Rating: 
Summary: It makes you think
Review: I have some comments and responses to reviewers' complaints.Atlas Shrugged is a work of fiction. It was never intended as a light novella or breezy romance. If you as the reader have a problem with books, move on to another author. Before reading this book, I did not enjoy long, intellectual novels; I changed my mind after finishing Atlas Shrugged.
1) Many of the reviewers who disliked the novel disparage the lack of reality in its characterization. When reading the book, it is obvious the author intended to demonstrate the ultimate conclusion of the socialist system. If the world subscribed completely to the communist philosophy, all human talent would suppress or remove itself from society. Ultimately, Rand was prophetic; witness the failure of the U.S.S.R., East Germany, and North Korea. As such, the characters are very black and white. The prime mover is good; the moocher is bad. No one in reality will fit either the protagonist or the antagonist. However, you will recognize elements of the characters in people in your life.
2) Rand puts into fiction what economics has long held true: man is ultimately self-interested. People want to be compensated for work. Even altruistic ventures stem ultimately from a person's desire to donate his time, effort, or money. Communism requires people work according to their ability and distributes compensation according to their need. Rand makes the excellent point: society cannot force effort, society cannot force charity.
3) As with any utopian novel, there are problems with Rand's novel. Rand would argue a corporation acting according to her philosophy would minimize pollution and compensate their workers adequately; otherwise, over time, the company would cease to do business by poisoning its customers or lose its employees. In reality, this does not work. Companies are run by humans, and humans tend to be very short-sighted. But this goes back to: this is not a "reality" book, it is an idealistic novel.
I found the novel very inspiring and upholding the best of the human spirit: intellectual effort. Every step forward in human history came from the use of a man's mind. It is the collective efforts of history's prime movers that allow us to travel across the country in minutes, communicate with people around the world, live in buildings that tower above the earth. The highest compliment this book should receive: it makes you think.
Rating:
Summary: Anyone in a capitalist or non-capitalist society should read
Review: I listened to an audio copy of this book. I don't know how anyone could read it - even listening to it took a very long time. I think this book is brilliant at showing the faults with the philosophical system some people employ. I enjoyed the story very much. Ayn Rand is very good at subtle imagery and hidden context. The scenes are described in such detail that you feel you are remembering a movie you have watched. And there is a reason the main character is in charge of a rail-road. I thought that was obvious, but from some other people's comments perhaps not. I feel that every business person should read this book. This book champions capitalism like you have never heard it before. It make is obvious that communism, or more to the point socialism, would never work. When I found that Ayn Rand is from Russia I thought "Ahh, well that explains a lot." It also champions the use of logic and reason. Something that is in short supply these days!
Rating:
Summary: Atlas Shrugged
Review: One could look at Atlas Shrugged as a book about a railroad, but he would not have been taking this book for what it truly is.
When read, and understood, this book brings a new idea of the importance of life.
It is a book of integrity. It shows people for what they are truly capable of against all odds. Dagny, John, Fransico and all of their friends set an example of taking action against what they consider to be unjust to themselves and to all people.
Though this book is in some ways unrealistic, its true beauty is in the suggestion that true greatness for all people can be accomplished by a man with an idea, a group working with him to make that idea into a reality and a great deal of intention. It also gives us hope that there can be ideas that benefit everyone.
I don't know about you, but I've had enough of this viewpoint that only a certain amount of good for a certain amount of people can be achieved. I agree with Ayn Rand in her viewpoint of going all out and really doing something to fix up this world.
Rating: 
Summary: A MONUMENTAL WORK!!!!...that should have been shorter
Review: Ayn Rand has an interesting view of the world, and I think it is one worth sharing...I agree with some aspects of Objectivism, however, Ms. Rand seems to ignore some of the most basic variables in human existence (mainly limited resources, social solidarity, and environmental concerns)...however, her work is unique enough to be considered a "classic" and although she could have managed to get her point across in 1/4 of the book, I still think it is worth reading...
Rating:
Summary: A quote by Ayn Rand -- 1968
Review: It does not matter that only a few in each generation will grasp and achieve the full reality of man's proper stature -- and that the rest will betray it. It is those few that move the world and give life its meaning -- and it is those few that I have always sought to address. The rest are no concern of mine; it is not me or The Fountainhead that that they will betray: it is their own souls.
Rating: 
Summary: Should have been a comic book.
Review: It would have been much shorter and less ponderous, could have presented the same arguments just as effectively, and would have done a better job targeting the intended audience. Instead I had to suffer through over a thousand pages of having the same ideas rammed into my head over and over and over... The characters are either capitalist superheroes who are mentally and physically perfect, or the physically and morally bankrupt liberals/marxists. Once Rand had begun to describe a character as anything less than godlike, you knew they were doomed. It was hard to buy in to the story when the characters were as polarized as they were. It also made their actions so predictable, that I was easily forseeing the plot twists by page 200 or so. The only good thing I can say about this book is that teenagers and anyone else who hasn't been exposed to the real world seem to enjoy it. I don't know if it's the simplistic characters and story, or the "I'm right, and everyone else is wrong" point of view. For the record, I'm not a mealy-mouthed liberal, I just think that Rand could have made a stronger (and more entertaining) case for her philosophy with some better character development and some judicious editing. Personally, I would have have Dagny and some other characters start out as liberals who slowly come to see the light ("I could be making HOW MUCH working 14-hour days!?") and join the Happy Capitalists. I think it would be much more convincing for the middle-of-the-road types, who, in spite of what Rand seems to think, do exist.
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Summary: Amazing.....
Review: Let me just say that Atlas Shrugged is one of the greatest novels I have ever read in my life. Definetly a must have for serious readers.
Rating:
Summary: Changed my life
Review: This book has changed my view and percpetion on life so much that when I finished it, I was literally a different person. This book is a long read with some parts that kind of make the book drag(i.e. when Galt speaks for almost 50 pages by himself over the radio waves) but I highly recommend the book if you have the time because it will truely open your eyes to reality.
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Summary: Atlas Shrugged : Ayn Rand's Finest (philosophy/politics)
Review: If a man is the sum of his actions, then what is he if he performs no actions? What happens when more people consume than produce? What are the implications of the mindset that simply because one breathes, one is entitled to just as much as the next person? These questions and more are answered in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. Set in the mid-1900s, this is a thrilling novel that, through a logical course of events, illustrates the extreme dangers of a communistic society. Written in the third-person, the novel follows the lives of several characters, especially Dagny Taggart, a vice president at a major transcontinental railroad. The country is being bled dry by people who don't produce and who take from those who do. People have forgotten the relationship between productivity and reward. Communistic behaviors prevail as far as the eye can see. The only ones keeping society from collapsing are those who are hated most - the producers. Their pride and responsibility are inspiring, but even they have limits. As more resources are squandered through stupidity, the government tightens restrictions on production, with Dagny and other powerhouses taking the brunt of it. The more that is destroyed by the stupid, the more that is demanded of the intelligent. Curiosity and exasperation eventually lead Dagny to investigate a man named John Galt, whom no one seems to know anything about, but who may hold the fate of the world in his hands. During the course of her search, there are enough twists and turns to keep one interested. The ending instills a sense of bliss, to say the least, and is well worth reading the entire book. I recommend Atlas Shrugged to anyone who can read, and the audiotape for anyone who can't, or won't. At 1,168 pages, it will take a while to finish, but the sense of purpose you gain from this book makes every minute well spent. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the book is that it was written in the 1950s, yet we can already see in our own society elements of the future it portrays, a future that chills my bones.
Rating: 
Summary: borishly outdated
Review: I don't know, maybe it's just me. I never thought of myself as an intellectual. All I'm interested in doing is reading through what are considered the 100 greatest classics and I found about 400 on the Random House site. the reader vote list looks like an attempted "run" by the scientologists to corner the market. Fro example, that stinker Dianetics is #2 on the reader list. "Fear" is #10. I hated that book, not scary or interesting at all. I lost at least four hours reading it. I'm a pragmatist and I just couldn't find much of interest here in Atlas Shrugged. What made it tough reading to stay interested was the railroad business thing. James never committed to anything, never making a single decision or ever taking responsibility, sidestepping responsibility in fact and trying to pin it on everybody else, anybody else, cynical and critical like my grandma from my dad's side was, and James' sister always made on the spot decisions and took charge. But I just couldn't find the interest in reading about a railroad business. It was like trudging trhough 1000 pages of gobblygook. I would rather read the bible or any number of real classics and have them speak to me something of core value, "As a person thinks, so they are.." rather than a specific philosophy that people can argue over, like politics, philosophy and religion.
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