Atlas Shrugged
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What effect did this book have on you??
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Sharmishtha
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rated it 5 stars
Feb 01, 2013 01:55AM
Ayn Rand
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Improved my vocabulary.
The best part is Hugh Akston flipping hamburgers. We can do whatever we want to.
Rodrigo wrote: "The best part is Hugh Akston flipping hamburgers. We can do whatever we want to."The fact that he was also excellent at making burgers shows something that I've always believed. Competence is competence. Those that are very good at their jobs aren't necessarily playing to their skill set. They are competent people that would be great in any number of job situations. And then there is everyone else.
Didn't like it. What I've noticed in life is everyone is replaceable, the world will go on. If all the top scientists, c.e.o's, engineers all quit, there will be other people to take up those roles. With all these people leaving did it change anything? No, it didn't, The world will go on with out them.
Didn't like it. What I've noticed in life is everyone is replaceable, the world will go on. If all the top scientists, c.e.o's, engineers all quit, there will be other people to take up those roles. With all these people leaving did it change anything? No, it didn't, The world will go on with out them.
I have never read a novel that I had hoped the plot would just stop and I could get back to the author's commentary.
Gary wrote: "Rodrigo wrote: "The best part is Hugh Akston flipping hamburgers. We can do whatever we want to."The fact that he was also excellent at making burgers shows something that I've always believed. ..."
To do what has to be done no matter what it is to reach your desired end.
I was amazed of how much this book reflects our current state of affairs and that Ayn Rand was a bit of a prophet as well.
Showed me just how the conservatives and how the true business minded get ahead in life
It's how anyone would get ahead in life. Results of economic policy don't lie. The numbers, if factually postured, don't lie. Only people lie. It's a great book but I do think as others that some parts droned on needlessly. But all in all was a pretty good depiction of the two frameworks.
I am not surprised that the greedy and the self-serving would embrace its message like a living Bible. The pity is that its Kool Aid has been consumed and used by those who puppet for the power elite just as religion has been used for centuries.
Jim, might you have the wrong idea who the power elite are? No man should be subjugated by another.
It's like a philosophic telanovela. This is one of my favorite books, but then again, I'm a sucker for a strong and independent female protagonist.
I'm not even halfway through this book but Ayn's highly one-sided tone and narrative clearly show who's side she is on. Anybody against Dagny is clearly the bad guy. It's all a bit black and white and I'm not liking it. I'd want more room for another character like, say for example, from the Railway Co-operative that makes the Phoenix Durango Colorado line shutdown.
Äctually I have a first edition of Atlas Shrugged that I shrewdly purchased in a Mexico City bookstore. So the greatest affect it will have on me will be the $200 I will earn when I sell it. Hooray for Ayn Rand, she has made life easier for me. Otherwise, she spouts a crock of horse manure.
Can you explain what you mean by horse manure? A valid thought would be appreciated. It does appear that you like to make money but your "horse manure" comment leads the reader on a different direction. Rather conflicting. Almost as if one set of rules is good for you but a different set for everyone else.
It made me realize that didactic novels that exists to grind home a silly ideological point weren’t worth wasting time with. It might sell a lot of copies from people that want to drink the kool-aid, but as the dude above said, ultimately it's just plainly a crock of shit. Not real characters, not really telling anybody anything about the human condition. To each his own. Some people like that sort of thing. Enjoy.
Ayn Rand's viewpoint is the basis of the book and what she's trying to drive in this tome. Her background is important to understand before you read this book. She, her family and countrymen in Russia suffered greatly in early 1900s at the ushering in of radicals that brought nothing but death and poverty.
Geoffrey wrote: "I shrugged.";-)
I tried reading this about 12 years ago. I actually liked the story but got bogged down in John Galt's 70 page diatribe and never finished. I thought she made some very good and accurate points about business and politics. Elements of the story read much like the news today. However, I agree with Jjab that the heads of businesses disappearing would not shut down anything. Others would rise in their place and the world rolls on.
15 years old. That is how old I was when I read Atlas Shrugged (I'm 41). As an impressionable teenager, this booked changed me over the course of a summer. The book gave me strength to...stay the course. I was always a straight A student, overweight, and apparently intimidated people (specially boys) because of the way I spoke. The book gave me the green-light to be the assertive woman that came naturally instead of pretending to fit-in or try to conform. While I didn't know this until years later, it prevented me from being bullied because I was so confident. I also realized that competition exists and I can either participate or not.
The two bad things that resulted from reading the book at such a young age were: 1) I became a smoker on and off my whole life [nicotine-free for a year] and 2) it took me years to learn compassion since I grew up with a "life of mind" and was somewhat a "cold" woman.
Luckily, I did learn compassion because I knew enough to surround myself with people who complemented me and taught me what I could not learn from books. I am incredibly good at what I do and I don't have to apologize for it. (What a relief.)
===As an adult, I realize that only honorable competition is worthy of my time.
===As an adult, I value relationships because they come with better stories than fiction.
===As an adult, I look at Atlas Shrugged lovingly:
It is SUPPOSED to be controversial.After all...It is SUPPOSED to be: fiction.
It is SUPPOSED to be black & white.
It is SUPPOSED to be provocative.
This book is one of my favorites. I read it the summer prior to the 2008 meltdown. I can remember thinking the story line was pretty far fetched and implausible. To my regret I then watched reality play out just like the book. From the auto companies being nationalized and given to the unions, to well run solvent banks having to support the poorly run insolvent banks. I didn't care much for the romance and no doubt many of the points in Atlas Shrugged were taken beyond reality. However much of it holds true. For those who have ever dealt with government officials or others in protected positions this book rings very true.
I actually don't think everyone is replaceable, or perhaps more accurately- some positions require the right person. Not everyone can or should be a brain surgeon, yet nearly everyone could be a parking meter reader. Economies and countries that allow positions to be filled with the less competent will not perform at the same level as they might have otherwise.
For me much of the book is about the simple truth of human nature. Where is the book that takes the opposite position of Atlas Shrugged? A world where humans toil away with no regard for compensation or achievement, where government strikes the perfect balance between industry and society- such a book would indeed be the ultimate piece of fiction.
For those more interested in a pure analysis, "The Road to Serfdom," more than delivers.
Sherrie wrote: "I tried reading this about 12 years ago. I actually liked the story but got bogged down in John Galt's 70 page diatribe and never finished. I thought she made some very good and accurate points abo..."Funny, I thought John Galt's "diatribe" was the best part of the book.
;-)"
Quite frankly it pissed me off. The more I read of this book the more I despise the conservative approach to life. I did, however, make it from the first page through the last. Thus I shall consider it a major accomplishment. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to burn the damned thing.
“The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else.” ― Frédéric Bastiat
Reinforced the concept that people who see fit to tell you what to think are insufferable.
It is pretty much the same as Vonnegut's short story "Harrison Bergeron" only Vonnegut gets to the point a lot faster.
William wrote: "It is pretty much the same as Vonnegut's short story "Harrison Bergeron" only Vonnegut gets to the point a lot faster."Vonnegut gets there faster, tonally HB is WAY less annoying and in a SF short story you're allowed to grind home an ideological point. HB is more nuanced, funny and thoughtful too. Atlas Shrugged is just a Harlequin romance with narcissism as the object of affection. Wouldn't it be marketed as a YA novel if it came out today? People I've met that love the book 1) don't read a whole lot or 2) use it as a justification for being a shithead. Sometimes both.
When I was in High School I had to read both AS and Fountainhead and I have to tell you, 1970s me wasn't at all interested in them. I have read Fountainhead twice since I saw the movie after Patricia Neal died. Atlas Shrugged is going to take a while to get to. I'll be 57 this year, maybe it's a goal to read it by October.
Geoffrey wrote: "I shrugged."Thanks for the laugh Geoffrey.
I shrugged, you laughed, the victims weep.
And that might be it in a nutshell Geoffrey
ayn rand lived in a nutshell?
Noooooo, she lived in... NYC!
Same difference, Andrea.
You gotta be a nut to live in a nutshell. Went over your head, Andrea?
I learned that Rand had a very limited knowledge of history and social classes.
exhaustion...I joined a study group reading it with most of the group philosophy majors who adore Rand, so it became a struggle to enjoy it and garner the social hints in it because others were hell-bent on out interpreting each other. The book is a good story.
Atlas Shugged was one of the most profound,insightful, and prophetic books I've ever read. Its message was transformative. I wish I'd read it at a younger age.
Janice wrote: "Ayn Rand's viewpoint is the basis of the book and what she's trying to drive in this tome. Her background is important to understand before you read this book. She, her family and countrymen in Rus..."We the Living was chilling and Anthem was a pretty nifty eye-opener as well. I read Atlas Shrugged because someone kept throwing it in my face to ridicule it. I'm glad I did. You're right though, knowing a bit about Ayn Rand does add substance to her works.
I felt the book should have been half its length. And while it is difficult to disagree with its philosophical viewpoint, it seemed the characters could have been better developed.
Robert wrote: "I felt the book should have been half its length. And while it is difficult to disagree with its philosophical viewpoint, it seemed the characters could have been better developed."I agree with this assessment to a degree. But I beleive it all comes down to Rands objective in writing her book(s). Was she trying to entertain? No. She was trying to create a story to showcase her Objectivist philosophy. Like Heartbreak House by George Bernard Shaw, each character represents some aspect of the overall meaning that she was trying to convey. In this context her characters did exactly what she intended them to. As for the legnth, I too felt that it was, at times, laboriously overextended and long winded. But I have to wonder if it was deliberate?
I'm sorry for all of you who only touched the surface of this incredibly deep thesis of human pschyology. People are lazy, they're cattle - free thinkers have always been penalized by the "common" majority. While capitalism isn't perfect, shouldn't people be allowed to rise "above their station" if they show talent and intellect! Why should we reward "mediocrity" instead of those who strive to suceed against the odds!! Yes, it may have been too wordy, but the message far outweights the shortcmings!!
Kat wrote: "I'm sorry for all of you who only touched the surface of this incredibly deep thesis of human pschyology. People are lazy, they're cattle - free thinkers have always been penalized by the "common"..."Err...I believe thats what I said, here and in other places on Goodreads. Preaching to the chior when it comes to me.
I loved the book. I don't read books based on the authors political views though. I read books for the story. And I understand that Rand's purpose for this book was to make a point and to hopefully wake us up before we ended up where she believed we were headed. Personally I believe she was right on. But I also think it would be amazing if something like this were actually to occur.Perhaps not in a hidden location, but seriously, why couldn't a group of some of the smartest minds unite to create a utopia?
Because Chrissy, using sociology as the lens, every "utopia" gets "co-opted"(the utopia becomes the status quo) and becomes "the norm" that the utopia was formed to "correct". Look at the Pilgrims, the Shakers, the Oneida and Amana colonies. The idea that utopia can change the world, when it becomes the norm, loses it's differences
Have any of you read the comic book version of Atlas Shrugged, starring Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Madonna? I've got it around somewhere. They have all withdrawn to an island. I don't know if it's still in print, but for those of you who think the book is too long, this might be your answer. Ha! Ha!
Andrea... Every revolution becomes an institution.
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