Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Atlas Shrugged
Book Review: A True American Novel
Summary: 5 Stars
Ayn Rand, genius author of "Atlas Shrugged" is perhaps the most proific writer I have ever read. This is a book every American should read! She weaves a love story so elequently into a receipe for communism, the words jumped up off the pages for me. This is how it can happen and has happened in America. An ever-relevant example of how ignorant, greedy people can destroy a democratic republic. This remains a relative wake-up call for all Americans. A must-read for all freedom loving people! Bravo, Ayn Rand!!Book Review: A book on people who believe in common sense
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is good for those who don't believe in class warfare, runaway government spending regulation, and wealth redistribution.Book Review: A brilliant book if a bit of a slog to read
Summary: 4 Stars
Unlike some classical liberals/libertarians, it did not "all start with Ayn Rand", to quote the name of a book on her intellectual influence, but by goodness, she certainly clarified and added an enormous amount to my understanding of what makes a free society work. And this is a great tale: part mystery, part detective story, part love story, a bit of science fiction, and even - although she was not renowned for this - a lurking sense of sardonic humour in the background.
I have encountered a lot of the usual, sneering criticisms from the left and right that her characters lacked "realism" - which misses entirely Rand's idea of what art is about, and I generally reject those attacks. That said, if there is a flaw in the book, it is the character, or rather the lack, of character in John Galt. He is a cardboard cut-out, although an interesting one. Some of the dialogue is stilted, and I struggled, manfully, through the enormous and over-long Galt speech at the end. By contrast, Hank Rearden, the steelmaker, and Francisco D'Ancona, are wonderful creations. The latter is my favourite.
The sheer, moral grandeur of this novel, of its message, of its importance to our culture and present predicament, should not be underestimated. I am delighted this book is getting more attention - mostly positive - than ever before. One can see this in the "Tea Party" protests in the US over the enormous bailouts under Bush/Obama.
May the late Ms Rand continue to inspire true liberals everywhere.
Book Review: A celebration of human normalcy
Summary: 5 Stars
It is difficult to find a book of fiction that has caused so much controversy as this one, and its critics have a degree of zeal that is matched by its defenders. It is a gigantic philosophical tome, with characters that many have scoffed at as being larger than life, as representing a sterile view of the human psyche, and as being naïve and sophomoric in its world view. Hated in general by both conservatives and liberals, those who love the book envy those who are approaching it for the first time. It is a book for optimists; a book for those who love and celebrate life. But above all it is a book for normal people, because in the final analysis, even though its author may have viewed its characters as representing statistical outliers, as rare and distinctive visionaries who epitomize high intelligence and creativity, it represents what it means for a human to be normal.
It is abnormal and an aberration for humans to want to organize themselves in a socialist state with no personal rights and no freedom to make their own way. It is abnormal and an aberration for humans to wage war and destruction against themselves and others. It is abnormal and an aberration for humans to avoid responsibility for their actions and blame others for their failures. It is abnormal and an aberration for humans to hypothesize an imaginary deity and prostrate themselves in contemplation of it. It is abnormal and an aberration for humans to serve others without question and with no mutual respect. It is abnormal and an aberration for humans to sit still, to lose their kinetic energy, both physical and mental, and not overcome seemingly insurmountable odds.
Humans are in a state of normalcy when they create, build, think, and prosper, and unashamed when they are doing so. This novel, now appearing in print for fifty years, asks the reader to contemplate what would happen if the most creative and industrious of humans were to withdraw from society and leave it to those who took on the grotesqueness of inaction, envy, and sterile diatribes of socialist thought. It asks the reader to contemplate what it takes to have a productive, healthy, comfortable, technological society. Whose intelligence and entrepreneurial alertness are in full operation in such a society and what are the consequences if these are extinguished by the voluntary withdrawal of those who possess them?
The philosophical dialog one can find in this book has drawn the ire of many an academic philosopher and politician. The reviews of the book when it was first published fifty years were probably the most vituperative of all in print. But vehemence towards the book has not extinguished its relevance or its power to instigate critical reflection. It is an alternative view of ethics, one that dignifies human individuality and self-interest. It is an ethic that abhors the initiation of force and worships human ingenuity. The philosophical dialog inked on its pages is a testament to the center of human optimism, and it is a perfect reflection and celebration of human normalcy.
Book Review: A completely unique story, intriguing plot, thought-provoking ideas
Summary: 5 Stars
Atlas Shrugged is a classic of the caliber of Dostoevsky and Hugo but is set in modern 20th century. I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the genius of the author which was apparent with the turning of each page, and absorbing her thought-provoking ideas in subjects ranging from sex to capitalism. Whilst the plot was complex and the themes ran deep, Ayn Rand is definitely a story-teller in the true sense of the word, as I was kept spellbound right to the end of the 1000+ pages. Atlas Shrugged is essential reading for anyone who loves genuinely unique stories that are superbly plotted and is deeply serious about philosophical questions relating to human life, morals and society.