Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Atlas Shrugged
Book Review: 116 reviews proves it!
Summary: 5 Stars
This novel is wonderful. I won't bother with a summary because there is plenty of that in the other reviews except to say that its core themes are; individualism vs. collectivism, self-interest vs. sacrifice, rational vs. irrational etc. along a similar vein.Last year I was at my school library (Queen's University) and came across a book entitled Objectivism from A to Z. I thought, "Objectivism? what in the world is that?" I flipped through it an was utterly amazed at the congruence between Rand's thoughts and my own. Ever since I have read every one of her original works (fiction and non-fiction alike) and have a hearty respect for her and her philosophy.
This is not to say that I accept every one of her views on life and work and love. For the most part I agree but when it comes to matters of morality there is a slight deviation; I believe that you can be charitable as long as it benefits you in the long run. I don't think anyone out there would disagree that helping a charity or something along similar lines does not give one a nice warm fuzzy feeling. This, to be sure, is a profoundly selfish benefit which, I think, ms. Rand ought to have touched upon.
Anyhow, do yourself a favour and pick up her book. 116 reviews......and counting. This is obviously an important and life-changing work whether you agree or disagree with Rand, whether you love or hate her. But please, for the sake of intellectual honesty and respect for REAL criticism, read her work before you open your mouth and spew forth something like: it's just a cult, or a religion or something of the sort.
Book Review: 150 pages through...my thoughts
Summary: 5 Stars
In my thinking, people always base reviews on their complete knowledge of a reviewed item, never realizing their thoughts while they're going through their task. Example: your child is in college, your memories are miscronstrued without a consise diary of your child's development and maturation. I have read 150 pages of Atlas Shrugged. My review of the 1/9th+ that I have read should be seen better than one who has completed the book and passed judgment on it. Firstly about the artistic scope. Ayn Rand is so far describing mental processes better than any author that I've had the pleasure of observing. Her theorums and analyses are akin to an interesting psychology textbook. A character (spoiler-proof :-) loses their virginity in the section before the section I'm in now. Rand explains the situation in excruciating mental detail, but refrains from using explicit language or tones. She designates complexities with simplistic ease and does it with a style that has you asking "HOW?" I shall continue this review when I continue furthur into the book. First 150 pages, 5 stars...Book Review: 1800 reviews like you need one more.
Summary: 3 Stars
Ahh this book was forced upon me by a family member and I gave 10 days of my life reading it.(Note if you have a normal life this will take 3 months to read). I believe the bible might be only a bit longer then this piece of work. This book almost reminds me of Stephen Kings the Dark Tower series as everyone in the book seems to live in some wierd parrell universe to our world. She makes the people(socialist) who do not conform to capitalism look like total fools and people like Dagney Taggart and John Galt as the only rational people on earth. She simplfies the whole debat into a set of super humans and idiots. But this book although written i believe about 50 years ago is hitting home HOW.
This is how. We are now reaping the fruits of Capitalist greed. I am no socialist but becouse of the greed of wall street and becouse of our bad law making(such as doing away with the glass-stiegal act) we now find ourselves in the hot seat where our government is now using trillions of tax payer money to pay for corporete greed. Ms. Rand where are the John Galt's and the Reardens of Rearden steele in our country? This book just does not connect to our world anymore. Amereica has lost its manufacuring base and is now a nation that only produces pop music and banking instruments. I hate to sound harsh but the John Galts never did exist. But to be fair to Ayn Rand it does seem like some of the socialist morons she potrayed in here book do exist in this country and ARE trying to silence anyone who does not believe in what is fair in there minds. Might be worth the read becouse it touches base with what is going on in the present.
Book Review: 19th Century writer in the 20th century
Summary: 5 Stars
Atlas Shrugged is a masterpiece of a form not generally familiar to modern readers. It is a `Romantic' novel in the tradition of `Les Miserables'. One of the hallmarks of Romantic fiction: characters who exist as expressions of `universal' problems, ideals, themes and conflicts. For those of you who think `Atlas' is somehow `unrealistic' because it's characters aren't `normal' people, you are obviously used to only naturalistic fiction, t.v. etc.. The characters in `Atlas' are concretizations of abstract principles and character traits and should be read as such. Victor Hugo's Jean Valjean is a `romantic' character in the sense that he is a projection of any man trying to stay true to his values and overcome his past. Hugo's villain Javert is similarly focused to just a few important traits. Far from being a failing of Rand's fiction, this is a great achievement when you understand what sort of clarity you need to sustain this type of writing over such a large book. Anyone who's ever read `Les Miserables' unabridged will see the parallels between that work and this- Hugo will take an enormous amount of time detailing the history of the French Revolution, the history of the Convents in France, etc.. Rand's digressions, while even longer than Hugo's in some instances, are actually more pertinent to the plot of `Atlas' than the history of the convent is pertinent to Hugo's novel. Hugo digresses to give interesting information, but Rand digresses to give related speeches and lessons- the plot of `Atlas' depends on the philosophical speeches, as most (but admittedly not all) deal with issues that are vital to the characters at the time they hear them. As far as the `wooden' villains, etc- remember this: Javert in `Les Miserables' is blindly, one-sidedly, doggedly in pursuit of Jean Valjean with the singularity of purpose of the coyote after the road runner. Is this a failing of that work? Rand's characters are not mirrors held up to life- ask yourselves if great art is made of the folks next door. `Atlas' is the last and greatest book in the writing tradition of the 19th century- even though it was written and published in the 1950's. This is NOT Tom Clancy, Grisham or any of the other authors you're used to. This is a social-minded, issues-minded, serious work of the style noone else wrote in the twentieth century, but hopefully they will again in the twenty first.Book Review: 21st century ideas
Summary: 5 Stars
Every so often the reviews on this book fail to describe the book itself. Too bad, it's a great book whose theme is the role of intelligence in society. What happens when society gets "dumb and dumber," when reason is attacked, and morons take over? Industrial society falls apart. This book anticipates the exact condition of America today. Look at public schools, the Jerry Springer-types, and astroloy. AR's view of selfishness is novel. Unlike most people who have no conception of peaceful selfishness, Ayn Rand showed that this overlooked virtue is the essence of human progress and a peaceful civilization. When people forget that virtue, if they uphold sacrifice, the mind gets sacrificed, and then violent human sacrifice is unleashed. Isn't that the battle at work in the story--and in the world today? The inspiration of this book is that the good wins over the evil, peaceful selfishness wins over violent human sacrifice. Isn't such a victory what we all need to live? Well, that is the battle of capitalism over socialism, of reason over the irrational, the self-destructive, the parasitical. Too bad Bill Gates doesn't care about philosophy; he could use it to his advantage---as John Galt, the story's main protagonist, did to his.