Well, I just picked this up for free at a place where Peter Schawrz was speaking at( former chairman of the board of the Ayn Rand Institute) Does anyone know if it's a good read? It is pretty thick.. And i heard there are loads of ideas and things of the sort embedded in it. Should I give it a shot or chuck it in the trash bin? Also, any views on the book, spoilers are fine for me, thoughts and opinions on what she wrote?

I rather thought the whole thought of it was rather simplistic and silly. And more than a little (in a way) intelectual "ego masterbation". But thats me.

The whole thing is about the "real smarts" of society going on strike and leaving and what happens.
Heck here is the wikipedia entry it might help.
Wikipedia Entry: Atlas Shrugged

Ayn Rand is just a pompous elitist windbag. Avoid alllllll of her stuff.

That's what I kinda got from other people. Peter Schawrz came off as being on the fringe of neo-nazism to me. But that's just my opinion.

I take it you read alllllll of her stuff when you make such a judgment.

Read it. It is a great book. At least read the sparknotes

Ayn Rand has an interesting philosophy. Her books are stimulating whether you agree with her philosophy or not. I would say, try it.

I actually really liked this book. Even though it's huge, the only part of it I found slow going was what I call "John Galt's rant" in about the 3rd or 2nd last chapter, because he basically just said the same thing over and over. I have since bought two of Ayn Rand's nonfiction books, but haven't gotten to them yet.

I found myself agreeing with a lot of her philosophical ideas in this book, and almost as often found myself saying "Of course that's the way it is, why didn't *I* think of that?"

I think you should at least give it a try. Some of the characters are truly memorable, like Francisco and Hank and Dagny. Some of the other characters I found rather frustrating because they were so stupid, like James or Wesley, but despite that, they were all quite realistic characters.

I found it very enlightening and liberating as I went from high school to college and learned to break free from my upbringing and learned how to think for myself.

It turned out to be a phase, but it was fun thinking as an 'objectivist'.

I think it helps to bring up your intellectual quality to the best that it can be. Do it with a bunch of friends for even more fun.

Just remember, 'rational self-interest' is not the same as being 'selfish to a fault'.

BTW you might want to start out with 'The Fountainhead'. It's a little shorter and less preachy.

2 cents.


[edit on 30-3-2008 by Badge01]

First, I'll state that my degree is in English/Literature. Second I'll state that I am obscenely opinionated when it comes to books.

I really do not like Ayn Rand novels, and I hate objectivism. Sadly, I think Officer Barbrady put it best on South Park when he learned to read:



If you want to start out with an easy and short Ayn Rand read, I'd actually suggest that you go with Anthem instead of The Fountainhead. If you're not interested after Anthem, it's a safe bet that you never will be.

/tn.


[edit on 6-4-2008 by teleonaut]

I'll second "Anthem". I enjoyed her books. I know she had no spiritual aspect to her writing but the human aspect was very good.

Roper

Oh and the game BioShock's criticism of Ayn Rand is more than apt.

Great game. The downfall of Rapture is that the leader (forgot the name) did not adhere to the philosophy to begin with. Making himself the leader and imposing 'external contact ban' laws were the downfall of the society.

I actually found that the game was saying more about the ill effects that restrictive trade laws have on society due to black markets, whether it was intended or not. One little law blew up in the face of Rapture much like the anti-drug laws have in the US(looks at the rate of drug use, death, and crime).

I guess we can take it any way we want, but it is still a great game.