classics

"Atlas Shrugged" is an absorbing read. The beginning premise is simple. What would happen if the great economic drivers of society simply dropped out from frustration with those who continually seek to handicap them and help themselves to their wealth through redistribution and regulation?

The great industrialists of America begin vanishing without a trace. All have been visited by a shadowy figure prior to their disappearance. Meanwhile, the female railroad tycoon Dagny Taggert is battling to save her own company and keep as many of her high-achieving peers in the game as she can. The plot is fascinating. The characters gain your interest.

There is only reason why I give this book four stars rather than five. After clipping along for 900 pages, a major climax of the story is reached as a key character reaches for a microphone to broadcast to the nation. Exciting, yes? It is, at least until you realize the same character is going to give a speech that goes on for about 100 pages and delivers Rand's philosophy in excruciating detail. There's no need. She has made these same points very well through the story.

Regardless of Rand's occasional heavy-handedness and failure to trust the reader to learn the lessons she is trying to teach, "Atlas Shrugged" is a major book and should be read.

"Atlas Shrugged" remains one of the finest examples of the vicious dichotomies offered by the religious dogmas espoused throughout mankind's history. It tells of the logical conclusion of a world propelled my altruism, and how those who espouse that view are blind to the destination they're ultimately going to arrive at. Many thought provoking questions are raised, and answers given...a refreshing change of pace. Naturally, her critics condemned this book (and continue to do so), but this tells more about them than about anything else. Miss Rand's incredible plot-theme structure, phrasing and imagery are in abundant detail. This book is the finest example of the true writer's art that I have ever read...whether you agree with her philosophy or not. The 35th Anniversary edition gives many illuminating insights into the creation of this masterpiece, thanks to Dr. Leonard Peikoff, Miss Rand's heir. All in all, as important a work as the Bible for those who look for truth.

I highly recommend this book along with the Fountainhead. Ayn Rand is a master in portraying heoric individuals triumphing over the collective-relativist mentality. She elucidated their aim in crystal clarity - the enslavement of man as a rational thinking being. One only need to look at the corrupting husk of the Soviet empire to validate her prescient observations.