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Summary: Review Reactions tell it all
Review: I was curious why so many of the the reviews people found unhelpful were the negative reviews. Reading the childish, irrational character attacks that predominately made up that list told me why. I expect no person to blindly agree completely with the philosophies of Ayn Rand, but the people who can cogently write (and, more importantly, think) don't appear to be the ones writing the majority of negative reviews. Whether you agree or disagree with Rand (and she is not without her faults) this book will make you think. If you prefer to simply attack persons who don't ascribe to your narrow way of thinking, I don't expect this book could help you. If you are open-minded and want to decide for yourself what all the fuss is about, I urge you pick this one up and decide logically for yourself.
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Summary: A book that will change your life...in more ways than one
Review: Who is John Galt? A universal question. Who is this man that threatened to stop the "motor of the world?"Is capitalism "evil?" Is the desire to build a better mousetrap, and prove it, so bad? Is subservience, masquerading under the pseudonym of alturism, so noble? See for yourself, and make your own judgement. For me, as I read "Atlas Shrugged", I found myself able to only read a few chapters at a time, having to put the book down, in anger at the situations presented in the book, and recognizing that all of us, whether we dare to admit it or not, believe that recognition should be earned, via our efforts, and not just platitudes to satisfy the masses. If only to stir the emotions of a true individualist, this should be must reading for anyone who is not satisfied with the status quo, but truly seeks a better world.
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Summary: A Book For Our Day
Review: It's amazing to see that, almost 45 years after its publication, "Atlas Shrugged" still has the power to invoke such violent extremes of response (just take a look at the posted reviews below to see what I mean). Rather than disappearing into obscurity, this book seems to be gaining more and more relevance as we move into the 21st century...the Microsoft trial could have sprung directly from its pages! To me, the most interesting thing about her works is not their message (although it's an extrememly powerful message); rather, it is the way she is able to make her readers examine their deeply-held beliefs. Love her or hate her, one thing remains universally true: Exposure to Ayn Rand's ideas will change the way you view the world. I've never met anyone who remeins completely unaffected by what she has to say. The real challenge in reading Ayn Rand is to form your own conclusions...her ideas are so compelling that it is easy for many to be swept along unquestioning by them, hence the charge that Objectivism is a "cult"...for some, it has been. For others, she can produce such violent revulsion that the result is knee-jerk opposition, without giving her ideas the serious consideration they deserve. Are you intellectually strong enough to read this book and form your own defensible conclusions? Get it and find out. No, this is not light reading. But I defy anyone to produce a book containing ideas of this weight, that are presented in a more entertaining manner than this one. Along with her other book "The Fountainhead", this book remains one of the most influential of our century (and its influence is stronger today than ever, as evidenced by the prominence of one of Rand's greatest supporters, Alan Greenspan). Read the book and make up your own mind, if you can!
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Summary: Incredible Epic
Review: I could not put this novel down. Yes this book is long. But that's because it's really like 3 novels in one. This masterpiece is Ayn Rand's greatest work. And though some of the language may seem a bit dated, the philosophy is timeless! Ms. Rand could use some editing, but there's no challenge that could survive her cutting philosphy.
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Summary: An Epic Masterpiece
Review: This book influenced my philosophy far more than any other single work. As I read some of the minority negative reviews I realized the reason some people do not appreciate this book. It takes someone with individual thought and an open mind to truly understand Rand's work. Those lemmings who get their information from the 6:00 news and consider Stephen King to be literature will never comprehend this book. For the rest of you, don't miss this classic. It has the power to change your thought process and for that alone it is well worth reading.
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Summary: Required reading? Required by whom?
Review: "I would strongly suggest," writes one of Rand's less swift reviewers, "this should be required reading for all students before graduating high school, however its length makes that untenable." Hear that, gang? The only thing keeping this Randie from arguing that students in the American public education system should be FORCED to read this book is - what? That Rand opposed "forcing" any people to read anything? That the public education system is an arm of the State that would disappear in a libertarian world? Nope - that the book is TOO LONG. Yeesh. With supporters like this, Rand won't need enemies to destroy her.
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Summary: Become your own hero
Review: A lot of people call those of us who follow Ayn Rands Ideals her cultists. I for one am not a cultist and never will be. The very term makes me ill. But the fact is reading Ayn Rands books is something everyone should do, this book and the fountainhead in particular if your one of those who cant stand articles or lectures (i love her articles and lectures). Not to become a cultist but maybe to understand your insecurities and learn to be proud of yourself. A friend got me started on her, and it has proved a very proufound and positive influence in my life, i have recognized a lot in myself that i otherwise would not have and have become a much more productive and HAPPY person than i ever was. Almost anyone can relate to these books, i just got my roomate to start reading this book, shes seriously being put down by her coworkers for being to dedicated to her work........ if youve ever felt like you were being persecuted for competence, then this book will help you understand it all. you dont have to go to extremes to learn and understand.
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Summary: Epic!
Review: Romantic and inspiring. A novel of the highest magnitude. For me personally, I would have to say that this one novel more than any other singlehandedly focused and clarified many feelings that I had but couldn't bring together in a unified philosophy. In short... it literally changed my life. I definitely rate it as the greatest novel i've personally ever read and I certainly consider it one of the greatest single statements about truth in the world. However, I must state that just as Ms. Rand suggests that each person's mind is their own and for their own use and benefit there is a force that connects us all and a universal consciousness which belongs to us all which no individual may claim as his own. This force is responsible for all things be they manifest in the mind of an individual or in the physical world. We all, regardless of intellect or effort, belong to that force and owe everything to it. And that force belongs to each of us. So basically what i'm saying is that Atlas Shrugged is closer to the ultimate truth than anything else i've encountered in my limited experience but there is an even greater truth than is expressed in this absolutely breathtaking work. It is a book that should be read and reflected upon by all people.
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Summary: The very definition of "didactic" - good cure for insomnia
Review: Rand doesn't have characters; she writes archetypes of the gods of her own personal Objectivist universe, and sets up stilted, histrionic situations where they bounce off one another clumsily like bumper cars at a second-rate carnival. There aren't any likable characters in this book, and no one comes even close to displaying anything like humanity. The plot, hackneyed as it is, groans under the weight of pseudophilosophical pretention that Rand heaps on it. In a way this book is very much like the newly-revived religious classic, "What Would Jesus Do," in that both books are not meant to entertain the reader, but rather browbeat the reader into accepting the religious tenets of the author. In "WWJD" it is born-again Christianity; in "Atlas Shrugged" it is Rand's "Objectivism." In both cases, the burdensome theology heaped on the reader's head makes both these books absolutely unbearable. I forced myself to finish this book - twice - because I had friends who sincerely thought there was something to Rand's philosophies, and something good about this book. There isn't. I beg you, dear reader, spare yourself this mutant monstrosity of a "book." Twenty minutes after starting to read this, if you are any kind of normal person at all, you will experience an overwhelming urge to pitch it across the room and go find something better to do, like clipping your toenails or calling your mom. Follow those urges.
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Summary: I'm not a big fan of rape scenes
Review: I loved it and was influenced by it, but still... I can't get past the idea that Ayn Rand's heroines get brutally raped by the person who turns out to be their ideal man. In this and in the Fountainhead, a savage rape is Rand's idea of Galt/Dagney's and Roark/Dominique's expressing their mutual respect (serious!)and adoration for one another. I was also left with the idea in both books that if I met these people in real life, I would be way too flawed for them. I think they'd be just about unbearable to be around! I'd love to slap Dagney, but she'd probably like it. (No, wait -- only her ideal man can slap her around...) Rand also seems to have a total lack of regard for nature and the environment and any type of mysticism. I'm interested in those things so right off the bat I guess I'm a second-rater. Overall, it's entertaining with wonderful ideas, but way too preachy, and I still don't get why an Ideal Man needs to rape his Ideal Woman.
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