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Summary: This book summarizes my entire outlook on life
Review: Atlas Shrugged has got to be the best book I have ever read. I have always held a certain set of beliefs for as far back as I can remember. There has always been certain qualities about people that I believe to be evil, and it wasn't until reading Atlas Shrugged that I was able to put a finger on it. I have lived overseas (Turkey) and started working when I was 12. Turkey is a nation where the principle of "if you don't work, you don't eat" is a reality. There is no entitlement mentality in Turkey and I believe that America could take a lesson from that. The business/financial structure that Turkey operates under is like ours, only with fewer regulations. It wasn't until I returned to the States that I started to see what things were really like in this country. While other boys my age were spending their after-school time playing sports, chasing girls, and getting in trouble, I was working in the real world learning about how a business operates and how to make something of myself. More kids need that experience. If we're worried about our children, we need to quit pampering them and treat them like adults. I have had to work hard for everything that I have today and I highly resent people who would dare to ask me to apologize for what I have today. Like Hank Rearden, I am proud of every penny that I have worked for, and I apologize to nobody. I can certainly identify with some of the characters in this novel. I would also recommend this novel for anyone who is concerned about the future of mankind and of our nation.
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Summary: Hyperindividualism devoid of a sense of ought to others.
Review: Atlas is a precursor to the world of American entitlement in the 1930s thru the 1990's. In a sense it is republicanism in regards to wealth and individual rights to be free of excessive law and limits on action. It is big on personal responsibility. Then again it is hyper driven individualism for the personal gain of self and if others are helped then all well and good. Nations Ayn thinks fail when these principles are corrupted by redistribution of wealth or ideas when the receivers of such have done nothing to earn them. Dagney is the strongest female character I have ever read with absolute belief in her self to deal with her situation. It argues against large gov. democractic party fiscal priciples of sharing wealth based upon the need of people. It supports the right of people to live as they so desire socially no discrimination except by ability (very democratic)
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Summary: Intriguing portraying of the ideal man and his role
Review: Objectivism is a new philosophy popularized by Rand, and this is the book that puts the philosophy to life. The book is filled with delightful subtleties and intriguing plotlines and characters. This is Rand's crowning achievement by far.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: Read this book if you are open to changing the way you see the world and your life.
Rating:
Summary: The best book ever written
Review: I have read this book 4 times now, and I know I will read it again many times. The book shows how man should be and could be. It paints the picture of man as a heroic being. It teachs the real morals and or ethics everyone should have.It also shows the things wrong in society today. I feel empowered when I read the book. I feel empowered because I realize that I have lived my life very closely to her beliefs. I read the book because it always came up in the conversations of very successful people. They all suggested that everyone should read Atlas Shrugged. One person said "If I could only read one book my entire life, I would want it to be Atlas Shrugged". Read the book. It can change your life.
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Summary: I Still Like It
Review: I first read this book when I was about 26 and had been unable to make sense out of certain people, the kind she denigrates in her book. Yes, her characters are steeped in hyperbole, either completely good or completely evil, but she conveys in this book something about the NATURE of the evil in people that I had previously not been able to put a finger on. I still love this book, although now more in the way one loves a friend, flaws and all. My main objection to Objectivism is Ayn Rand's assumption that the subconscious mind is LOWER and WORSE than the conscious, rational mind. I also don't completely believe that the emotions are 100% the result of programming by the conscious mind, and that therefore emotions that cannot be rationally accounted for should be repressed 100% of the time. I think that sometimes our subconscious minds are actually a little ahead of our conscious minds, although I won't go off on endless detail here. (Also, her views of the man/woman relationship were completely WARPED.) People object to Rand's apparent belief that if you don't conform to the Objectivist outlook in its entirety, the result is unspeakable depravity. Maybe that objection is justified, but she is still so right on so much of the time about what motivates people and about underlying philosophical influences on society. She was an insightful and courageous woman. Rand's life and the lives of those close to her were proof that you cannot will yourself by rational thought to be happy. If you are caught in the tide of her philosophy and cannot allow yourself a single thought contrary to hers, recognize that you are going through a stage. (A stage that will ultimately benefit you, I think.) Yes, this book is overblown and even seems a little hokey after you've read it 10,000 times, but let's not therefore deny its virtues and its rightful place as a unique, moving masterpiece.
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Summary: After 32 years, still one of the best books I've ever read.
Review: Since 5 previous copies of Atlas Shrugged have disappeared from my personal library (some on loan), I've just ordered another hardcopy to re-read, after 15 years since the last reading. Contemporary society seems to have fallen into "self-destruction"-- the kind that Ayn Rand describes in this book. Atlas Shrugged should not be read with formal literary critique in mind, rather as one from which to learn how to return to being decent human beings. Self-interest is a good thing, as long as it is not abused or overly abusive to others. As a young woman just entering the working world that was full of impenitrible "glass ceilings", Rand's book gave me courage to rise above and succeed in all my life endeavors-- without becoming a miserable, unprincipled or uncaring witch. Now, 32 years later, I continue to be enlightened by her work, but with a more mature eye that has experienced much of the world and recognizes the importance of her philosophy in today's society. Through much of her pessimism, I gather optimism toward changes we humans can make to provide better lives for all. An enlightening book for all ages.
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Summary: don't even try if you aren't serious
Review: You have to absolutely WANT to read this book in order to make it through. I have never read a book which took so much thought and effort, but it was more than worth it. Not only does this book make you contemplate the society in which we live, but it makes you rethink your own life. The story is completely timeless, as my father read it 35 years ago and found it just as relevant as I just did. While I love The Fountainhead as well, Atlas Shrugged is at least twice as deep. Prepare for a great experience.
Rating: 
Summary: 1 Rand = 1 nano-Hugo
Review: Was there ever a more vile and monstrous piece of literary excrement foisted upon the world? I don't know of one. Rand claimed to look up to Hugo, well she must have used a very big telescope to even catch a glimpse of him.
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Summary: Egoism vs. the drones of society?
Review: I have noticed in the review of this book that many people mistake John Galt as being high on himself. They take Ayn Rand's description of the common worker as something bad. And they would be correct in that assumption. The "common" worker often comes home screaming for the weekend. The saying "thank god its Friday" came from somewhere did it not. The fact that the common man "hates Mondays" is also quite prevalent in our society. Would this happen to someone who loved their work? I think not. Most people let others push them around, they get into relationships they don't want in the long run because they don't put enough thought into them at the beginnning. They want life beautiful and easy, but they don't want to "work" at making that happen. You will notice that not all the people in Ayn Rand's "hidden" Colorado valley are people with degrees. But in fact, these people are as happy as the others. This is because they like what they do and respect those they work for. And when this fact changes they move on to another job (continuing to make themselves happy and be "self-centered"). Is the opinion of Ayn Rands that we should strive for "that" happiness a bad philosophy? If we could all just "stand on our own two feet" and be happy being our own person this planet would be a much happier place. At any crossroads in "Atlas Shrugged" Ayn Rand presents to us what a "hero" would do and what a "drone" would do. At any decision we make we are allowed to decide how this will "affect us". How it affects us financially, emotionally, and any other manner is up to us. Not recognizing a tiger as a tiger is our own stupidity. Not recognizing a bad boss or a bad job is also our own fault. While a job may not be bad in "society's eyes", it may be bad in an individual case. And when you make that decision that it is "bad for you" then you have become an "objectivist". An objectivist looks at the whole and decides how it affects" him or her. "Atlas Shrugged" like "The Fountainhead" or "Anthem" state this all too well. An individual making individual choices for that individual. It does not mean "not caring about society" or not caring about "one's fellow man". It simply means that you don't "owe" them anything. It is a book like this that every once in a while opens the eyes of a reader and lets them know its okay to be themselves. Long live those that open the eyes of the individual.
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