Rating: 
Summary: The Puzzle Of Ayn Rand
Review: Ayn Rand's book ATLAS SHRUGGED is a long-time
best-seller and is likely her most famous work.
It is very simple to sum up, since all it is
really about is John Galt, a mysterious figure
who promotes a philosophy of sensible
self-interest (Rand's "Objectivism") and starts
a revolution.There's really not that much more plot to it
than that, and there's certainly not much
character development to it. What there is a
lot of, like maybe a thousand pages, is Rand's
expositions on Objectivism. Now on reading all this, it becomes a major
puzzle to figure out why Ayn Rand has such a
long-standing prominence. It's not that her
thinking is so disagreeable -- certainly a
very good case can be made for the virtues
of rational self-interest. No, it's just that she's such a terrible writer.
Like I said, there's no plot of interest,
hardly a pretense of characterization, and all
that's left is endless (to put it bluntly)
ranting about Objectivism. Rand appears to have been the sort of intellectual
who confuses rhetoric with reasoning. Myself, I was
educated by people with such a mindset -- they're
called "Jesuits" -- and all such rhetorial
"contraptions", as I call them, do is make me feel
like I'm being given a snowjob. I find her
arguments "counterpersuasive", in that when I
agree with what she's saying, it makes me wonder:
"Maybe I'm wrong?" And I do find many areas of agreement with her
thinking, but there's a difference between a point
of view worth considering, and what is presented as
an "Ultimate Truth" with the conviction of a
religious extremist. I think ATLAS SHRUGGED would have been a really
great book, saying all it that was worth saying in
it and being far more persuasive, if it had been
about 200 pages long and written by Voltaire.
For example, Rand bitterly blasts government
bureaucracies and do-gooders, but it would have
been much more effective to have simply mocked
them. Yes, to be sure, government bureaucracies -- or for
that matter any large bureaucracy -- are way too easy
to mock, but do-gooders are full of unintentional
humor, as in fact are any extremists, including Ms.
Rand, and I think an ATLAS SHRUGGED by Voltaire would
have also reserved a little mockery for itself. But Ms. Rand was no Voltaire, in fact it seems obvious
that she had no sense of humor at all. If she had,
she couldn't have written the way she did and not felt
silly. Still, Ayn Rand remains popular. She seems to have a
great attraction for a certain sort of person whose
ways of thinking resembles her own. Of course,
suggesting to such people that they may be on the wrong
track is futile and I wouldn't bother to try, but I can
at least provide a possible warning to those not so set
in their ways who are wondering what Ayn Rand is all
about and are interested in reading ATLAS SHRUGGED to
take a grain of salt along with it.
Rating: 
Summary: Wowsa!!!!!!!Shabang! from an adolescent looking for herself
Review: This book is the best ever! I have always thought really deep about stuff, but until ayn rand, i totally didn't know how. Her skills as a writer are indoubtful and affective. I agree with the 12 year old reviewer below, her seemingly needless repitition is the result of a smart strategy, not what some college kids have told me is bad writing. My dad is an executive at a huge corporation, and he has always told me that the key to rising to the top and being successful and living right is knowing that the usual business practices are really virtuous and not evil. I think this is really evident now, with corporate corruption we are seeing what the effects of government intervention in the economy does. Look people, purple prose is for the weak who are just relying on others for examples, we need to do our own thing, and that is the good thing to do. There is a reason why so many business majors in college have rand on their bookshelf, it is because she knows what she is talking about, and when you learn about how business works, you can see how right she is. I have met a bunch of 'philosophy' majors at the local college i live by, and they don't like rand because of all this stuff like universals and because she said in her address to the navy academy that kant was a dope and wrong and ruined society, or so that is what it seemed to me like they were saying, which is just the point. when you are talking on that you are relying on others and using others for help and helping others, which is what rand is against, and which is wrong. people, let's not get together, but become totally our own, and never ever, ever ever, no matter what, cross our hearts and hope to die, that we won't ever do anything for another person unless we do it selfishly.
Rating:
Summary: This is a unique book (in a very personal sense)
Review: I have made several attempts to read it, probably about five. I've failed: the book is unbearably boring and seeing that it's over 1000-pages long I gave up all hope. The thing is superficial and unintelligent, imo. I can't understand how people take Rand seriously... but then again, look at the number of reviews here. If it's that popular it's gotta be junk (paraphrasing I forget whom, some prominent philosopher, if memory serves). I said it's unique in a personal sense because even though I'm an avid reader, I can recall being in the same predicament only once before, when I dealt with "Anna Karenina" by Tolstoy. However, I must say that even though I had to attack it a quelque reprises as well, with Tolstoy I did bust through eventually, though it cost me dearly in time and effort... 'course I was younger then. Anyway... maybe it gives you an idea of what to expect here, namely, no moderately intelligent, well read person will want to poison himself with this never-ending work of monumental tedium.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite book (***spoilers included)
Review: This book is the reason why I passed my CPA exam. I read it in December of my senior year of college, and what I got out of the book was: "Why do anything if you're not going to do your best!?!???" Although this particular book is written on a macro-level for society and its flaws (as perceived by ms. Rand), I tend to take her writings more on a personal level. Unlike others, I found no difficulty in reading through the 1,000 pages. And unlike the others, I actually enjoyed the 60-page John Galt speech in the end. I didn't find it repetitive. On the flip side, I did find a few scenes to be "wooden" and unbelievable (i.e. a couple of the love scenes, and a portion of John Galt's personality). I chalked this up to being a book written in the 50's (re: language used). Also, I wanted Dagny to end up with Francisco...but that was just a personal wish. :) Other than that, it is a wonderful book. Take with a grain of salt, however, that this opinion is coming from an Accountant...
Rating:
Summary: How do people buy into this bull?
Review: I read Atlas Shrugged. Never before in my life have I seen a book more in need of an editors pen. The book is over 1,000 pages long and could have easily been told in 400. If you dropped Rand's psuedo-political/religious rantings and took all those 60-70 paged character monolouges (and I'm not even joking about those lengths) you might have a two-star story. Any Rand seems to not want to actually write a decent novel. Instead, she wants to slam her beliefes in our faces. If you've never read her books or heard about her beliefes I can sum them up in a nutshell: She glorifies shelfishness and has a basic motto of "F**k everyone else, I'm more important that you." Nice, huh? Not only does she want we, the reader, to follow in her footsteps, but all of her characters follow her as well. It's bad enough that the characters are uninteresting, but they are all alike. I'm still comvinced that there is only one character in the book. And about those 60-70 paged monolouges. You only need to read one paragraph, after that they'll start to repeat themselves constantly for the rest of the 70 pages. If this seems like just one big rant, it is. Reading this book put me in rant mode. I wish I could give this book no stars at all, because it doesn't even deserve the one.
Rating: 
Summary: It's Too Bad A Good Editor Didn't Edit This
Review: The Positives: My reviews usually focus on the positives, and I'll start there. Buried in this huge work (1074 pages) is a good, clever, and unique mystery story. The premise is that the capitalists and industrialists of this country get frustrated with socialist policies that smother them, and go on strike by disappearing. The character development is good, and the story is gripping at times. In the sections where a good story is all it is trying to be, it is great. That covers about half of this book (not an exaggeration). Also, while I find Ms. Rand's philosophy extreme, it does have valid points. I would never reread this monster, but I wish there were well-edited versions available, minus the redundancy and long-winded speeches. The Negatives: 1) This was one of the most poorly edited books I've ever read. I understand that Ms. Rand didn't want an editor touching her work; she was wrong. 2) There are logical contradictions in the story. In one scene, two characters are watching a train go by with the morning sun glinting off the roof of the train. Then, they step outside into the pre-dawn morning(?!). 3) Ms. Rand spotlights her philosophy by pitting the extremes against one another (competent, intelligent, driven capitalists who deal honestly with people, versus incompetent, mediocre socialists who play power-games). This gives the reader a good view of two extremes, but little about the other 98% of us. The socialists help themselves by talking about helping "the common man" and the industrialists go after their own goals well but are indifferent to the common man. What about the common man? 4) The sex scenes in the book border on rape. The "heroes" of this story seem unable to love others in a civilized way. The results look inept and painful to them and to the reader (and to the victim/beloved!). 5) The characters often give very long-winded speeches. In one scene, all of the striking, hidden industrialists greet a new-comer by explaining why each of them went on strike. That would be fine, but each character restates Rand's philosophy of objectivism in detail. You get seven or eight paraphrasings of the same speech. And, near the end of the book, when John Galt (the strike leader) gives a national radio broadcast to explain his point of view, the speech covers 57 pages! I read only about 6 of those pages and still noticed redundancy and repetition. 6) A main character, Dagny, loses herself near the end by abandoning her goals to become a moonstruck clinging vine. She had been admirable until then. "Atlas Shrugged" is two books in one. A four-star mystery story has been thrown into a blender with a dry, long-winded, repetitive treatise on Rand's philosophy. The result is a good demonstration of how blenders can't write good novels. How can this be called great writing or great philosophy?
Rating:
Summary: An All-Time Classic!
Review: This is undoubtably one of the best books I have ever read. It starts off with the magical question, "Who is John Galt?" That is probably the greatest catch phrase I have ever seen in a book. I was hooked from the start. A political attack on Socialism, the book shows how the Capitalist society and the rewards for doing "actual work" by the individual works every time. The book shows how society is always trying to stifle creativity and how the have nots always want what the haves already got without having to do any work. A must read for any political science student.
Rating:
Summary: An Extreme View at a wonderful Ideal
Review: Rand captures what could be a possible paradise of capitalism. The ideals of the characters are far beyond selfish but backed by a nature of a reason to be selfish. Followed by her strong passionate toward the love of two people totally void of religion or need. Love to Rand isn't that of need and isn't that of want, it is a gift that must be given. All in all a GREAT book, that may be taken as extreme but if taken lightly the past and future of the United States is written within these pages.
Rating:
Summary: In Defense of the American Ideal
Review: It took a Russian woman to write a novel on the attributes of free market capitalism! This work explains why no socialist state has ever or will ever in the history of man accomplish greatness. The reader must at the end of the novel come to an understanding as to why the United States has so dramatically excelled beyond all other nations past or present. Miss Rand lived the horrors of the Soviet Socialist Republic. Her's is a voice of authority. Those who are trying to impose "creeping socalism" onto the United States will hate Atlas Shrugged. Those who believe in limited government and the exaltation of the indvidual will cherish this masterpiece of reason.
Rating:
Summary: Liberals Need Not Apply!
Review: With it's unabashed defense of Capitalism, individual responsibility , and reward for individual achievement, it is no wonder that you cannot buy this book at the UC Berkeley bookstore. You can, however, buy "Das Kapital", and "The Works OF Chairman Mao" there. Is there anything else you need to know?
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