Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Atlas Shrugged
Book Review: A Great Libertarian Folktale for the Modern World
Summary: 3 Stars
Ayn Rand weaves a tale in which good and evil is based solely around the work ethic. In Rand's world, all of the great and powerful capitalists are self made men and women constantly being undermined by government regulations implemented only by those lethargic individuals that want an unfair advantage in the marketplace. There is no doubt Rand is a philosophic genius, and it is important to remember that she mentored (in some cases personally) some of the greatest financial minds of our day.However, Rand never looks at the other side of the equation. To read Rand, on would believe that great wealth automatically imbues one with a great morality - her capitalists never seek to pollute the environment for financial gain, they never deceive the consumer about product content, or possible injury form a products use, they never purposefully create monopolies, using financial muscle to drive up prices or bury competitors.
If only that it were true that wealth induces such morality and self control, what a wonderful world it would be. But we live in a world that not so long ago produced robber barons bent on burying the very type of people Rand champions, and thus great capitalists require great scrutiny, and Rand's folktale remains but a pretty dream.
Book Review: A Great book!! I loved it and every objectivist will!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of Ayn Rand's finest works. The best character is probably Ragnar Daneskjold, the genius considered to be a pirate by the people. He sinks every ship that is targeted to help people who dont pay for their help.Book Review: A Journey Of Growth
Summary: 4 Stars
The world of "Atlas" is a fictional America where the country's industrialists and geniuses are suddenly forced to serve the government without making a profit. When they choose to run rather than serve, this slowly undoes the country, city by city, town by town, person by person, until there is nothing left of America but chaos, starvation, and murder. It sent chills up my spine because this kind of thing CAN happen. I enjoyed the rich imagery she used--it was like reading a very, very good movie script.If you ever detested welfare mommies and people who think they deserve your money JUST because you have more of it, then you'll find a sympathetic voice in Ayn Rand's "Atlas." I took off one star only because the book is very extreme and often unrealistic in it's views. Otherwise, it is excellent.
Book Review: A LIFE-ALTERING BOOK
Summary: 5 Stars
In 30 yrs, I have never read a book that has had a greater impact on me and clarified my personal beliefs. I immediately purchased The Fountainhead and once I finish reading it, I will read Atlas Shrugged again! We need a paradigm shift in America, re-embracing the virtue of self-reliance and ending routine dependence on the Government. If this were required reading in High Schools, then the children of today would be so much better prepared for their futures.Book Review: A Lesson Plan for Anti-communists/socialists
Summary: 4 Stars
I was amazed by how prophetic Miss Rand was with this book. It was as if she saw the future in her crystal ball. She clearly saw the contempt for the individual that the socialist movement in America has. Many of the themes she explored have come true in the last quarter of this century. She accurately portrayed the nanny-state mentality and the arrogance those on the left display. The characters were, at times, wooden and one dimensional but the point was made. Sometimes in this life things really are black and white and not a million shades of gray. My only gripe was the overly long-winded speech by the John Galt character near the end of the book. It made the mythic icon she built him up to be seem rather nasty and ill-tempered and sort of a disappointment for me. I would hope that a new reader of this fine work would be open minded and see the parallels in our modern world to the dissmal world the welfare pimps in this book wrought on America and the world.