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Summary: Prerequisites
Review: Once you start reading Atlas Shrugged, you won't be able to put it down; it will become an addiction because the plot is very intriguing and it stimulates your mind. The characters are well developed, similar to her other ficitonal works, the heroes and heroines are strong, anti-social, and intelligent. Also, the theme is reason versus ignorance or good versus evil. Even though the themes and the characters are similar, Rand has a talent of generating new and engrossing plots in her books. I recommend that you read her other fictional novels such as Anthem, We the Living, and The Fountainhead, in that sequence, before reading Atlas Shrugged; then read The Early Ayn Rand last. After reading Atlas Shrugged, I now have a better understanding of the world.Rand is an artist; the proof is in her writings. I have realized that people either HATE her or they LOVE her. I am one of the ones that love her philosophy and her writings.
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Summary: A compelling novel; worthy of the title of "classic"
Review: I think the first, and most important, goal of a novel is to be INTERESTING. That is one thing I have to give "Atlas Shrugged" - it is one of the few so-called "classics" that is suspenseful, creative, and compelling to read. Whether you agree with the philosophical tenets or not, they are presented in a clear way, within the framework of an interesting plot. The biggest reason I can give you for reading this book is that it really is inspirational. It is a book of heroes and heroines; its most insistent point is that the human mind makes anything possible. Most "classics" present the reality of human suffering; Rand presents a vision of human glory. And for sheer promotion of reason and logic, I think she is unmatched. The one complaint I have to make about Rand is that she is no psychologist. As many reviewers have pointed out, her characters are one-dimensional, unrealistic, and stereotypical. All of them are divided into the pro-Objectivism and anti-Objectivism camps - Rand presents no middle ground. Objectivism itself - at least the way it's presented in "Atlas Shrugged" - also has a couple of major loopholes; the philosophy is worthy of analysis, and that is each reader's personal responsibility. But while Ayn Rand is not the best philosopher in the world, she does think for herself using logical, compelling arguments, which is more than I can say for some other intellectuals. Please don't let your own philosophical opinions, or the stylistic flaws, stop you from reading "Atlas Shrugged." It will inspire you to keep working for the things you believe in, and to recognize your ability to create your own happiness. And if, as one reviewer said, "Atlas Shrugged" should only appeal to people ages 17-19, it is because they are the ones who have the most hope in the future, and the most trust in themselves.
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Summary: Ayn Rants !
Review: I read this book along with many other Ayn Rand books when I was in my 20s and it had a deep impact on me. Then again a lot of babble spoken out with authority can have a deep impact on impressionable 20-somethings. It's fair to say that real life will never resemble this book or the Fountainhead, which makes the whole effort of reading them a waste for anyone searching for a philosophy of life. In real life, great inventors like Galt or Rearden create their inventions by building on the work of other scientists before them. And some of these scientists may be socialists and even communists. So a motor invented by a real-life Galt owes as much to Galt as it does to earlier inventors. You don't go from the Wright brothers to the Boeing 747 overnight just by being a bright egotistic guy with a major attitude. In order to promote her philosophy, Ayn Rand chose a context (business and science in this book, architecture in the Fountainhead) that she's only had a vague exposure to. Frank Lloyd Wright who was allegedly her model hero for the Howard Roark character in the Fountainhead, regarded her as an eccentric with crackpot ideas, which is saying a lot coming from the great FLW. The book is a useful antidote to the guilt-inducing messages we get from religion and society but beyond that, it's a huge fantasy.
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Summary: Junk Philosophy
Review: It's funny how the people who love Ayn Rand are almost never serious students of philosophy. There's something going on more than coincidence: it's the fact that Ayn Rand's work is the same kind of junk philosophy that is found in Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and the Celestine Prophecy--all are muddle-headed attempts that really only should appeal to young men and women between the ages of 17-19. Those would would subscribe to Rand's "philosophy" really just haven't tasted the real thing. Hopefully, they will.
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Summary: A great read but no way to live
Review: Let's start out by saying I liked Atlas Shrugged. I thought the book was so engrossing because it was so "alien" as another reviewer put it. I agree with Rand when she claims to have done something new, to have stated a new theme in an entirely new way. Psychologically speaking, the majority of us are raised to believe in the doctrine of original sin and all that it entails. That we should feel guilty for everything we do for ourselves, etc and that to sacrifice yourself for another is the highest virue. Regardless of whether Rand's opposite extreme has any more validity, the fiction itself is compelling and as I said, the characters are interesting even if they are just puppets for stating the tenets of Objectivism. Many good points about the failures of communism/socialism but of course she ignores the basic problems of capitalism, especially laissez faire. Perhaps her own experience justifies her prejudice, but then she wouldn't be being very objective, would she?
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Summary: Philosophy or Literature
Review: I could go on and on in my review about the merits of Ayn Rand's philosophical beliefs and whether or not I subscribe to her theory of how the world works. I do not think that would be very helpful, however. Instead I will say that reading Atlas Shrugged is no small feat. It is over a thousand pages and it can waver on the side of overly preachy at times. On the other hand, I actually found it to be a fairly gripping little mystery story at the same time. All of America's leading brains seem to be disappearing while the structure of society seems to be collapsing. Thus we watch two industrialists, Dagny Taggert, who runs a railroad, and Hank Rearden, who runs a steel mill, attempt to keep their businesses afloat amidst this turbulent time in America. With dozens of side plots and quite a good deal of imagination, parts of this book simply fly by. Other parts lend more towards the philosophical, which, if that's your bag, will also fly by. Basically, this is a 1000 page book by one of the most revered thinkers of our century, just keep that in mind if you pick up this novel expecting to find some light reading.
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Summary: This is the single greatest piece of literature ever crafted
Review: There are some who do not like this book. Those people are united by one common factor. They do not wish to think. Whether it is because of fear, or laziness they are afraid of new ideas. A common critique of this book by many statists is that Ms. Rand's view of the world is myopic. Is it really? Or is it merely the unwillingness of those critics to actually address Ms. Rand's points. Is it that much of a stretch to believe that human beings should dedicate their lives to themselves and not to others? I think not. Even if you do not agree with the underlying politics of Objectivism, you must read this book. If nothing else, but to challenge yourself with ideas. Ms. Rand wrote this book "to prevent it from becoming prophetic"... If you can conjure up solutions other than Ms. Rand's, then good for you. It proves that you're willing to think and quite creative. Remember, that above all else this book is about REASON. A world changed with ideas, not force or feelings. If nothing else, this is an inspirational tale. Beware, however. This book does have an uncanny habit of being increasingly prophetic... The news becomes a little unnerving sometimes. But you have to shrug your shoulders and ask "who is John Galt?". Now repeat after me: "I swear by my life and my love of it that I shall live for the sake of no man, nor will I alow any other to live for my sake"
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Summary: Save yourself some time and read the Fountainhead
Review: As I say in the title, read the Fountainhead and save yourself about 300 or so pages. The theme and philosophy are the same in both books. Atlas Shrugged just takes it to a wider scale. But it is also too repetitive. Rand has some very good ideas. We should all strive for our creative best. Productivity should be valued. We should be the best that we can be without leeching off of others. But that's about it. Don't read this book as it were a bible. Take the parts of the philosophy that you want to integrate into your life. That's what I did. And that's what I did when I finished reading the Fountainhead. And now I realize that I didn't have to read Atlas Shrugged at all. They're the same thing.
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Summary: An angry child with a pen created an appalling world....
Review: Rand wrote a book filled with heterosexual arayan aristocrats (some born into money, some born in poverty) battling the only "Evil" in the world: Communism! Rand states that there is only one way in which to be happy, and that is through productive work. there is an objective standard by which all ideas, art, architecture and decisions can be gauged as "right" or "wrong." "Crimes" that are not rooted in an economic basis and aspects of life and nature that call into question the perfection and infallability of objectivism are conveniently left out of the book's 1075 pages. All who do not adhere to the aforementioned philosophy are deemed immoral and irrational, and are not to be dealt with. Does this sound like a free-thinking novel that glorifies the individual? In my opinion, it does not. It sounds like a work of propaganda, touting a rigid ethos just as myopic and flawed as that which is deemed "evil" and "Collectivist." Of course the Capitalists prevail in the end, Ayn Rand was a capitalist, and she held in her hands the typewriter with which she could play God. In closing, Ayn Rand was an adamant opponent of anything subjective, but I ask the objectivists: Does it not stand to reason that if we, as humans, are all individuals that should live by no ideas other than our own, why should we live stringently by a set of rules and a suppposed blueprint for happiness if we, as individuals, have not come by this "knowledge" throgh our own experiences? What are we if not a composite of (and reaction to) our subjective experiences? Perhaps your Great Leader would not have been such an advocate of Capitalism had she prospered under Communism. Think about it.
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Summary: Pete and Repeat.
Review: Yes, a classic. Yes, interminable. Yes, it's lovely to have one or two basic concepts driven into your head, harder and longer than a railroad stake. A great way to promote greed and selfishness. Imagine if even more people in the world justified their selfish drives. Machiavelli-land here we go! Not a book that will be endorsed by the church or the Salvation Army or Mother Theresa. People will at least think you're an intellect if they see you carrying it around, and if it's the hardback, you're bound to build up muscle tone lugging it around! Lucky you!
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