Product ReviewsAtlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (1996, UK- A Format Paperback, Revised edition)

Inspiring

Any Rand's view of humanity in general is akin to John Calvin's, man is totally depraved and does not seek the highest good. To Rand, the highest good was that the uberman is the measure of all things, Calvin taught that only God is the fulfillment of the predestined man. But both r seeking something larger than life and Rand's joy in individual creative accomplishments is an offshoot of God's creation of all the beauty that we see and is an impetus for man, created in His image to create according to the magnificent abilities God has given him.
Still, a compelling story with exciting characters and a rather too quickly put together finale.Read full review...

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Great story.

Book was well worn. It has been around. My wife found a Japanese book mark inside with a number of different airline stamps on it. I'll probably look for a better preserved copy for my library and give this one to Good Will.Read full review...

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for serious readers

"Atlas Shrugged is a classic. It's a classic in a lot of ways--not least of which is that it is still printed 54 years after it was written. It's a classic because its author, Ayn Rand, a Russian Jewish emigre, had the chutzpah to propose it at a time when it was unpopular to speak ill of what was later known as The Establishment. It's also a classic, because it reads like a black and white movie of its era. Men wear cuffed-pants suits and trench coats, and are either heroic or simply cads. Women are pushovers or goddesses with male temperaments, who jump into commandeered planes and fly them like Chuck Yeager. All heroes are blond-haired and blue-eyed. No, not kidding. Companies are named after their sole proprietors, not after cynical quasi-words that can be trademarked, like "Accenture," or "Inspirographics." The high-tech company of the story is a railroad that still uses steam locomotives in some locations, and of course jointed rail, which makes the once-familiar clickety-clack sound under the wheels.

Wikipedia reports that Atlas Shrugged was largely panned by critics when it was issued. It's understandable, given the simplistic characters, melodramatic story lines and stilted dialogue that is straight from Dragnet or Highway Patrol. But one of the reasons that Atlas shrugs to this day (and had funding for a 2011 "part 1"movie released on a limited basis) is that Ms. Rand was no less an observer of man than was Alexis de Tocqueville. What she foresaw is the dissipation of America through the many safety nets its largely well-meaning "liberals" have constructed and which is often presented nowadays as "The Nanny State." It is not too much to call her prescient. As we lose our grip and slide into a depression, the "D" word that our entrenched government system will not utter, we mirror the events of Atlas Shrugged. We see recent welfare recipient General Motors offering signing bonuses for new workers (September, 2011) in the face of high unemployment; how can we but understand that it is a rebate to the unions who supported the Democratic admininstration, along with the congress who voted the bailout. All of this is analogous to events of the book, for example, where railroad executives are pressured to give workers higher wages and feathered beds, even as their employer goes broke.

I couldn't say that I'd recommend Atlas Shrugged to everyone, because there are few who could stand to read all of its 1,000+ pages, while ignoring the many literary and circumstantial anachronisms that are the book's corpus. But for those, like me, who wanted to know who John Galt is, it's worthwhile. Sort of a plot spoiler, but however heroic John Galt might be, he's rather a gasbag. He goes on for 50 pages or so with his manifesto. Of course, we know that it's really Ms. Rand who is speaking, and Mr. Galt is only the fictitious deliverer of her Objectivist Philosophy's Mein Kampf to a worldwide radio audience (itself made possible by the familiar sci-fi trope of a shocking mass media hijack by unexplained means).

Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984, and Huxley's Brave New World satirized communism, but Atlas Shrugged, whether it realizes it or not, takes a larger swipe at what we have come to know as capitalism. Of course, its intended wrath goes towards machine politics and totalitarianism, but ultimately, Rand's heroic capitalists are indifferent to the outsiders in the world they inhabit. Rand's system, like libertarianism in any guise, is rRead full review...

Who is John Galt?

Atlas Shrugged is Ayn Rand's masterpiece work. Deeply developed characters, intricately and concisely described, and given colorful, appropriate names, act out a mesmerizing story. The book showcases Ayn Rand's philosophy of "objectivism". This should be a must read for our high school students today. The main reason it likely won't be is the book's over 1000 page length.

Do not be dissuaded by the book's length, however. It does not have to be read in one sitting. Much like a captivating mini-series on TV, Atlas Shrugged will have you longing to get back to the next installment. Although it was written in 1957, it takes little imagination to see the story being played out today.

"Who is John Galt?" The question runs throughout the story and is asked repeatedly. Indeed, just who is John Galt? Dagny Taggart, the dynamic and driven female protagonist of Atlas Shrugged, wrestles with the meaning of the phrase as she heads the operations of the railroad that she and her brother James Taggart own. A stronger lead character can scarcely be found.

The realness of the characters, the multiple venues, so vividly described, and the several mysteries woven into the tale make this an excellent read. Why else, more than half a century after it was written would Atlas Shrugged still be such a great selling book? Perhaps it is because people can see so much of what is happening in American politics today reflected precisely in the story Ayn Rand wrote, and realize that the current philosophy being pursued is one that does not play well in Atlas Shrugged.

This book comes highly recommended.Read full review...

Wonderful message but lacking in excitement.

I bought this book to read for a scholarship.
I loved the story behind it and it drew my attention at first.
However when I kept reading it, I got rather bored and it did not keep my attention. I can not and will not say that I dislike the book as it's meaning is a wonderful one. I will say I personally think that to write a great book. You not only need a wonderful meaning but excitement to keep the viewers attention. Take the Harry Potter series. Harry Potter books have wonderful meanings in them and many at that. They also have imagination and excitement. What will happen next? You think eagerly sitting on your seat, turning the page reading the next one. That is a good book! One that opens the doorway for both children and adults.One that captures the ability to explain important messages but has so much excitement that you can't put it down. That is what Atlas Shrugged lacks. Excitement.Read full review...

Most Important Novel of the Twentieth Century

Atlas Shrugged is an epic tome that requires a certain dedication to finish. It is a complex novel with many seemingly unrelated story threads converging ultimately upon the climax. It has many larger than life characters accomplishing great achievements through the rigorous application of that uniquely human quality: reason. They struggle mightily against anti-reason, mediocrity, fakery, and the quest for the unearned.

The author casts moral issues in black and white so that there can be no mistaking good for evil or evil for good. In that sense, it is harsh. There is no retreat from obvious conclusions. But it illuminates many mysteries of modern life and makes sense out of many complex issues that have baffled most of us. The characters are used to demonstrate the power of reason and the nature of its enemies.

And so the book becomes a great philosophical work as well as a novel, building upon Aristotle's principles of logic and arguing successfully the case for the power of thought and the transmission of thought into action. It shows man as he could and should be, alongside the antithesis. The reader is left with a clear understanding of life's most essential truth: To be or not to be is the choice to think or not to think.

Anyone who reads and understands this novel comes away changed forever. His universe will have become integrated. He will know that all things are explainable in reality, even if the explanation has not yet been discovered. He will be secure in the knowledge that reality is what it is, and that the job of the human mind is to discover it.

Atlas Shrugged is hated and denounced in many religious circles because it shines the light of reason into the murky darkness of mysticism that constitutes modern superstition. It shows that an act of faith is a crime against reason and, therefore, against the mind.

The only criticism I could honestly level against this great work is that the author strives so hard to make her philosophical points that the climax, a speech by the main protagonist, seems belabored. It runs to something like 60 pages hammering home the importance of dedication to reason and reality and skewering their abandonment. Most thinking people will get the point and become thoroughly convinced long before the speech is concluded.

The reason this book remains relevant enough to sustain continued sales almost 50 years after it was published is not its value as a complex novel, but that the author is absolutely right on most of her philosophical points. And by demonstrating them larger than life in the novel's characters, she makes them both understandable and believable. As long as thinking people want to make sense out of life and the universe, Atlas Shrugged will sell.Read full review...

Most inspiring novel ever written, if you love life!

If you like an action novel with adult-size,
believable heroes, living in the same world you live
in...and, at the same time, the kind of story which
makes you re-think every idea you've ever heard or
lived your life by...you'll love Atlas Shrugged.
In it, you'll meet Dagny Taggart a woman who runs a
continental railroad. You'll meet Francisco Domingo
Carlos Andres Sebastian de Anconia, the latest heir of
a worldwide copper empire, which he blows up,
appearing to become a worthless playboy, for a reason
you can't even guess for 2/3 of the novel. You'll meet
Hank Rearden, the archetypical self-made
industrialist, who invents a totally new kind of
metal, lighter and stronger than steel. He cannot
understand why, not only his country, but also his
family do not appreciate his creativity and
productivity. He discovers why, over the course of the
novel, the clash between two very opposite moral
codes. You'll meet Ragnar Danneskjold, a modern-day,
high-seas pirate, who highjacks American cargo ships
carrying relief to the failed People's Socialist
Paradises around the world. He sells off the cargo for
gold, which he uses to reimburse people's income tax
to them. And the main character? Him you don't get to
meet until 2/3s of the way into the novel. And when
you do, you'll have several emotional reactions. one
of which is, you may laugh your head off, because
you'll realize that the author has laid clues about
this character from the first sentence all the way
through. This character has let a plot loose in the
world of the novel, which will change the world, and
you may wish it were happening in your world. And, his
reasons will astound you.
Those reasons will also cause you to see yourself
differently. They'll cause you to understand the
people around you in a whole different way. They'll
cause you to see the world around you in a new way
and, once you do, you won't be able to go back to your
original way of seeing it.
This is not the kind of novel, after which you've read
it that you can barely remember the names of the
characters. You'll remember these people for the rest
of your life and see them all around you, in the best
and worst of the characters of the people you know.
The life of the author was as adventurous as all her
novels. She was raised in Russia, under the communists
and managed to get out of there when she was 21. She
came to America, the country she said was founded on
her moral principles. She went to Hollywood, hoping to
write screenplays, met Cecil B. DeMille, who got her
started. She wrote the American classic novel, The
Fountainhead, which they turned into a movie, starring
Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal. Then, as the result of
13 years of thought and intensive writing, she
produced Atlas Shrugged, the book which continues to
inspire the love of life and intellectual curiosity of
millions of young people, many of whom are becoming
the intellectuals who are reshaping the world. Later,
came her non-fiction books in which she established
herself as a history-changing philsopher.
The recommendation of any of her books comes with a
warning. She portrays characters doing the unusual,
describes physical scenes like a painter paints, and
solves age-old problems in technical philosophy...in
pure, crystal-clear English. You'll be seduced to read
and read. So, the warning is, be sure to eat, drink
and sleep between sections of chapters. www.aynrand.orgRead full review...

GOOD IT MAKE YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT MEANS

I have heard so much about the book. I have a lot of books that are required reading and this is one on my list. I knew nothing about the subject matter so that also made me want to purchase this book.
I also was told that this book is involved in a scholarship so that made me interested in it since I am taking some courses this year.
I would say the book is good. I have classes with a lot of reading so I do not get to read a lot at this time.
The book is very thick and so far I have not figured out the plot.
I think this book in not as easy to read book as my last one that was a Harry Potter.Read full review...

A good book to open your mind.

The characters are well described. The details all add up together and create a fantastic plot. I had moments of piecing the information together that made me realize there is a point to all of the details Ayn Rand has in each chapter.
This is an amazing book. It is really detailed, so it can carry on a little too long, which made me lose interest a couple of times. But I am glad that I continued to read the whole thing because it has some really great moments and a lot of info to chew on regarding community and government and sticking to a persons true values.Read full review...

Great book.

Purchased this book for my husband who is an avid reader and states that this is one of the best he's ever read. He has strong conservative values and also states that this is one of the few that he and the author have common views. Has not finished it due to the "depth" of the material but has used terms like fantastic, great, and unique to describe it. He plans to read other work of Ayn Rand thanks to "Atlas Shrugged", and has recommended this book to several people.Read full review...

Deep & intelligent book

I love this book
It inspires me a lot
It gives accurate details on money, sex, power, hard work & vision.
Also, it has very hard made decisions on how to deal with life & live life ones own way
The language is immaculate and reading this book is an experience in itself.
I also like the way this book http://www.loudreview.com/in/rest/articles/388
deals with people who are non-confirmist or confirmist.

The biggest strength of the book I guess is the clarity of thoughts which Ayn Rand has put on Objectivism.

I give my thumbs up for this book with 5.5 ratingRead full review...