Atlas Shrugged
Ayn Rand
1243 pages
Peopled by larger-than-life heroes and villains, charged with towering questions of good and evil, Atlas Shrugged is Ayn Rand’s magnum opus: a philosophical revolution told in the form of an action thriller—nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read. Who is John Galt? When he says that he will stop the motor of the world, is he a destroyer or a liberator? Why does he have to fight his battles not against his enemies but against those who need him most? Why does he fight his hardest battle against the woman he loves? You will know the answer to these questions when you discover the reason behind the baffling events that play havoc with the lives of the amazing men and women in this book. You will discover why a productive genius becomes a worthless playboy...why a great steel industrialist is working for his own destruction...why a composer gives up his career on the night of his triumph...why a beautiful woman who runs a transcontinental railroad falls in love with the man she has sworn to kill. Atlas Shrugged, a modern classic and Rand’s most extensive statement of Objectivism—her groundbreaking philosophy—offers the reader the spectacle of human greatness, depicted with all the poetry and power of one of the twentieth century’s leading artists.
This book offers decent science fiction and vast storytelling, making it an interesting read despite Rand's controversial points. The open source audiobook includes a great discussion at the end that adds depth to the experience.
I initially read this book to critique Ayn Rand, but I ended up appreciating it. It emphasizes the importance of not living for others while also not expecting others to live for you, which relieved my guilt about pursuing my own desires and helped me appreciate others' choices.
Besides just knowing your enemy and their works, it was a fascinating dive into a kind of political clock that's right twice a day, exposing how laws can be used as leverage rather than for obedience.
Despite the contentious nature of her philosophy, Rand's talent as an author makes Atlas Shrugged an interesting read.
Atlas Shrugged is often criticized, yet many haven't even read it, making it a polarizing choice.