Atlas Shrugged
Peopled by larger-than-life heroes and villains, charged with towering questions of good and evil, Atlas Shrugged is Ayn Rand’s magnum opus: a philosophical revolution told in the form of an action thriller—nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read.
Who is John Galt? When he says that he will stop the motor of the world, is he a destroyer or a liberator? Why does he have to fight his battles not against his enemies but against those who need him most? Why does he fight his hardest battle against the woman he loves?
You will know the answer to these questions when you discover the reason behind the baffling events that play havoc with the lives of the amazing men and women in this book. You will discover why a productive genius becomes a worthless playboy...why a great steel industrialist is working for his own destruction...why a composer gives up his career on the night of his triumph...why a beautiful woman who runs a transcontinental railroad falls in love with the man she has sworn to kill.
Atlas Shrugged, a modern classic and Rand’s most extensive statement of Objectivism—her groundbreaking philosophy—offers the reader the spectacle of human greatness, depicted with all the poetry and power of one of the twentieth century’s leading artists.
Who is John Galt? When he says that he will stop the motor of the world, is he a destroyer or a liberator? Why does he have to fight his battles not against his enemies but against those who need him most? Why does he fight his hardest battle against the woman he loves?
You will know the answer to these questions when you discover the reason behind the baffling events that play havoc with the lives of the amazing men and women in this book. You will discover why a productive genius becomes a worthless playboy...why a great steel industrialist is working for his own destruction...why a composer gives up his career on the night of his triumph...why a beautiful woman who runs a transcontinental railroad falls in love with the man she has sworn to kill.
Atlas Shrugged, a modern classic and Rand’s most extensive statement of Objectivism—her groundbreaking philosophy—offers the reader the spectacle of human greatness, depicted with all the poetry and power of one of the twentieth century’s leading artists.
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Community Reviews
i just want to be clear that i'm reading this out of curiosity about the objectivist movement, no other reason. please hold your judgement thank you.
In her magnum opus Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand narrates a lengthy tale of an eccentric railroad executive Dagny Taggart in her quest to confront a world that consistently preys upon her individualistic ambitions and essential values. Running a colossal railroad corporation by the name of Taggart Transcontinental alongside her antagonistic brother James Taggart, she embarks upon a journey to discover the true identity of the mysterious and enigmatic individual who is believed to be the source of the truth within her heart and mind, John Galt. As the novel’s recurring inquiry heavily ponders “Who is John Galt?,” Ayn Rand sets readers on a philosophical voyage to grasp in meticulous detail about the central tenets of her Objectivist philosophy particularly its worldview upon reality and inherent relationship with the mind of man. Indeed as such, Rand views the mind of man as the central most important entity in all of human existence.
The novel is broken into three parts as follows: Non-contradiction, Either-Or, and A is A.
The entire plot of the novel is a gradual revelation of Rand’s elusive and unorthodox philosophy.
Within the first segment of the novel we are introduced to Dagny Taggart and her role as an executive of the Taggart Transcontinental that was founded by her ancestor Nathaniel Taggart. Through a series of economic setbacks and governmental regulations, Dagny heroically manages to maintain her business and her struggle centralizes Ayn Rand’s perception of the philosophical dichotomy of individualism and collectivism in what she regards as the embodiment of evil.
The sophisticated and complex plot introduces an eclectic multitude of secondary characters each harboring their own strengths and weaknesses respectively. One of Dagny's strongest and most loyal ally is Hank Rearden, a self-made steel magnate and inventor of a brilliant alloy product known as Rearden metal. Together Rearden and Taggart become intimate lovers with one another and persist in their endeavor to challenge the opposing societal momentum that befalls upon them. They eventually stumble across an unidentified motor device in an abandoned factory that is capable of generating electricity in an unprecedented manner. They seek to discover the inventor of this newly discovered mysterious device. Eventually after flying, Dagny’s plane crashes into an unknown valley known as Galt’s gouch where she meets John Galt, the inventor of the device and the one reviled enigmatic individual who abandoned the world that betrayed his vision and ultimate purpose. Eventually Galt returns to New York City along with Dagny where he hacks into a national radio broadcast and delivers his prodigiously long philosophical speech that divulges Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism and its perception of reality along with its interrelation with the human mind and soul.
The title of the novel is a reference to the statue of Atlas, the Greek Titan who’s colossal size and structure metaphorically symbolizes not merely the exploited industrialists but even more so the individualistic minds as the foundation of civilization. The shrugging of Atlas connotes the action in a figurative sense of letting go of a world that depends upon their primary existence to prove that without them, the inherent structure of the society they serve inevitably collapses.
The novel is broken into three parts as follows: Non-contradiction, Either-Or, and A is A.
The entire plot of the novel is a gradual revelation of Rand’s elusive and unorthodox philosophy.
Within the first segment of the novel we are introduced to Dagny Taggart and her role as an executive of the Taggart Transcontinental that was founded by her ancestor Nathaniel Taggart. Through a series of economic setbacks and governmental regulations, Dagny heroically manages to maintain her business and her struggle centralizes Ayn Rand’s perception of the philosophical dichotomy of individualism and collectivism in what she regards as the embodiment of evil.
The sophisticated and complex plot introduces an eclectic multitude of secondary characters each harboring their own strengths and weaknesses respectively. One of Dagny's strongest and most loyal ally is Hank Rearden, a self-made steel magnate and inventor of a brilliant alloy product known as Rearden metal. Together Rearden and Taggart become intimate lovers with one another and persist in their endeavor to challenge the opposing societal momentum that befalls upon them. They eventually stumble across an unidentified motor device in an abandoned factory that is capable of generating electricity in an unprecedented manner. They seek to discover the inventor of this newly discovered mysterious device. Eventually after flying, Dagny’s plane crashes into an unknown valley known as Galt’s gouch where she meets John Galt, the inventor of the device and the one reviled enigmatic individual who abandoned the world that betrayed his vision and ultimate purpose. Eventually Galt returns to New York City along with Dagny where he hacks into a national radio broadcast and delivers his prodigiously long philosophical speech that divulges Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism and its perception of reality along with its interrelation with the human mind and soul.
The title of the novel is a reference to the statue of Atlas, the Greek Titan who’s colossal size and structure metaphorically symbolizes not merely the exploited industrialists but even more so the individualistic minds as the foundation of civilization. The shrugging of Atlas connotes the action in a figurative sense of letting go of a world that depends upon their primary existence to prove that without them, the inherent structure of the society they serve inevitably collapses.
In the classic style of Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged challenges social conventions and societal norms with her own philosophies and ideas, predominantly the idea of "the mind on strike" in this story. Set to a backdrop of engineering and business management in the railroad industry, Atlas Shrugged is a very well-written and engaging read that one could finish rather quickly despite its length. I found it relatively easy to create emotional attachments to the characters despite their uniquely-rebellious mindsets and unconventional attitudes, a feat hard to achieve as a writer. Yet, Rand was able to craft a story that combined a captivating plot line with her radical philosophies in a way that it appeals to anyone looking to read something different.
Okay, so this book was a commitment; it's 40 hours via audiobook. I recently moved to Orange County and I figured I'd better know a little more about what I am up against. There is no doubt that it was well written and that the characters were interesting and fairly well developed, but the blatant hyperbole of the message was just overwhelming.
It divides people, more or less, into two categories: the intellectual creators/ producers (capitalists) and the entitled looters (socialists). The capitalist characters were portrayed as being rational, intellectual, and attractive. The socialist characters were the opposite: irrational, histrionic, and repulsive. I was so frustrated that Rand never really addressed all of the people and subsequent social issues in-between. As a self-identified liberal, I actually agreed with some of her premises but was appalled by how much the book presented problems in society as a dichotomous issue and ignored so many other important factors. The book suggests condemning all social programs and regulations entirely without any consideration whatsoever for larger societal issues. Slim chance this would work even if real people were as honest and spotless as her protagonists. Definitely not in reality.
I did give this book three stars because of it's literary merit. I'd take away a star if I was looking at message alone.
It divides people, more or less, into two categories: the intellectual creators/ producers (capitalists) and the entitled looters (socialists). The capitalist characters were portrayed as being rational, intellectual, and attractive. The socialist characters were the opposite: irrational, histrionic, and repulsive. I was so frustrated that Rand never really addressed all of the people and subsequent social issues in-between. As a self-identified liberal, I actually agreed with some of her premises but was appalled by how much the book presented problems in society as a dichotomous issue and ignored so many other important factors. The book suggests condemning all social programs and regulations entirely without any consideration whatsoever for larger societal issues. Slim chance this would work even if real people were as honest and spotless as her protagonists. Definitely not in reality.
I did give this book three stars because of it's literary merit. I'd take away a star if I was looking at message alone.
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