Atlas Shrugged

Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece! Quite simply the greatest novel ever written.
Review: This is Rand's magnum opus, and it is, quite simply, the greatest novel ever written. Its scope and grandiloquence are utterly breathtaking.

The story details of a man of singular genius who said that he would stop the motor of the world...and did. As the world of modern man becomes mired in altruistic bromides, the men of ability become more and more burdened with the sustenance of other men.

What would happen if those men of the mind chose not to participate in their own destruction? What would happen if those of ability and competence were to remove their sanction from the moral code that drives looters and freeloaders?

_Atlas_Shrugged_ details the outcome of just those scenarios. It shows the reader--in unmistakable elegance and typical Randian eloquence--how the world would collapse if the victims who run it suddenly removed their sanction.

If you are new to Ayn Rand, you may want to read _Fountainhead_ first. It offers a similarly driven protagonist, but its scope is much more digestable as an introduction. In this work, Rand's masterpiece, the reader will make a real investment in time (as the book is close to 1200 pages), but the investment just may change your life (as it has for countless others since its publication in 1957).

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is the only work that I have recommended as a "must-read" piece of fiction. Despite its size, I set aside some time every two years or so to re-read this milestone in human thought. Do yourself the same favor...you'll never be able to thank the person enough who first referred you!

Rating:
Summary: The audio aspect of the recording
Review: Please note that I am not reviewing the book itself; I love it and could not be objective.

The following focuses on the audio aspect of the package. The soundtrack is recorded extremely well. The voice is clear and pleasant, the pace is just right. The recording is in stereo, so if it makes sense to you to listen to somebody reading the book in stereo - you receive just that, but seriously, the stero sound makes the listening pleasant also if you fancy using your headpones. The voice is heard not from the center of your head, as it would happen with the mono recording.

I was a bit disappointed with the way the John Galt's speech is abridged. But again, I love every part of it, and would like to have it without cuts.

Rating:
Summary: Join the Debate
Review: Over 600 people have written reviews for this very large book. Whether you like it or hate it, it will definitely make you think.

In addition, this book is very readable. Great literature? -- not really -- but readable enough to make the important ideas accessible. Once again, whether you agree or disagree with the ideas, the novel's plot will engage you enough to provide an enjoyable read.

Instead of reading over 600 reviews, cough up the [PRICE]for the paperback version and form your own opinions on the novel. It is well worth your time and money.

Rating:
Summary: Beter then the Bible
Review: I love Ann Rand, her book's are the gratist! Atlis Shurgged is beter then the Bible, religuos shoud READ IT AND LEARN THAT THEIR IS NO "GOD" or they are IRATIONNAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: The best book I almost never finished
Review: It took me six years to read this book and each time I picked it up I loved it. I am finally finished and I wish I wasn't, I guess I will have to start over again. This is a heavy book to read, not leisurely reading, but you will savor it. You don't have to be believe in the freedom of capitalism to enjoy this book, however, you might when you are finished. Amazing and applicable.

Rating:
Summary: For anyone who has been punished for being competent
Review: In Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand hits you over the head with her message...then hits you again...then again just to be sure. This said, I gave the book 5 stars because Ms Rand gave me a kick in the pants when I needed it, along with a good dose of self-worth.

Rating:
Summary: The best book of "fiction" ever.
Review: Ayn Rand should be mentioned in the same breath as authors such as Swift, Dostoyevsky and Hugo. However, she stands apart from these authors for a very important reason. Most authors write their work based on past knowledge... Rand by exception created an entirely new field of philosophy (Objectivism) then captured it in her novels. This puts her apart from any other fiction writer in history, her fiction is not based on second hand knowledge but is her own in totality.

Atlas Shrugged is the only book of fiction I have ever read that has radically changed my life... It has also changed the life of thousands of others. I have now read it at least ten times and the last is as fresh as the first... I will never get bored of this book.

Whether you reject or accept her philosophy one thing is for sure, after reading Atlas Shrugged your thinking will never be quite the same.

Atlas Shrugged is a first rate masterpeice and it is about time Ayn Rand's works got the worldwide recognition they deserve.

If I was stuck on a desert island and could have one book, it would be Atlas Shrugged.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling Capitalist...Propaganda?
Review: A good friend made me read this and I'm glad I did. Think of it as hard-hitting capitalist (or better put, anti-socialist) propaganda spun into a compelling Hollywood plot. Long on twists as well as pages. This book is a must for libertarians and undecided liberals...as well as students of 20th century American history. You may be tired of Ayn Rand when you finish, but you won't be sorry you read it.

Rating:
Summary: The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of
Review: I treasure Rand's illumination of human dignity, the worthiness of work, creativity and intellect, even though she fails to adequately support what seems (to this amateur) to be a naive philosophy. In the former she unwittingly gives glory to the Creator and Lord of those things, while she derides the only foundation of what she worships.

On the literary merits I won't comment, other than to say the reviewers below have done an excellent job. This is the only Rand I have read so far.

Rating:
Summary: The Book That Nearly Killed Me
Review: You know, I wanted to like this book, I really did. I adore "The Fountainhead" it has to be one of my top ten favorite books of all time. I then tried my hand at "Anthem", not as interetsing character development, but I got a much better understanding of Ayn's egoist philosophy. I then figured I was ready to tackle "Atlas". Thus began my four year struggle with this book that has become my nemesis.

The first 250 pages or so are reasonably intriguing, it was at about page 375 where the downward spiral began. I kept wrestling with this book, not wanting it to defeat me being the egoist it had made me, but I couldn't. It wasn't the length of the book, I made it through "War and Peace" as well as "A Tale of Two Cities" (the latter begrudgingly I might add), and it wasn't really the dry non-emotional characters (after all, as I mentioned I adored "The Fountainhead", can't get less emotional really). There was something that was blocking me, some sort of force that did not want me to finish this. However, I pressed on, out of sheer spite almost taunting the pages as I turned them. The problem was, I was so fixated on "conquering" this book, I didn't absorb a damn thing so the further I got, the more frustrated I became till one day, I decided I would have to for the sake of my sanity go on in life and not know who John (bleedin') Gault is/was or if he even actually existed, it was going to be o.k!

I am giving this book 4 stars for a few reasons. First, it managed somehow to suck me in, for four long and arduous years. Second, this seems to be one of those books that you "should" read, or at least the "learned" should read...and understand it I suppose would help matters. Last, but certainly not least, this book got me, it won, it is the ultimate winner..the supreme egoist!