Rating: 
Summary: Foreboding of the Encrypted World
Review: Atlas Shrugged is the first novel to put forth the idea of withholding innovation and trade as a weapon of war against economic cannibalism. Goober-mentals beware.With all it's faults, it continues to influence millions around the world. Many eastern Europeans, for example, even non-intellectual ones, have told me that "everyone" has read Atlas Shrugged. Good for them. For those who do not wish to wade through this rough diamond of a novel, I would strongly recommend Harry Browne's How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World instead. It's a rapid-fire self-help handbook to Rand's central themes of aware, circumspect individualism without getting bogged down in the political fundamentalism of the left, right, and libertarian types who try to change the world through that futile wheelspinning called politics. At any rate, a new novel is needed to replace Atlas Shrugged. It should be the length of her excellent 1937 novella, Anthem, believable, philosophically clever, streetwise, discursively complete---but without long-winded digressions and speeches. If you've got the plot, I've got the dialogue. Reading Atlas Shrugged will expose the formulaic nature of collectivist propaganda, as well as it's consequences for human incentive in every aspect of society. Here's to you, Ayn Rand. "She smiled her last smile at so much that had been possible."
--last line of Rand's We The Living
Rating: 
Summary: If you liked Mein Kamph....
Review: I truly hope that this book is widely read by the general public. I say this in the sense that I wish Mein Kamph would have been more widely read. If people would have been more familiar with the author's ideas it would have averted horrible tragedy, and outright evil, in the world. As Ayn Rand is the author most quoted by "libertarians", "free-traders", and advocates of "hands off" capitalism this also applies. Her philosophy of Objectivism is the philosophy of sociopathy, of the ego freed from the restraints of social conscience. All that is important is gratification of the ego. There is no room for community, no room for humanity, no room for God- the individual ego is God. To the objectivist, "altruism", lending a hand or doing good for it's own sake, is a dirty word. I have heard a leading spokesman for Rand's philosophy denounce Hitler primariy because he was too "altruistic." Make of that what you will. In our own time, the proponets of unrestrained corporate power, and of the dismantling of elected government, love Rand. They tell you that only governments can "initiate force." This is the Big Lie- there is no moral difference between shooting a man and starving him to death through economic control of resources- or controlling people through the threat of it. Rand and her objectivists are usually very adept at formal argument and logic. However, their basic premises are so absolutely inhumane that their arguments are mere castles in the air. Castles empty of humanity and God, but filled with evil.
I sometimes wonder what sort of childhood abuse in her native Russia could have warped Rand so seriously. It is obvious that her philosophy is an extreme over reaction to communist collectivism- in the same way that Satanism is an extreme overreaction to Christian fundamentalism
Rating:
Summary: Awe-inspiring,
Review: if a bit redundant and slightly melodramatic. I adored this book and couldn't put it down from the moment I picked it up, and later I did suffer the morning-after syndrome, but when all's said and done I find Atlas Shrugged to be a vital addition to my collection. Rand's characters are a bit monotonous- all the heroes cut from the same noble, superior-race cloth; all the baddies from the same two strains of either spineless quasi-villains or emotionless instruments of evil. The flaws in Hank Reardon's character are probably what make him the most believable, and that's still not very. Being unrealistic didn't detract from my admiration of them, though, and I did thoroughly enjoy their valor in their struggles.
The book is intriguing from the first chapter, and Dagny Taggart is a wonderful heroine (until the latter part of the story). Her history with Francisco D'Anconia, her work behind the scenes at her brother's company, and her developing relationship with Hank Reardon- all kept me captivated. However, towards the end it seemed that Dagny lost her purpose, her direction, and began to drift aimlessly. She didn't really accomplish anything, and I got the feeling that Rand put her in that position solely for the sake of the ending, which also felt rushed and a bit out of place. There were other bits and pieces that I felt were thrown in unnecessarily, such as the whole bit with James Taggart's courtship and marriage and subsequent widowhood with his randomly created wife. However, the evolving relationship between Reardon and the Wet Nurse was wonderfully evocative, particularly at the culmination. It takes a lot of patience and dedication to dig your way through Rand's inspired 60-page monologues on her concepts of Ego and Objectivism, but they happen infrequently, and don't interfere with the story too much, if you remember where you left off with the plot when the monologue struck. I have to admit that it was the romance in the story that delighted me as much as all the noble concepts of individualism and the struggles of good and evil. Despite all of them being so similar, I was very pleased that Dagny should get her choice of three choice men (no pun intended).
This novel introduces some novel ideas (really, no pun intended) of self-sacrifice and selfishness. While it may not change your life, it might very well open your eyes to a new perspective of charity. Anyway, even disregarding all the abounding philosophy, it's a fascinating story with enough realism, romance, and fantasy to make it unforgettable.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth reading, once.
Review: This is not my favorite of Ayn Rand's novels - that would be Anthem. But it is still well worth reading. No, I am NOT an objectivist. I am, however, a huge fan of dark future novels. They tend to give great insight into character's minds. If you want to read Atlas Shrugged, but haven't read alot in this genre before, try first reading Anthem or Ray Bradbury's Farenheit 451 (both great novels) or We (a Russian novel by Yevgeny Zamyatin), or 1984. If you enjoy any or all of these, try Atlas Shrugged. You do not have to agree with Ayn Rand's views to appreciate and enjoy her novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Atlas Shrugged
Review: Atlas Shrugged is a very imaginitive novel. In it the government tries to control the monopolies which causes all of the great minded people to strike and "dissapear". It really makes you think about how it would be if this sort of thing happened now. Imagine how it would be if the great minded people of today's society all of a sudden dissapeared. This novel really opens up new ways of thinking about our society.
Rating:
Summary: Atlas Shrugged
Review: The book Atlas Shrugged is a book that needs some revision. There are parts in the story that just drag on for a number of pages. The reader loses interests during these parts. Luckily there are some parts that make up for the excessive usage of words, for instance all the love triangles and conflicts between characters. There are not too many twists and turns causing action in the story but when there is, it is unexpected and hardly predictable regaining the attention of the reader. Overall the story line is very well thought out and interesting, that is why the book Atlas Shrugged is worth three stars.
Rating:
Summary: Needed a good editor
Review: Here's a summary of the book: Money good, hand-outs and government intervention bad. The author's look at capitalism is at first interesting, but it quickly gets old after she beats the same concept over your head in a very pompous manner. I finished the book only as a challenge to myself. This book could have been EASILY edited to half the number of pages and lose nothing. You might like the book if you find the next paragraph exciting...
Money good, hand-outs and government intervention bad. Money good, hand-outs and government intervention bad. Money good, hand-outs and government intervention bad. Money good, hand-outs and government intervention bad. Money good, hand-outs and government intervention bad. We are told that the only ones who disagree with this are fools or a welfare-sponges.
Rating:
Summary: Louisville Slugged
Review: Before I begin, let me state that I find Rand's philosophy (which I was unfamiliar with prior to reading Atlas Shrugged) to be quite attractive. Having said that, this is the least subtle novel I've read since "The Grapes of Wrath". Rand's approach is to hammer her philosophy into the thick skulls of her readers with the literary equivalent of a 36-ounce Louisville Slugger. The characters are caricatures. The points are made repetitively. And, given that the the novel was written around 1950, her foresight with respect to industrial development (the novel is set in some undefined post-socialist future) is absolutely comical - the heroes are coal, oil, copper, steel and railroad magnates. I know what you're thinking - "What, no tractors?". No tractors, but a prominently-featured pirate plying the high seas. While her presentation leaves much to be desired, the novel is the most engrossing 1069 pages I've encountered in recent memory. The driving theme is the mystery embodied in the book's first four words: "Who is John Galt"? Despite Galt's sixty-page manifesto late in the book, the answer is not "Bill Clinton". Not by a mile - this book infuriates college-town Sandalistas precisely because Rand's answer is "the man who butters your bread, America". The heroes are self-interested greedheads who wouldn't throw a dime to a wino unless it was to get him to mow their lawns. The villains are public-spirited bureaucrats, tweed-jacketed intellectuals, and do-gooders of every stripe. The past fifty years have not been kind to steel or railroads, but Rand's philosophy has held up magnificently compared to its socialist competitors. Earth to academia: GREED IS GOOD!
Rating:
Summary: To read? or not to read?
Review: When I first heard of Atlas Shrugged, it was an assignment for First Year Composition. Looking at the size of this book placed an extreme burden on me to read it, however, it was a very interesting book. I do not agree with Ayn Rand's ideas and I think her "world" is very unrealistic. This book had some interesting events while others could be taken out and never missed. I would recommend reading this book if you have extra time on your hands or if you are a good reader. It will definately give you a view of a world that many of us could never imagine.
Rating: 
Summary: Gotta read it to believe it
Review: Well, If you really like novels that are long, complicated, far fetched, unrealistic, with a bad ending your going to love this novel. I believe Ayn exaggerated a little to much throughout the book. If she made it a little more believable I think I would of liked it. She also need to create some more likeable characters. They all came across mean and selfish, I know that was Ayn's point but that doesn't make a good book.
I do think it was interesting to read just because of the different approach she took in the novel. Ive never read such a thick book before and it was very rewarding and although I felt the ending needed some work, the book did keep my interest until the end. So you decide whither you want to read it or not.
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