Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Atlas Shrugged
Book Review: Well written novel, but the philosophy....
Summary: 4 Stars
I read this book whilst travelling on a train though the increasingly affluent Communist China. That was perhaps apt. The book is extremely well-written with an entertaining plot. The fact that English was Rand's second-language makes it even more momentous. Her philosophy however, well it's a bit of a joke really really. Unconnected to the real world, and whilst has specks of truth is too idealistic to ever be true. He bad guys are mega bad and her good guys, (or gal), are mega-good. A bit cowboys and indians and I suppose some might say a bit too American. They'd be right, but remember, whilst the Lone Ranger and co might not be accurate, it's pretty good to read.Book Review: Hmm.
Summary: 1 Stars
As a piece of writing and the expression of a philosophy, Atlas Shrugged is moderately interesting, but has been constructed and written appallingly badly. Unlike, for instance, Paulo Coehlo's The Alchemist, which also is a story hung around a (similarly flawed and simplistic) philosophy, this book creates no atmosphere and little suspense.The characters are all two-dimensional; the industrialists are athletic, beautiful, square-jawed, clear-eyed and moral, and the "progressive" bureaucrats, journalists and thinkers are all flabby, shifty-eyed, power-hungry, and dishonest, petulantly offering paper-thin refutations of Rand's philosophy. There is no development of the arguments on either side over the course of the book, just repeated assertions of the same premise, the same metaphors, and the same character stereotypes.
Don't waste your time with this book - it's almost 1,100 pages and says nothing that Orwell and Friedman don't say much more economically, rigorously and stylishly. You might enjoy it, but it simply cannot be taken seriously as a well-written book, let alone the closely argued expression of a rational and complex libertarian philosophy.
Book Review: a very disappointing book
Summary: 2 Stars
I was really looking forward to reading this having had several conversations about Ayn Rand with Americans. I was expecting an interesting novel with an insightful take on collectivism.what I got instead was a poorly written story backed by a "philosophy" that would fit on the back of a stamp. every other scene in the book is so loaded with "meaning" that you feel like you're being hit over the head with the "right answer" within pages. subtle it ain't.
and some of the attitudes expressed in the book are just as two-dimensional as those advanced by the Left that many apparently believe this book challenges. the worship of "heroic" businessmen is an uncanny mirror image of the
idealised way Marxist view the proletariat for example.
similarly the idea that the "solution" to many of the problems of society is for people to act selfishly rather than "sacrifice" themselves for the collective good is just as nonsensical as the attitude it seeks to address. capitalism relies a great deal on collectivism - what is a corporation if not a collective endeavor to deliver profits to shareholders? equally there are many instances (that I can't be bothered to list) where the "selfish" pursuit of profit creates social and environmental problems.
the bottom line is that there are no simple solutions. in some places individualism is warranted, in others collective solutions are required. one-size fits all philosophy doesn't do the job any more. and Atlas Shrugged is unfortunately expounding exactly such an all-encompassing attitude.
in short I can't take this book too seriously as the arguments at its core are just far too simplistic for it to be philosophically interesting and the writing is not good enough for it to be worth reading it its own right.
avoid.
Book Review: The crystalization of my life
Summary: 5 Stars
"I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine"I have been advocating libertarian ideals for a couple years, and I just finished reading this book. I had a fairly good idea of the reasons behind that philosophy, but this book turned relatively rough ideals into a work of beauty. The characters may not be as fully developed as in a book written for entertainment(this is a very thought-oriented book, don't read it unless you are willing to devote a lot of time to it, more than you would expect despite its rather voluminous 1168 pages), but the characters are not the point of the book - it is an advocacy of the philosophy of human rights. Libertarianism(or as Ayn Rand called it, Objectivism) is the political system based on the concept of free human interaction with a government for the sole purpose of preserving rights - not preserving nice jobs for government friends, not stealing from some to give to others. And this book is the masterwork of that philosophy. Have you ever wondered why people use the government to justify theft? Or why people feel that they are nothing on their own, and only are of value as part of a group? This book explains the contradictions, the lies, the true evil of forcing one person to ignore themself and live only for society. But Ayn explains it so much better than I can(she has 1000 pages, I have 1000 words), go read it. Even if you disagree with it, it explains what the belief system is, since very few non-libertarians seem to understand that it isn't about cold-heartedness, it is about the best aspects in all of us, and the infinite potential that we have. Read it if only to understand the opposite viewpoint, a little devil's advocacy never hurt anyone.
Book Review: Atlas Shrugged
Summary: 5 Stars
It is easy to understand why this book has caused so much controversy over five decades and how it has affected the lives of so many of it's readers. Within the story one finds oneself beginning to identify with the power of mediocrity that exists within ones own immediate culture and community. That is the core of this books success, coupled with an excellent story line that keeps you guessing right to the last couple of chapters. This book would be difficult to shift from my top five all time favourites.