Rating: 
Summary: This ideas expressed in this book are absolutely amazing.
Review: Never have I read such a book that expresses so clearly what is wrong with the world and how those who fight for what is right struggle to overcome their incompetent inferiors. This is a story of good vs. evil that deals with the ideas that hard work, a sharp mind, dedication, etc. are the only ways to live life. This is a story of how those who are lazy, those who are looters and moochers of other people, try to stop those who fight for what they believe in, fight for the right to use their minds to do great things, fight for the right to fullfill all the potential that they possess. The characters in this book are amazing, and they are true hereos in every sense of the word.
Rating: 
Summary: marvelous tale of following one's passion
Review: Ayn Rand sets out to tell a tale of how individualism can save what is dignified in a man or woman. While a bit overworked at times, she manages to tell a compelling tale about what happens when people decide to stop pretending to like what they are supposed to do and begin to do what they are driven to do.
Rating:
Summary: A book that explains why everything is not right in America.
Review: For anyone who has pondered seemingly complex issues like social security, welfare, environmentalism, or "social responsibility," this book is essential reading. Whether you are devoutly religious or socialist, or a capatilistic business guru, Ayn Rand's presentation of objectivist epistemology will enlighten you. Furthermore, a suspensful and intriguing plot prevents this book from become another dry philosophical textbook.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but not what I would call "great literature"
Review: As a fairly strong supporter of objectivism, I thought the philosophy was well outlined in _Atlas Shrugged_. It is not, however, a "great work of literature." It is very readable, I believe, was quick reading, her characters were either very likeable, or very hateable (which is a good thing for some types of fiction), but it is lacking in depth. I will say, her descriptions of the enemies in the novel were well done, as it is one of the few times I've gotten truly angry at a fictional character.Those who complain about the verbosity of the novel and herald Dostoevsky as great, should think about their statement. As an author, Dostoevsky is my favorite. However, have any of you people read _The Brothers Karamazov_? Talk about needing an editor. I don't see verbosity as a good claim against _Atlas Shrugged_, (albeit, Galt's speech is a bit overdone) because sometimes it takes a lot of words to get it across. I did enjoy this book, I do like Ayn Rand's ideas. She was, from what I have read in interviews, not the best person out there. She could have followed her philosophy a bit better. It is important, though, to read this book, it is immensely readable, and was influential on me. It got me into philosophy (and not just objectivist). But, if _Atlas Shrugged_ does interest you, read some of her non-fiction..it's also very readable.
Rating:
Summary: ayn rand as ellsworth toohey?
Review: Atlas Shrugged is a beautiful book, marking an evolution from the stark moral poles of Toohey and Roark into the beauty of Dagny Taggart and John Galt. Rand manages to rise above her sermonizing, using her tight prose to simultaneously teach and entertain, finally rising above the stereotypes of The Fountainhead to fully convey her message. Yet the effect that her books seem to have on people--the cultishness, the inability to develop the structure of the ideas she left behind into a coherent philosophy unique to each "Objectivist", the transformation of Rand from revolutionary writer to demigod of Objectivism--makes me wonder if her motive all along was to draw the weak-minded to herself, exploiting indecisiveness and insecurity through words of individualism in order to reap more personal power and glory. Sounds kind of like Ellsworth Toohey, doesn't it?
Rating:
Summary: Atlas Shrugged exposes an evil that exists in our society.
Review: If you have ever wondered at the behavior and motives of those who enjoy hurting others and holding them back, this book will give you some insight. The basic theme of the book is that an evil exists in people and society. This evil is understood by those who embrace it and use it but is not understood by those who suffer from it. The growing comprehension and understanding of this evil by the "heroes" of the book may help you understand what drives people you encounter. While this book gives only a partial answer to coping with this evil it does at least help you to understand it.
Rating: 
Summary: Well written with a dreadful underlying philosophy
Review: I would reccommend this book to anyone who wishes to understand why people believe in Capitalism. It is unpersuasive, mainly due to the fact that it is fiction, and therefore Rand can have the economy of her world act on her every whim. She also fails to present decent arguments of the other side of the "utopian economy" question, and therefore Rand falls into the Straw Man logical fallacy. The plot of Atlas Shrugged is very good, and it keeps the readers attention. It is long, and requires a lot of time to soak in the outlandish ideas presented. Many times Rand's heartless philosophy made me sick to my stomach. So enjoy it (if that's possible)!
Rating: 
Summary: Too long, extremely heavy-handed, but still interesting
Review: Literary masterpiece, it ain't. Her writing style is dreadful, melodrama oozing from each exchange of the one-dimensional characters. Although the story itself is intriguing, she really knows how to make a short story very long. Skip a few hundred pages in the middle; you'll feel better if you do, and you won't miss anything in the process. Novel philosophy, it is. It's usually more difficult for me to take the 'greed is good' credo seriously, but Ms. Rand makes a compelling case for it. Problem is, this reader was still left with the queasy suspicion that something about the argument was terribly wrong. In speaking of volition and free will, she leaves no room for faith and reason to coexist. And she puts forth the theory that the 'most evil' is done by moderate men; compromises are intolerable. But in a world where people have different minds, compromise is a tool of necessity. It's tempting to imagine living in our own personal Galt's Gulch, surrounded by people who think and feel exactly as we do, but what fun would there be in that kind of life? This book challenges conventional thinking, but ends up pushing readers into answers they should have puzzled through for themselves.
Rating:
Summary: Vision, the engine of productivity
Review: Ayn Rand has captured a timeless environment; the story of struggle between those good souls gifted with the tools to create, digging deeper wells and better stores of value, and those who seek to draw freely from the productivity of others. So, what might happen when personal initiative is reduced and excellence is redefined, made a slave to serve the lowest common denominator? Atlas Shrugged is the story of what happens when all the best minds refuse to play the game we call social engineering and feel good politics today. I found in the pages of this book a creative release for emotions shared by many envied and misunderstood people, those who are the engines of a productive world. I purchased a dozen hard bound copies over the years and gave them to a few of my friends, entreprenueurs and leaders who are fighting to create and realize their visions. This book should be on the desk of every executive, a reminder that people seem to appreciate most what they no longer have, and that profiting from your ideas and hard work is not evil. Interesting characters tell the story you wish you could experience.
Rating:
Summary: It changed my life
Review: A love story. An adventure novel. A mystery. A philosophical treatise. When I read it, Atlas Shrugged set my soul on fire. In a world of injustice and irrationality, Atlas Shrugged shows a world of men as they can be and should be. A hymn to the nobility of man's spirit, Atlas Shrugged tells of a beautiful woman who runs a railroad and her quest for an ideal. It tells of an America in which looters and criminals in Washington try to smother the productive men of ability in this country. It tells of one man, who, in order to save the world, had to destroy those whom he loved most. Upholding individualism, reason, and rational selfishness, Atlas Shrugged is not only a philosophical triumph, but a literary one as well. Ayn Rand's 1000-page masterpiece shows such integration, such skill -- every word was written and rewritten until the sound, the meaning, and the meter were not only perfect for the sentence, but for the entire book. Written with unimaginable passion, Atlas Shrugged elicits so much feeling on the part of the reader -- as I read it, certain phrases or sentences made me just lean back, close my eyes, and savor the words on my tongue. Controversial, intellectually challenging, enthralling, exciting, and totally entertaining -- Atlas Shrugged shows Ayn Rand's genius as a writer and her ability as a storyteller. Each sentence conveys the content of her mind and the passion of her heart. Read this book and your life will never be the same.
|
