

Spain’s double world champion Jorge Lorenzo drew first blood by taking the MotoGP floodlit season opener from pole in Qatar yesterday as Italy’s Valentino Rossi stormed to second.

Spanish whizzkid has style and class to go for victory – maybe even a title – first time out

He photographed her naked and wearing his gun, court told

Actor Matt Smith has said Doctor Who fans can look forward to it being the "biggest, best, most inventive and most exciting year for the show" as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.

On Two Wheels: After an accident, your phone could be a lifesaver, even when you're too injured to use it

Life is a journey, they say, not a destination. And that is never truer than when travelling for business, when the journeying part is likely to take up about 75 per cent of your time away. In that case, life is an airport lounge, a queue, another queue, a £3 paper vase of caffeinated water, another queue, a "sorry madam, you can't bring that cup on here", some shopping, some reading, some plastic-wrapped plastic sandwiches, another queue, and if you're very lucky or well organised, a window seat.

Tech giant Google has launched a new service offering panoramic views of the most beautiful spots in the Grand Canyon.

The Malian rebels' reign over Timbuktu was short but terrifying. Daniel Howden talks to victims of their fundamentalism

An EU driving licence comes into force tomorrow - a credit card-style replacement for the more than 100 different paper and plastic licences currently in use by more than 300 million motorists across the 27 European member states.