Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
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Book Reviews of Atlas Shrugged
Book Review: A once in a lifetime read
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very difficult review to write because I don't know that words can adequately define how much this book has both changed me and inspired me. Atlas Shrugged is a masterpiece in its truest sense that will captivate the reader from the first page on.
Atlas Shrugged is about the industrial giants in our country, the movers and shakers, going on strike and taking their ideas, work ethic, and abilities underground and away from society. In fact, the title of the book was going to be "The Strike" until Ayn's husband Frank O'Connor suggested "Atlas Shrugged" to her. This book examines what would happen should these individuals disappear, and explores reasons why they should want to leave. Rand explains that with so many "looters" trying to get their hands on their "earned" money (through taxes, gov't regulations, nationalizing industries, welfare, etc.), they are the ones that are the real victims; not the poor. Without these leaders holding the world on their shoulders, we would have very little, therefore, we benefit from their ingenuity and leadership. Before I read this book, my political ideas were slowly drifting towards the left. I would have said that the scenarios she presents were overly simplistic and exaggerated before I actually read her very compelling arguments strung throughout the entire book. She portrays several heroic figures in the book that are forced to fight the obstacles that our society and people put in their way; when all they ever wanted was to produce and earn an honest living, free of interference (I am aware that not all industrialists are that ethical in real life, but most are this way). Our society expects and relies on their virtue and work ethic to stay put, regardless of our society's demands and impediments. But what would happen if they finally say "enough is enough!"? Then what?
One of the best elements of the book was Rand's ability to develop her many characters, both good and bad. Ayn Rand has an astonishing grasp of the English language and uses it in such a way as to persuade and to provoke thought. Throughout the book, I literally felt the range of emotions that Dagny Taggart and Hank Rearden experienced. I was able to feel the fervor they felt to wake the people up around them, the passion they felt for each other, and the rage and frustration they felt as their companies collapsed around them. I was also amazed at how many times the "bad guys" would make statements that I myself would have made ("it's not their fault that..." or "...we should have a right to..." or "...everyone deserves a chance to..."), only to have those statements completely torn apart by one of Rand's "good guys" replies. She certainly has made me reconsider many statements that I have made in the past.
Throughout the book, the four main protagonists consistently provide some of the most insightful soliloquies. The two that stand out the most to me are the 5 page speech on money given by Francisco d'Anconia (page 410-415 in the 35th anniversary edition) and of course the John Galt speech on the state of the world (pages 1,009-1,069). The money speech debunks the idea that "money is the root of all evil" and really opened my eyes to a new way to think about money: earned vs. unearned and the fact that it is a "product" of blood, sweat, and tears... and virtue. The John Galt speech, though long winded at times, clarifies almost all of Rand's ideas and expresses almost all of her "Objectivism" philosophy on how life and the world should be. She provides simply amazing and persuasive arguments to support her views on altruism, sacrifice, love, self esteem, religion, communism, etc, etc, etc.
In response to many of the other reviews that I have read regarding this book, I wanted to make the following points:
1. I've read that Atlas Shrugged (and most of Rand's writings) inspires and appeals mainly to the youth by capitalizing on their boundless energy, idealism, and naïveté's of the "real world". However, I am 31 years old (some may still consider this young) and have worked in the "real world" for over 8 years now, and no other book has ever inspired me to achieve my full potential as much as this book has. No other book has given me as much courage to struggle against the "doubters" we all have in our life, to combat the negative theologies that we have been raised with, and resist the constant pressure to settle for mediocrity, comfort, and complacency. No other book has motivated me to pursue my deepest desires and to find real happiness, love, reason, truth, and a fulfilling existence.
2. It has also been said of her recently, that some of the ideas expressed in the book are "outdated" and are somehow not relevant to today's society. This claim is ridiculous and myopic. We have several examples in the current day of the type of government control and aggression that she demonstrates in this book. These include Venezuela and most of South America, countries throughout Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and even Russia has recently started centralizing many of its control back to the government and inching further and further away from capitalist and democratic ideals. Even in our own country we see a steady progression towards socialist ideas from the 1930's all the way to the current day (health care, retirement, public education, welfare, public housing, the patriot act, etc.). I am not saying these shouldn't be debated in our modern world or are necessarily a bad thing, but Rand's concern is that the more individual rights we surrender and the more we allow gov't to take control, the closer we come to the devastating scenario she puts forth in her book. And she should know something about this progression since she saw it in communist Russia as a child in the early 1900's, and lived through the communist movements of the mid 20th century around the globe. We need to learn from history so that we don't repeat it, not ignore it as if it could never happen again. With that ignorant attitude, we are destined to repeat it.
But this book doesn't just include her philosophies on politics and economics. Atlas Shrugged also deals with love, sex (R rated I might add ;-) ), courage, psychology, sociology, philosophy, human relationships, mystery, religion, and every aspect of life imaginable. These are all intertwined throughout and give the reader a complete and clear definition of what her philosophical views are. She leaves no stone unturned. It should be noted that regardless if you agree with her ideas or not, it is simply mind-blowing to be able to read a book that has an entire rational philosophical system within it.
With all this said, however, there are several criticisms that I will comment on that does take away from the book, but certainly not my 5 star rating. 1. The good and bad guys are obvious. There is no attempt at creating a middle ground for Rand. You either love the characters, or hate them. 2. She can be a bit long winded at times to drive her point home. I actually appreciate this about her writings, but many of you won't. My uncle put it best when he told me before I read this book, "If it is worth saying once, it is worth saying a thousand times." 3. The ending was a bit anti-climatic. It almost seemed as though a different author wrote the last 80 pages. I'm not sure what happened there. 4. Many will point out that the scenarios and outcomes in this book are exaggerated. Although this may or may not be true, this again is part of her writing style that you either like or don't like. I tend to like the direct and bold manner in which she writes because I myself am a passionate and enthusiastic person, and as I read this book, I could feel the emotion and intensity that she put into every single word she wrote.
Overall, this book is the most influential book I have read to date. It is bold, inspiring, intense, courageous, passionate, and life changing. For anyone out there that knows they are destined for something more than they are doing right now, for anyone out there that is passionate about life and the pursuit of real happiness, and for those out there that feel burdened by people and the mediocrity around them, I can't recommend this book enough to you. I know I have been changed forever for having read Atlas Shrugged.
Book Review: #1 Absolutely the best book ever penned!
Summary: 5 Stars
The reason why some people don't totally get Ayn Rand's ideas at first read of atlas shrugged is because they are unprecedented. Most people have really no preparatory knowledge and what we do have, is usually incorrect. We have been so thoroughly conditioned not to think and to prevent thinking all together. Further, to let all manner of distraction in to prevent thought, to the point that it is virtually impossible to get it all at first pass and most people get very little even though very impactful then leave it at that and never fully understand!
The classical Liberals, the original capitalists or what most people are waking up to today lost it all to the socialists because they were missing something...the only reason we are even waking up today is because of one person, Ayn Rand. She single handedly sparked the world wide freedom movement of today because she firmly placed in the hands of what was left of the entire freedom movement which was literally under 100 people in the 1950s, the morality of capitalism! The real torch of freedom almost went out for ever!
Ayn Rand explained with crystalline clarity why capitalism not only worked and socialism did not but why it was the only fair, just, and moral system on the planet to distribute wealth and the only one that can create it! Ayn Rand placed it in terms of the reality that it was...Freedom or Slavery. How dare you make a slave of me (Tax and Regulate) no matter what use, you thieves make of the stolen loot!
Atlas Shrugged is the magnum opus of all magnum opuses. "The Astounding story of a man who said he would stop the motor of the world...and did! Tremendous in scope and Breathe taking in its suspense, ATLAS SHRUGGED is unlike any book you have ever read. It's a mystery story, not about the murder of a mans body, but about the murder and rebirth of a mans spirit."
Absolutely the best book ever penned!
It literally encompasses all of human action...philosophy, economics, politics, sociology, phycology. Written in an easily and sharply understandable novel form, hits like a sledge hammer between the eyes. You will not understand the depth of this book for years and even after you read this booklist! [...] Every sentence has meaning and sometimes a full books worth.
There are mistakes in all the books on the list [...] or less clear redundancies with the exception of Ayn Rand's books. You should read all her non fiction as well. I originally thought there were mistakes in Ayn Rand books. As I read on not only into her works but into all of the greatest minds in history, all of what I had mistakenly believed as her mistakes have fallen of to the floor, been nailed down, the edges stapled to the floor then have been smashed into little peaces, crushed into dust then shellacked over I.E. It is correct and you will understand what I am talking about when you read on.
Do not ever take my word for it or anyone else...just read it from the horses mouth. Always, always go directly to the source & forget what he said she said about anything...this is a rule that you should staple to your fore head! There is another book with far fewer mistakes than all the rest except Ayn Rand's books and that is Socialism by Ludwig Von Mises...that is why It is number 2 on the list.
I had these silos or pillars of knowledge built up over my life that I knew were fact and true but they were unconnected...Ayn Rand came along and connected them all like a bridge adding the superstructure and the road bed and even painting it, I in my entire life would not have been able to do that without reading just this one book!
Atlas Shrugged...the most influential book in history next to the bible. Library of Congress
The 7 stages of reading Atlas Shrugged!
Most people who see the 1000 plus page novel hesitantly say, well its very thick...and the words are very small. Eliciting knee jerk comments like ya I usually can tell if I'm going to like a book in the first few pages, trying to escape the preconceived drudgery of reading such a large book. I say just read it you will like it far beyond any book you have read, in fact in most cases anything you have ever done.
Sometimes I call and ask how they like it in a couple of days and they say, well its pretty good and I'm reading it when I have time. I say great, keep reading!
But if they keep reading I will get a phone call in about a week. Hey Ty...this is a good book, I really like and can relate to it , etc. I say it gets better read on!
With consistent reading I generally get a call around 2 weeks. TY!!! I cant put this thing down...it's amazing!!! At this point I usually just smile at them! The 2 week time is partly because it is such a heavy and slow read in terms of the thoughts it generates...you may read a sentence or a paragraph and think for hours on that one thing.
Right around 3 weeks and this always happens, I get, in a very serious tone now...I haven't slept in days and I've been skipping work to read this thing!!!! The whole time I've been talking to them on where they are in the book and letting them know that it even gets massively better still. The first 2 parts are a build up to the last part!!! And they are now starting to understand! But unfortunately at this point some people tend to gloss over what just appear to be redundant details...DO NOT DO THAT!! Every piece of this book has meaning so read slowly and think!!!
At this point I am getting calls consistently now, asking things like Who is John Galt? I say John Galt discovered the fountain of youth, he discovered it high on top of a mountain and he crawled and scraped his way up to it. He was so happy that he found this incredible and beneficial thing that he wanted to bring it down so that all the people could enjoy its benefits...but he could not! And they ask why and I say Keep reading!
The last stage is when they finish the book and they are so on fire about Liberty/ freedom/capitalism that they want to charge off to battle socialism on the front lines and the power mongers who wield socialism like a sward...but I say keep reading because you still do not fully understand these ideas. But because of Atlas Shrugged you will now make room and time to read the books that are necessary to understand the rest of reality or what is really going on and most especially what really needs to be going on!!! i.e freedom/ liberty /Capitalism!
Enough said, just read it and never listen to the he said she said about anything. Always go the the horses mouth and see for yourself!
Book Review: A review for young people in their late teens
Summary: 5 Stars
Atlas Shrugged is a captivating novel. The greatest "shortcoming" is that the book is over 50 years old. The heroine is the vice-president of a major railroad company, and most of the plot revolves around her desperate efforts to keep the railroad going. In the 21st century, when the age of railroads is long past, this is certainly dated. Indeed, Atlas Shrugged, although contemporary when written, takes on the feel of a grand masterful allegory perhaps like Dante, Chaucer, or Swift. It is just as much "fun" as Alice in Wonderland or Gulliver's Travels--and just as serious as the Divine Comedy. Yet, if you listen to a hour of local and national news on TV every evening while reading the book--half of the stories will sound as though they were lifted from the book--so timelessness and universal is Rand's story.
This will probably be the most important book (to you) that you read in your lifetime.
What is it about? It is often described as "Capitalism versus Communism", or "altruism vs selfishness"--but both descriptions seriously miss the point. What this book is really about is much more fundamental. It is about the nature of good and evil, and beyond that, the very meaning of life.
"But I'm a good person, so what value is this book to me?"--you may ask. Answer: You have certainly noticed that adult "morality" is full of all kinds of exceptions and contradictions. The truth is, the world of "morality" we adults have constructed is a sham, a fraud. It is no more than "social convention"--which is to say, "what we all more-or-less agree to"--and actually, despite all the "moral" justification, has absolutely nothing to do with morality or right-and-wrong, and often little to do with common sense.
Still, the question remains, "Why isn't simply accepting the current 'social norms' good enough?" "Go along to get along." Answer: To put it bluntly, the greatest evil the world has ever seen has been done by folks "accepting community norms" who thought they were doing good, or at least who could justify their actions as being "socially acceptable".
The truth is, you will be quite surprised when you learn the true nature of evil. Until you have read Atlas Shrugged, evil will remain a hazy mist floating just off your line of vision, which you don't look straight at, because you don't WANT it to exist. After reading Atlas Shrugged, evil snaps into sharp focus--and like a bully confronted--ceases to be a fear, and just becomes something distasteful to avoid.
As Rand richly illustrates: Just as eating too much fat can clog up your arteries, thinking "too much fat" can damage with your mental health. Some mental illness is physiological. But most mental illness is caused by unresolved internal contradictions--caused, for example, by refusing to look at evil because you PREFER to believe that it does not exist. Reality is. You do NOT have the option of living in your own private version of reality. Nevertheless, many, perhaps most, people live lives built on thier own complex lies. That turns smart people crazy, and stupid people mean and crazy.
How do you avoid "unresolved internal contradictions"? By knowing the difference between right and wrong, and never, ever, allowing a rotten board to be used in the construction of your mental house. The problem is the old "slippery slope". Lie to yourself just once, no matter how trivial the lie, and the next one will be easier. Before long, you realize that you can justify ANYTHING--and with the blessings of the popular culture. And before you know it, you've lost your soul.
As Rand preaches, the meaning of life is integrity. Living without compromise. To live a life filled with joy and pride in yourself, made possible by being free of mental conflicts. To know, not merely hope, that your mistakes were honest mistakes. To live with the knowledge that you are the best you can be, while striving to be better. To be a joy and comfort to the people you love. To give generously of your time, wealth, and love simply for the joy of doing so. To be a person who has changed the world for the better when you have gone. That's what Atlas Shrugged is really all about. All ofthe other themes, even Communism vs Capitalism are peripheral supporting themes. It is precisely because the fundamental issues are so basic and primary, that the implications are simultaneously universal--applying to all aspects of life.
The greatest real flaw in Atlas Shrugged is that Rand herself does not quite understand how her philosophy applies to inter-personal relationships. All of the heros in the story are flawed characters, because Rand's characters are based on herself, and are flawed because Rand herself was flawed. That is, Rand had such a horrible youth that her ability to love and trust was damaged. In her own flawed vision, she has largely substituted hero worship for love. Rand's heros are real heros to be admired, but not role models to emulate.
You will also find many things with which you will want to disagree, but in your heart, you will know that Rand is right. How you resolve these conflicts will be the most important decision you will make in your entire life. If you choose the truth, simply because it is the truth, then you are on the way to a life of good mental health. If you reject the truth because you PREFER a different vision or interpretation of reality--then you have already begun to lie to yourself, and you will probably have an unhappy life and be a miserable person to live with.
Book Review: Not for the cynics or lazy of mind
Summary: 5 Stars
There are two distinct issues to judge when reviewing a work such as Atlas Shrugged. Since it is a presentation of serious philosophical ideas, particularly in politics and economics, it must be judged on the merit of the ideas espoused. Since it is a novel, it must also be judged on its artistic merit.
The economics and politics presented in Atlas, as well as the underlying ethics, are radical. The book exemplifies time and again that there is no "happy medium" between good and evil, between freedom and tyranny, between truth and fraud. "My truth may be different from your truth", Atlas leaves no room for that. Ayn Rand presents her understanding of the good, and gives no apology. That alone is enough to enrage people in the typical 20th and 21st century mindset, where certainty itself is widely accepted to be impossible and the manifestation of certainty synonymous with unacceptable arrogance.
Certainty, however, is an inseparable part of the philosophy presented in Atlas. That reality is what it is, whether you agree with her or not, is the basic principle Ayn Rand builds her whole system on. If two people disagree, one of them must be wrong - there are no contradictions in reality.
Atlas makes clear that individualism is the only proper form of moral and economic evaluation by showing, in detail, the effects of various public policies enacted for "the common good" on actual people. Whether you agree with Ayn Rand's wider generalizations or not, it is undeniable that the cause-consequence chains she uses to illustrate each point are sound.
The political and economic policy advocated implicitly in Atlas Shrugged, resulting from the ethical and methodological principles mentioned above, were not new even when the book was published. In terms of politics, the Founding Fathers of the United States defended pretty much the same principles in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
In economics, the same sort of policies had been identified as positive by Adam Smith (The Wealth of Nations (Bantam Classics)) and others, the fundamental reasons for their validity explained in detail in Carl Menger's Principles of Economics (The Institute for Humane Studies series in economic theory)(also freely available online) and the fundamental errors in thinking that lead to opposing theories scathingly exposed by Frederic Bastiat in works such as Economic Fallacies.
There is less that is new in the policy advocated in Atlas as there are a compelling illustration of those truths in the story and characters, an integrated, structured argument for the validity of the principles underlying those policies, and an unabashed expression of absolute certainty in them. What is groundbreaking is the proof that those ideas are fundamentally right, not simply something that seems to work out.
The ideas, however, remain as true today as they were when the book was originally published. It takes an active mind to identify parallels between the 1950s setting and today - but the parallels are there, and in force.
Artistic judgment must keep that intellectual framework in mind. Atlas is not a novel about balance and compromise, it is about certainty and truth. You will find no "flawed heroes" or "virtuous villains" in this work. It is unsurprising that so many criticize Atlas' characters as "shallow". They do not conform to today's standard of "interesting", but that standard is exactly what Atlas was meant to challenge.
Atlas is also not a novel about moral redemption or forgiveness. It is a novel that illustrates the philosophical fact that reality is causal, not forgiving. Ayn Rand develops her characters, both good and evil, by leading them to the ultimate consequences of their fundamental convictions. Her characters learn and act on their knowledge - but they don't change their essence midcourse.
Most of the negative artistic criticism, therefore, results from not realizing that to make the points Atlas was intended to make its characters could not be "interesting" by current standards. Further understanding shows that those standards are the result of the same intellectual subjectivism and moral relativism that Atlas Shrugged frontally challenges.
Some artistic criticism, however, is valid. The work is very long and some philosophical points are relentlessly hammered on throughout the story. The much mentioned 60 page speech completely disrupts the flow of the narrative. Such are the compromises inherent in presenting philosophical theory by the means of a novel.
Personally, I consider Ayn Rand's other great novel to be her best, artistically. I recommend new readers start with The Fountainhead for that reason. And, if the novels spark an interest in the underlying philosophy, Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand (The Ayn Rand Library, Volume 6) is the place to look for a complete summation of Objectivism in a non-fiction format.
Book Review: Good book in many ways, good philosophy, but imperfect conclusions
Summary: 5 Stars
To start off I'm giving this book 5 stars because:
1. It's pretty profound
2. It's very unique
Now Ayn Rand thought that there was no such objective thing as "good music" and I agree with her. I also think there's no such objective thing as "well written". These things are subjective and invented by human minds.
Rand's style of writing, is one of the most unique styles of writing I've ever read. There is a very good chance that you'll be unable to stand this book, that you'll find it boring and flat. If you do I don't blame you, but I certainly enjoyed it. The style would have definitely been different if Rand had been born in a different era, but she's Russian and from the 50s, and that's going to give her a certain distinct style of writing.
Now on to the philosophy. The core of Rand's philosophy is very logical, in particular her metaphysics. The rest of the philosophy just kind of flowers outward (/me is thinking of fractals) from that bit.
Now Ayn Rand is a brilliant thinker, but what annoys me is how there's a cult around her that sees her as the be all and end all. Rand's ideas could use improvement. Her orthodoxy has already established that her homophobia was just a illogical product of the times (although they tend to gloss over this thinking that she's still 100% perfect and rational), but they seem reluctant to bring into question her other ideas.
One example is her insistence of maintaining a military, for the people's self defense. She mentions this in passing in Atlas, but doesn't really provide any rationality behind it. That's because this is an irrational thing fundamentally. What constitutes self defense, would "preemptive strikes" (aka the costly massacre of little children for no reason where BOTH SIDES lose) come under this category? Also, she thinks it's immoral for the taxmen to extort money from people at the point of a gun. I agree with her on this, but how does she plan to sustain this self defensive mechanism?
Her certainty is certainly a breath of fresh air, but just because she has a lot of good ideas and is certain about them people start thinking that she is ALWAYS right and following her blindly, despite her insistence that people think for themselves.
So this book has some inspirational ideas, but keep a sharp eye out for its flaws. I actually think that Robert Anton Wilson understands some aspects of Rand better than every single one of the reviewers here:
"The error of most alleged libertanians--especially the followers (!) of the egregious Ayn Rand-is to assume that all property(1) is property(2). The distinction can be made by any IQ above 70 and is absurdly simple. The test is to ask, of any title of ownership you are asked to accept or which you ask others to accept, "Would this be honored in a free society of rationalists, or does it require the armed might of a State to force people to honor it?" If it be the former, it is property(2) and represents liberty; if it be the latter, it is property(1) and represents theft."
The Illuminatus! Trilogy page 768
Now lets talk about morality (which Rand obsesses over, for a good reason though). Rand's core ideas about this ("man is an end unto himself") are very sound, but after this things get fuzzy fast.
Some idiots think that it's purely a morality of greed, and that those who make tons of cash money are more moral than others. Those who think that obviously never got to the Atlantis chapter.
What Rand really thought was that the only moral thing a man could do with his life was to seek his own happiness, and what the final section of the book shows is that money != happiness.
Now what I believe separates her philosophy from hedonism is what she believes makes men happy. She thinks looters can never be happy people, and that's why they're immoral. So now we get to the most glaring flaw of her philosophy, her theories about human nature. She doesn't really back up her assertions of "man and human beings are all like _this_". Her belief that man is a rational being could be backed up by evolutionary psychology, but she fails to take Zugzwang into account (woah, I'm getting way over my head here). Other than that though, what she thinks about human nature isn't really based on facts or logic much.
But her lack of consideration and thought into human nature leads to the most blatantly false parts of her philosophy, her beliefs about love and sex (she makes the usual error, assuming that everyone is the same as herself).
Anyway getting back to the point. What separates her from hedonism, is that she believes that to be truly happy and fulfilled you need to create something, something useful to you and beautiful. I like that belief because it holds true for me, and has shown me the way forward in life. And for doing that she deserves 5 stars from me.