Rating: 
Summary: i usually don't do this...
Review: I've never seen any point in all the "read this! buy this!" stuff of customer reviews, but I felt compelled to respond after stumbling across all of the tripe posted here by the vehemently Anti-Rand. I noticed that one of the major complaints is the length of the book. This amuses me; I would hope that anyone who thinks themselves intelligent enough to argue the psychological premises of this book would be past the childlike complaint of "It's too long!"...when did reading become "work"? I thought we'd outgrown that, children... I am seventeen years old and I just finished reading this book for the third time. I wouldn't say that it changed my life so much as it reaffirmed my existing view of life as I always knew it should be. when reading this, or any of rand's other work, I am always tempted to underline, to highlight the countless passages in which she has described all of the vague notions that I could never quite put into words. I am baffled by those who call her characters "shallow" and "one-dimensional"; I have never encountered any characters in literature who are as deeply affected by the world around them as Dagny, Rearden, Galt, etc. (Their actions alone should be sufficient proof of this...did you people actually read the novel? How can you overlook an entire plot?). Others complain that the novel's premises are "too black-and-white", saying that no one could actually go to such emotional extremes "in real life". Is it any wonder, then, that such people completely miss the point of this novel? This is probably the most important book I have ever read. My only regret is that I did not purchase the hardcover copy (my paperback has become quite tattered). Pay no attention to the outbursts of one-star reviewers...I seriously doubt that they have any idea what they're talking about.One more thing: when did passion become a sexual offense? All of these "rape" comparisons annoy me. The term "rape" refers to consent, and the characters in this book are obviously willing. They are intense, yes, but violence and rape are not necessarily the same thing. I didn't know people could be so easily confused...such are the times, I suppose.
Rating:
Summary: Individualism as it should be seen
Review: Ayn Rand wrote one heavy novel here. It was not the sort of piece of literature that you skim through. If you skim, you will miss so much of what she is saying. Basically, she simplifies people a tad, since few are as black-and-white as the characters. That's fine. Her message is complex enough, yet so simple once you understand, that to throw in a fully 3 dimensional character would confuse most readers. She used this fictional story to illustrate her philosophy. Basically, Socialism robs from the productive to take care of the non-productive, rewarding the latter and punishing the former. Her good guys are productive engineers, industrialists, etc..people who excel in their fields through sheer competence. Her antagonists are those who ride the coattails of the competent and suck them dry like ticks. It is a layered story with a lot that the close minded can miss. If you have an open mind, you may not agree, but you'll at least understand those who do agree with her philosophy. ... To sum up the book, when the individual is allowed to flourish, unhindered by government or others, he can build and create--providing work and opportunity for others who wish to work hard and be treated fairly. When the individual is hindered, the ramifications are disasterous (see the California power problems as an example). Thank you Ayn Rand, where ever your soul resides...
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read
Review: This is simply the best book I have ever read. It helped me to better understand myself by providing explainations for some of the things I've always felt, while changing the way I view the world. Amazing!
Rating: 
Summary: Understanding the purpose......
Review: There are many reviews on this book, 611 at this point and probably growing. There are also many different versions of reviews that range in scope, from the strickly literary view, to the strickly philosophic view. While reading this book, you must take into account Rand's one and only purpose, to present a clear and unmistaken account OF WHY she has developed her philosophy. The "OF WHY" part is most important. Here is why. The "Atlas Shrugged" story is not a picture of realistic life as we know it. Our world only contains bits and pieces of the book. (So you know, Rand was a child around the introduction of Communism in Russia. She faced this reality first-hand. So her world may very well have been close to what can be found in the book) Having said this, I will make the following comments. Her book is a plot device to convey the points of her philosophy. The book has short-comings as do all pieces of litature. Her characters are archtypical and completely one-dimensional. The plot and characters are like many of the classic literature pieces, not reflective of real-life or at least people we know today. They(the characters) only serve to create the shape of her ideas. That is all. The protagonist characters (specifically Galt)only represent the ideals of her philosophy while the other characters represent the ideals of the socialist. Instead, Rand is trying to convey the point of looking for pieces of her characters in the enviroment you can relate too today. NO, Rand is not from academia and I'm sure you'll find many people making comments on construction of her philosophy. This is my opinion(as is all reviews) but I believe that Rand, like all FOUNDERS of philosophy, not people who study philosophy, wrote their beliefs in accordance to what they saw in their enviroment. Anyways, I believe if you read this book with this in mind, you will get the point she is trying to make, regardless if you agree with her or not.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant !!!!
Review: I'd heard a lot about Ayn Rand before I finally picked up one of her books. Mostly negative stuff, cursing her and her selfish philosophy. When I read atlas Shrugged, I immediatly realized why it was so controversial. ... The storyline is outstanding and as the plot progresses, Ran'd philosophy comes through clearly. The characters are brilliant and Francisco d'Anconia will always remain one of my favourites. The research Rand has obviously done on railways, is exhaustive and brings the world of Taggart railways alive for the reader. A must read for anyone who believes in living for their own happiness and the virtue of excellence.
Rating:
Summary: great read for those who still have an open mind
Review: a struggle between those willing to work for their survival and those who are only willing to be the modern day robin hoods of society after reading this book i was left with a lot of answers and previously unseen truths in my life. then after reading the ratings left by some of you there are mixed reviews as with everything. it seems as though everyone who disliked the book spoke of it being for young disturbed adolescents with no hope or meaning to look towards for the future. people who point this out i would assume to be old, stubborn-minded people caught so far up in the trap of modern society with no real hope themselves except for possibly making him/herself more comfortable in the world before finally meeting his demise. the world doesn't really matter to you people does it? as long as you can squeeze by all right it really doesn't matter how those left remaining can fare by? what scares you about this book? what are you so afraid of? ...change? to quote the book in a sense and to help deliver its (our) message to you: ...get out of our way...
Rating:
Summary: Could've been better, but was still good
Review: Just the fact that this woman and her writings have generated so much controversy speaks volumes. As another reviewer mentioned, people either hate her or can't stop singing praise. Well, the interesting part about it all is that for Ayn Rand herself, there were two kinds of people, her kind, and the other kind. Well her point seems to be proven if you ask me. I personally agree with many of her ideals, but I have to agree with the negative reviewers about some parts of this book. She rants and raves a tad bit too much, and....the hidden valley also stretches things a little. But there are the other parts of the book which I think will stand immortal. I am from a country which went through a period of HARDCORE socialism (India) and the way she has described its onset closely mirrors what happened to my country, and look at it. I think things got a bit too personal for Ms. Rand, and she got a bit to emotional as she wrote this book. The Fountainhead describes her ideas very subtly, and this book attempts to apply them to all aspects of a persons life.....well they succeed to an extent. Either way, her ideas were mind-blowing for me as teenager, and I am sure they have influenced my life to a significant degree. A good read, but you can definitely skip the long rants.
Rating:
Summary: If you want to be educated
Review: While I was getting my MBA, an economics professor I had gave us all a reading list of 100 books and said: you may be getting yourselves degrees, but you will not be truly educated until you read these books. One of these was Atlas Shrugged. It will truly make you think about a variety of subjects. You may not agree with all of them, but that's part of what learning is all about. Set in a novel form, it really works your mind, and there are times you'll read things over because it will just nail something that was lurking around in your subconcious mind. I would have to bet some of the negative reviews were truly written by people who didn't even read it. Some of the glowing reviews may be by someone who just read it or are still young. I personally view it as a great base for your education and literally took to heart the thinking for yourself aspect of it and kept reading similar and opposing viewpoints. Rand fans would do well to augment their knowledge on the subject with Milton Friedman's "Free to Choose" and F.A. Hayek's "Road to Serfdom". Though you don't have to agree with it all, you'll still find this book powerful and inspiring. Compared to the vast number of lame books out there, everyone should appreciate the incredible mental talents this woman laid out in this book, as well as The Fountainhead.
Rating:
Summary: The most important novel ever written!
Review: I've read in a few of the negative reviews that the characters in Atlas Shrugged are unbelievable, that they're not well developed and couldn't exist in the real world. Okay, then. So why are exact clones of Ayn Rand's "looters" filling almost every Democratic congress seat? Then again, those people are all ubelievable as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Strictly as literature, flawed but interesting
Review: Let's ignore the philosophy - Objectivism as a system isn't very well thought-out, and (which is worse) simply won't stand up to many empirical tests. But that's not the point here. Viewed strictly as literature - as a reading experience that offers the kind of rational, difficult pleasures that we term "aesthetic" - _Atlas Shrugged_ gets three stars. I resist the temptation to become a partisian for or against the novel. The novel displays Ayn Rand's characteristic strengths - a skill in plot construction and in handling immense casts of characters through lively incidents. It also displays a number of characteristic weaknesses: heavy-handedness, _loaded_ didacticism (I'm not against didacticism if it's cool and controlled, but clearly Rand can't take opposing arguments that way) and hardly any sense of humor. One of the things that might grate about the novel is its schematization, which is laid out almost mathematically - many of the "good" characters have opposing "evil" characters, doppelgangers matched by profession: Hugh Askton/Pritchett, Rearden/Boyle, Richard Halley/Mort Liddy - there are numerous others. But that needs to be understood as part of the novel's method: the "evil" characters are in fact evil doubles in a Manichean mythology: complete with its prophet, John Galt (who somebody says might as well have emerged full-grown from Zeus's head - Rand's unhappy views on families are influential here) its New Jersusalem, Galt's Gulch, and its Apocalypse, which quite thoroughly and exactly separates the sheep from the goats. So enjoy it on that archetypeal level, and don't wish for the same kind of full-blooded reading of the human condition that one might find in Henry James or Jane Austen. These aren't real people - the way in which Rearden and Francisco both happily give up Dagny to Galt is the act of humans giving way to a god's perogative, not the actions of biologically normal males. Incidentally, the text also displays the great extent that Hollywood played in shaping Rand's imagination - the apparatus of tuxes and evening gowns and of material luxury prominently. (There's a certain fetishistic dimension to it - check out the mink scene with Rearden and Dagny.)
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