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Summary: Took My Breath Away and Swept Me Off My Feet; rating = 10
Review: I first read this book 5 years ago-I've read it again twice (as well as The Fountainhead, Anthem and various Rand non-fiction) and each time I read it I know I am not mistaken in saying that Ayn Rand was a true genius. This book changed my life; it says everything I always felt and wanted to say but could never find the words to express. This book has it all: philosophy, politics, history, science, economics, ethics, psychology, passion and romance! However, not for the faint hearted (over 1,000 pages long), but if you've got the curiosity to find out who is John Galt and the intellectual capacity to understand what John Galt means to all of us you'll have no trouble finishing this novel. Passion + Intellect make this book POWERFUL in its message and an outstanding achievement!! It took my breath away-WOW!
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Summary: see the world today and understand the book as written
Review: read the book and change the world and your life. I'm 32, a cynic, and have never been a starry-eyed idealist. The fact remains, however, that there is either a John Galt or a looter in each of us: which one are you? Are you capable of creation, or only of looting someone else's work? If it is broken, can you fix it? Powerful, masterfully written with a clear view of laissez-faire capitalism.
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Summary: Finally a book that said what I was really thinking . . .
Review: Who is John Galt? Ayn Rand seems to have a way of calling to her readers in the first sentence of all of her books. To me, when I first read that line, I wanted to know who John Galt was. That simple reason was why I was so drawn in. "Atlas" was suggested to me by a close friend, I had never heard of Ayn Rand at the time, and when I went to the store and saw how long it was I was a little leary. I bought it any way and read it in about a month. This was the first book that ever said what I was thinking. I directly connected with Dagny Taggart, because I feel that in a way everyone is Dagny, some people just never realize what that means. All through the book I was always realizing a little bit more about the America. It all makes sense, and I think everyone should read it, it will change them forever. I feel lucky I read it in 8th grade and picked it up again in 10th. When I first read it I was picked one a bit at school, but that didn't even phase me because they were acting like James Taggart, and I was Dagny. I would recommend all of her books to anyone, at any age.
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Summary: I Wish I Was 16 Again...
Review: ...because I'd still be in love with this book. As a 98 lb. weakling high school geek with an IQ that was not appreciated by my peers, "Atlas Shrugged" vindicated my existence. After a few years, though, I grew up. I started reading stuff other than science fiction so I could find out what real prose style was. When I re-read "Atlas Shrugged" 10 years later I was appalled at what a horrible writer Rand was; she couldn't even put together a decent potboiler. There is no suspense in the book, no complexity; just a brain-numbing series of micro-rants (and one macro-rant, just in case you didn't get her point during the previous 1000 pages) delivered by two-dimensional zombies. I guess you'd find this book appealing if A) you feel the world is getting in the way of expressing your genius; B) if you feel that the government is picking on you because your small business can't just dump toxic wastes into the nearest water supply; or C) if your life experience is so limited that comic-book Manichaeanism makes sense to you. For a good antidote to "Atlas Shrugged", may I suggest reading "Sewer, Gas & Electric: The Public Works Trilogy" by Matt Ruff.
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Summary: Ayn Rand embodies her philosophy eloquently.
Review: Ayn Rand was eloquent and precise in her philosphy, as she was visionary and romantic in her works of fiction. If not read before, the reader will see the world through the eyes of Dagny Taggart, who's confusion but persistence leads her to discover the root of her own guilt: the sanction of the victim. If read before, Atlas Shrugged will slowly reveal the manner by which John Galt learns to drain the world. Step by step, the reader will become increasingly aware of the subtle happenings in the plot, will grow anxious to enlighten Dagny and Rearden of the answers they seek, and will learn to identify with the frustrations of Francisco D'Anconia and John Galt in their love for Dagny. In either case, the reader will trace the rising tension in the plot throughout the book, released when John Galt delivers his famous speech and voices his demands. Atlas Shrugged is a worthy novel, and a must read for all who consider their mind their greatest asset.
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Summary: Too many 10s out there
Review: I think I know why there are so many 10s out there and the reason is akin to the number of Nazi's that strained their wrists giving the Heil salute when Hitler walked thru the door. Hitler showed them the looters (Jews) and the Uber men (Aryans) and eventually destroyed Germany's society, economy, and soul. Like the saying goes, "To every problem there is an answer that is simple, elegant, and wrong." Philosophy like religion allows people the comfort of thinking that they can understand the world in a nutshell. Let me clue these people in: You will never understand the world fully. As soon as you think you do, you have stopped thinking. Ayn Rand is useful as a point of contrast between those who appreciate the complexity of all social issues and those who insist on a version of reality that has been distilled and warped down to a dogma that allows them to live blissfully within their own narcissism and selfishness.
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Summary: A dedication to the glory, goodness, and potential of man.
Review: Atlas Shrugged is the only novel representative of a complete and clear philosophy of life. To summarize the novel in two words: brilliant and inspiring. Brilliant in that it demonstrates Rand's complete grasp of the proper role of politics, economics, psychology, sexuality, and morality. Inspiring because it's protagonists embody the saying, "Our accomplishments are not the result of priveledge or of the favor of a higher being, but because of our adherence to objective principles, our determination to improve by hard work and our love of man." This book champions the ability of the mind, and the morality of Capitalism. In doing this, and doing it expertly, Rand demonstrates that we are responsible in bringing out the best within us.
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Summary: Thank God for All the 10's
Review: It's refreshing and reassuring to see that the vast majority of readers give this book a very high rating. Though the characters and philosophies of this fiction work may be a bit extreme, I think it is to illustrate and "drive home" her point. I'll also agree that she could have written it in 700 pages or less. My eyes have been open for many years to the extreme liberal movement in this country, however, this book increased my perception and helped me see the socialistic foundation of many policies that are touted as "morally good for the people". This book is not religion, but instead an important piece to your overall study of politics.
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Summary: Rand answers all the major philosophical questions.
Review: If you read ATLAS SHRUGGED, you may not like Rand's answers but you will become acquainted with most of the questions in the philosophical areas of metaphysics (what exists), epistemology (what can we know and how can we know it) , ethics (what is good and what is evil), politics (ethics writ large), and aesthetics (standards of beauty)-- with lessons in logical thinking and economics also included.I read ATLAS 7 times. On the second reading, I prepared an index of definitions. Today, I would suggest that you get the superb writes better definitions. (Check out her definitions of grammatical terms in INTRODUCTION TO OBJECTIVIST EPISTEMOLOGY). I got excommunicated from her group because one was expected to be independent in one's thinking -- except when it came to Rand and her beliefs (she loathed Bach, Beethoven and Mozart and liked Friml and Victor Herbert) She had the greatest mind of any woman in history, a great love of America, freedom and laissez-faire. Yet, she was also the most authoritarian person I ever met, and so are her Frederich Nietzsche, who influenced Rand WE THE LIVING and whose influence she later denied, and Aristotle, whose writing is like listening to music of the baroque. Rand is NEVER dull. Her plots are superbly crafted, and she is a terrific story-teller.As a lapsed Objectivist, I prefer THE FOUNTAINHEAD which I read 25 times -- and which did more to destroy the altruism that underpinned Communism and racist Nazism than any book ever written (or film ever made)
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Summary: Changed my life.
Review: This book has changed my way of thinking more than any other book I have read. The ideas that Ms Rand espouses through her characters (Dagny, Hank, Francisco, and John Galt) resound thunderously within me, and should do the same for any intellegent person disillusioned with the modern world. I have read this book several times and cannot decide between two opposing opinions about the work as a novel. (The ideas stand alone.) On the one hand, her characters are all a bit two-dimensional, and the scenes melodramatic. This sometimes makes it hard to swallow. On the other, those characteristics make it a truly Romantic work and a perfect novel on the order of the Brothers Karamozov. You must read this book.
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