Book Review: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2024
- I can't even begin to tell you how much I didn't want to read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. It felt like a mountain that I would never be able to climb. But then, I realized that life is about overcoming challenges and reaching your goals.
'Cause baby there ain't no mountain high enough
Ain't no valley low enough
(not even Galt's Gulch)
Ain't no river wide enough
To keep me from finishing Atlas Shrugged!
Atlas Shrugged is the longest book I have ever read in my life. And I can officially say that I finished the book, and I'm glad I read it! In this book review, there will not be too many spoilers because I want to encourage you to embark on the reading journey of discovery like I did. I hope that I can convince you to try reading Atlas Shrugged for the first time or to pick it up again after it has been sitting on your shelf for years. Whatever you do, keep chugging along and don't give up!
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#AtlasShrugged #AynRand #WhoIsJohnGalt
Dagny only got frisky with the most talented men. She wasn't messing with people below her.
Hahaha so true
I have objectively concluded, using sophisticated analytical methods, that this book is best read as satire.
A satire of what, exactly?
The capitalist mindset or something? For real tho, while I like the book, and there's valid points to it (as I wrote this, I literally just realized, she was basically right - nine years after she died, The Soviet Union collapsed, hence literally proving her right about the unsustainability of government over-regulation) but there are other times when the argument is rather hyperbolic, and what turns people off, in part, is her whole thesis is delivered in a borderline sophomoric way. There's a degree of validity, it just could've been delivered better. And some other parts do not logistically pan out, as if she only had a basic high-school level grasp on capitalism.
Ever since I red it, Im sadly reminded with every news from US that its not philosophy, but a screenplay of things to come. As California slowly turns into communal drug infested cesspool this book rings ever closer to home.
I'm still reading it and I haven't picked it up in months. Congrats to finishing it, I'll get to it ;)
She didn’t read it , she watched the movie
Which one would you rather do? Watch the 3 part series or read the book?
You ever say "who is John Golt?" in a normal conversation just to check if anyone else has read this book? Probably just me 😢
I've read the speech twice and the book five times. Those ideas are embodied in the actions of the characters.
The average American "earns" about two million dollars in a 40-year career and gets to keep very little of it. Taxation is theft. Ragnar was right.
Wow impressive!!
Taxes in a lot of countries fund social healthcare, building roads etc. It’s part of infrastructure and as a citizen an obligation to contribute to the upkeep of the civilisation you inhabit. If you want to get mad about taxes, get mad about having to pay taxes while the government outright refuses to tax billionaires.
Idiot Kings yeah but understanding something as complex as a society and social obligations is something for adult minds. Libertarians are selfish small minded babies.
@@KennyTew2 how is keeping what i EARNED bad??
You are evil for taking my money without CONSENT
I just finished Atlas Shrugged last week and I see the Ron Paul poster in the background. =)
Right on Steffi! I personally resonated more with The Fountainhead, but Atlas Shrugged is a good read.
I just finished it last week, never thought i could ever finish it either. But i did 100 pages a day. Couldn't put it down. It really shines in 2020
by my calculations you must have put it down at least 11 times.
It shines like a t*rd.
I’m listening to the Audible version which is read by Scott Brick.
Worth the time.
The Fountainhead performed by Christopher Hurt is also excellent.
Thanks for the reactions, Steffi. I read the book in college many years ago and consider it the most influential books of my life. It's been a long time but my memories are of the business discussions--the principles, modifications, and resultant outcomes. I thought the inspirations for it were brilliant
I've read it at least a dozen times over 40 years; every time I find new connections and details. If you're interested in the ideas, the best place to start is with
Robert Tracinski's 'So Who Is John Galt, Anyway?: A Reader's Guide to Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" '. It is a series of essays which pull apart the various threads and connections of the novel in ways that I am still discovering. But, to anyone else reading this, DO NOT READ TRACINSKI'S BOOK UNTIL AFTER READING ATLAS! You've been warned!
Thanks for that suggestion!
Love your review of the book. I've been reading it for like 3 years and still haven't got to the speech part. You inspired me to keep going!
I’m glad I can be an inspiration!
Yes, when I read the book the 1st time, I struggled with the first 100-150 pages, wondering why my friend had insisted I read the book. But I had promised, so I stuck with it. Once I got past that point, I couldn’t put it down. Since then, I got the unabridged audio book, and have “read” it a couple more times. I had never heard of Ayn Rand,, but I now own several of her books. The uncanny thing is how precisely, she predicted the future 70 years ago, with all the hows and whys. When I read it the 1st time 35 years ago, I was astounded at how easily you could read or watch the news and superimpose characters in the news with characters in the book. I could see for certainty what was going to happen simply by projecting into the future from the book. I have one problem with the book. Everyone raves about those who stood up to the bad guys, when in fact, they hid out and created a world separate from that of the bad guys. They were saved by John Galt. What will our world be without a John Galt. The closest I’ve seen in those 35 years is Donald Trump, and he failed by not making sure he would get re-elected. It’s looking very much like we’re screwed.
I read Atlas Shrugged at 16 and didn’t struggle with it at all.
This book changed my life. The way I view society, person, government, myself, mystics and many more
I'm the opposite, usually I get bored of books and don't finish them, butI never got bored reading this, I liked it the whole way through.
Now for a completely different Ayn Rand (same philosophy, different style), please read the much, much shorter Anthem that we discussed.
Love it. Also "los comprachicos".
Thank you. This was motivation for me to finish reading the book about 3 months ago. Would reccomend the rest of you to read it as well! Thank you!
I dreaded reading the book once it arrived because of its length. Once I got warmed up after Francisco's speech, I went on reading one hundred pages a day and soon enough I finished. Not without flaws, it was worth reading!
The dialogue is the best part! Especially the parts with Francisco.
The best parts was where he beats up women and it’s portrayed as a good thing. And also the part where Ayn wrote a long diatribe about how a bunch of innocent civilians died from suffocation and proceeds to go into detail about how each one deserved it because they weren’t rich.
At the beginning of the book, it asks "who is John Galt", but after reading the book all I can say is "Where is John Galt?"
Great review. I tried to read it and will stick to the Cliff Notes. I applaud your effort. I worked with a guy in 1984 (the year, not the book) and he actually could not put it down.
Hey Steffi, have you ever heard of OCON? If you like Ayn Rand’s works and philosophy, you should definitely look into going! It’s a conference centered around objectivism and you learn so much and it’s so much fun. And you meet so many people who are also into these ideas. It truly feels like Galt’s gulch in a way. My husband and I have gone the past two years and we always look forward to it!
I don’t think I have. Thanks so much for the suggestion!
The book definitely has some long monologues, but ultimately the characters and their relationships are what make the book so captivating. I read the book because I'm into dystopian fiction, and it was very interesting watching the country fall slowly but surely into chaos until there was no country left. Not to mention how accomplished you feel after finishing. I definitely want to read Anthem and probably The Fountainhead too.
If you liked those aspects of Atlas Shrugged, you would love either War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy or The Doomed City by the Strugatsky Brothers.
I will highly recommend to read it again! - It is not just chitter-chatter - it all is integrated into the story. Genius book!
I couldn't tell if Stefi liked the book or not. I'm on page 890 something and love it. There were a lot of characters. Half way through I went back and read it all again and got everything straight. I as able to get through the second half without confusion. Not a book to speed read. I learned a lot of things from this book and will be sad when I'm finished.
I ended up liking it overall. It was a pain, but a good experience.
this book was waste of time ... i want my time back...
Lol
Not how it works, sweetie.
Hi Steffi, you are awesome:) I read this book twice in Russian translation and it changed my life.
Actually, I’ve completed the first part of the book. I totally agree with your words: it was extremely painful to me, to reach the second part of it. And I also agree with your opinion on the romantic scenes. Even if I‘m a boy... this literally were the most interesting parts, as you said... railroad blabla, steel blabla und motor blabla... I’m looking forward to Galt’s speech!
I have to admit, I did skip most of the speech, you make me want to go back and read it now,..Lol....it was so loooooooong though and seemed to be rehashing much of what was said throughout the book, however, I did only read about 10 pages of it.
A lot of classics are hard reading. Reminded me of reading Les Mis. DEFINITELY READ THE SPEECH!
If a novel needs another book just to help in keeping the characters in check... I want no part of it.
Agreed! The speech is the part that interested me too!
Thanks for the review; I will give Rand a try, since I have only heard about her second hand. Have you read James Clavell? His books are much more action and adventure oriented, but he has some of the same love of freedom and business underlying it all. Noble House by Clavell is especially good.
Never tried Clavell.
I didn't struggle with the book, I saw it as where everything is going right now in the US if everyone keeps blindly following the Dem's.
Everyone blindly following dems? That’s rich coming from a trump cultist.
Really? Jesus. The republicans are rabid anti-union, anti-worker, pro business, pro corporate lap dogs.
And then they blame people who want to support workers.
Only republicans would accuse a party of being both "socialist" and "Ayn Rand followers" its an oxymoron.
@@hepthegreat4005 I am a Libertarian. All about freedom and decisions for the right. Unions limit companies on what they want to pay their workers. Unions destroy employees abilities to get raises based on their work ethics, aptitude, application, and more. Unions support abuse of FMLA and work leaves. Unions bury people in paperwork and bureaucracy. No, I am not for those things that only lead to abuses of people behind a veil of equality for all.
The irony of the Right appropriating this book, even tho Rand herself had valid critiques of both sides, and at times sided with the dem's on certain social issues (such as abortion rights). She explicitly and emphatically stated her ideology was NOT conservative, only "radically pro-capitalist." And when the book was published, it was roundly panned, including by right-wing reviewers. It's pretty much largely in this century that right-wing nutjobs have started to lay claim to it.
I liked the book. Most don't, but I do. 1100 pages of entertaining writing.
Personally for me objectivism is one of the more trash philosophies when viewed from the inside. It’s understandable from Ayn’s perspective having escaped soviet Russia and the horrors that that entailed and entered the booming American economy and the obsession with “freedom” how the idea that capitalism is inherently moral and good. But as those that capitalist society has failed will tell you, that quite simply isn’t the case. Not that I let it influence my views on her work much, I’d think Atlas Shrugged was about 600 pages longer than it realistically needed to be anyway and the characters barely developed from the horrendously unlikeable people they were to begin with, but Rand has said some far less than savoury things in the past, particularly regarding Native Americans. I think her philosophy, while it may make sense to the hyper conservative and those doing well, is born purely of being the exact opposite of the abject horror of soviet Russian communism. She seemed to view things as very black or white, which comes across in her writing and was the main thing I just couldn’t get along with.
As an aside, upon finishing Atlas Shrugged, I felt as though I would have had the exact same experience if I’d just spent a week watching My Super Sweet Sixteen, interspersed with bouts of playing Tropico and flicking through the “real life stories” pages of adult magazines.
What do you think now that Atlas was told to stay at home? 10 million people in 2 weeks have been pushed into unemployment, and 2.2. trillion dollars is about to rain from the heavens. This is not fiction, this is our new reality. Atlas didn't shrug, he was told to stay at home. Your take?
Boss: stay home
Atlas: *shrug*
I think is more how it goes.
Is took Ayn rand, 13 years to finish the book. She said that she would never do it again and that it was a once in a life time decision for her. 👍 it took yaron brook a month to read, because he didn't want to believe what was in it.
One day . . . It gets harder to read long books in the digital age. The internet is taking away my focus and ability to remain engaged.
So listen to the audiobook
John Galt is.
Try reading Stephen King's The Stand. It's about 100 pages longer than Atlas Shrugged.
Ayn Rand is great
Have you read “war and peace”?
Nope!
Read Fountainhead really love the book but lost interest many times while reading and somehow I finished.
Now thinking to read atlas shrugged but dont know how much it will take to finish.
The speeches are the best parts of this book, I've marked and highlighted them.
Now you have to read it's opposite capital by marx
sweet tragic comedy
I've read the book in ten days, and if I didn't have to go to work, I'd read it much more quickly. I can't judge it's literary value, but it was hard for me to put it down. And I'll agree with the majority, Galt's speech is the only part that got a bit tedious. A 3-hour radio speech is quite an overkill.
Hey, beautiful Steffi, did you read The Fountainhead too? This one is amazing and so delicius... for me. Wow, you have lot of annotations... That is a good reader! I read Atlas Shrugged two times (in portuguese) and now I am (I guess) ready to read in english. Loved your review. Keep up on this great work. Cheers.
I haven’t read The Fountainhead yet. But I will one day! You’re very brave to read the book a third time. Enjoy!
@@SteffiP4Liberty I read again because I liked it so much, and I was shocked at how much I didn't catch at first reading. If the Atlas speaks of society and politics, the Fountainhed speaks of intimacy and the soul.
@@SteffiP4Liberty Oh, you must read The Fountainhead. Howard Roark is a great protagonist. His speech at the end -- while not nearly as long as the one in Atlas Shrugged -- is great. When ever I introduce people to Ayn Rand, I take them from Anthem, to The Fountainhead to Atlas Shrugged.
Ayn Rand was a brilliant prophet. The attention to detail was captivating. Couldn’t put it down. Simply a masterpiece.
Ever heard a woman be called a genius before? Serious question.
Steffi. Is this fiction? I’m confused because it is a novel and my understanding, although just becoming a regular reader, is that novels are fiction. I don’t like fiction but then again I saw this in some of the teachers I listen to like Dinesh- Prager- Peterson. So I looked into it. I guess I should hear your review first. Duh. But I’ll leave this and erase if you answer me. Thanks for the time to make these.
Ayn Rand Writes a book - Atlas Shrugged
The book gets a bunch of awards - Atlas Shrugged
Stephanie Cole does a review on the book - Atlas takes one look at her, & goes crazy 😤🤯😍🥰
Interesting review. I felt the same way you did about the book. The message was the most important part.
Thanks for sharing, sounds interesting.
Just got it on audible cos I highly doubt I'll be able to sit down nd read this entire thing lol... Always been interested in taking a stab at this book tho, look forward to listening! Thanx for insight.
My next book. Will have to figure out how to get that atlas shrugged help book in India.
so what you're saying is that the book is a rube goldberg machine
Thanks for the review. I just bought it, I will take my time with it haha..
Have fun!
Hope you enjoy it!
Well done in finishing that book, a tough challenge
I didn't even get to the speech. At times it feels like everyone in this book is giving endless repetitive rants in form of monologue. I wish there was also more to the 'evil' characters other than being a striking contrast with comedic names that indicate how we have to feel about them.
Fast forward to 2021.
I just finished the book. It's brilliant.
The reason that people don't want you to read the speech... is BECAUSE the philosophy is in there...
World Economic Forum sent me here
You read the book! Your a better reader than me I’m listing to the free on TH-cam.
Ok im not reading this, thanks 🙏🏼
you're missing in a lot
And why don't you want to read this?
Rivero decided he didn't like rand because his school said not to.
You need to read it again if you just think there is a lot of chitter chatter.
I heard they used this book to create bioshock's story, Well, Atlas is a character in it, and as a big bioshock fan, i will get this book
Don't be too disappointed. Bioshock is literally a What if Galts Gulch was build. Galts Gulch -> Rapture.
Bioshock does not endorse Rand in any way. It's a scathing criticism of her ideology.
The man who is convinced of his own worthlessness will be drawn to a woman he despises-because she will reflect his own secret self, she will release him from that objective reality in which he is a fraud, she will give him a momentary illusion of his own value and a momentary escape from the moral code that damns him.
I'm currently reading it. It's tedious because the language and the "philosophical" content is adolescent at best. Yet, i have committed myself to finishing it along wit the fountainhead and some of her essays in order to know how americans view themselves and the world in which we live.
Here's a little insight into successful and unsuccessful nations.
www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-highest-literacy-rates-in-the-world.html
Age recommendation please can I suggest this for 11yr?
I would say no. Not because of mature themes or language, but because the conflict is about business and government regulations. So it would be very difficult for an 11 year old to be interested in such things (In my opinion as a former 11 year old). Maybe once they've taken a high school economics class or better yet when they're in university so they can actually think critically and engage with the philosophies presented in the book. While I think it is a very good book, I don't necessarily agree with every idea presented in it. I believe most teenagers are very influenced by the books they consume so best to read Atlas Shrugged when they're capable of examining it in context and applying real world values to the ideas.
Probably a bit much for an 11 year old, unless they are very advanced.
Most people who don't like Rand only don't because their school said not to. They know fucking nothing of her philosophy. They don't even know the definition of individualism or objectivism. It's pathetic quite frankly. They get so triggered and upset and completely melt down over the topics she brought up because they don't want to be held accountable for their actions and they don't want to assume responsibility for their own Futures and the future of our species. Oh well, we are moving on without them. :-)
the second you said "dont read the speech" i stopped watching the video and knew "read the book" (me) and remember i made my brother read the first 2 chapters then he took it lmao
This is not a book review.
Definitely 50 shades at times
I'm surprised AS was the longest book you have ever read in your life. Haven't you read Leon Tolstoi War and Peace or Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame?
Nope!
You skipped Don Quixote! A brilliant read, but sadly I have only read it in English.
@@TheRadioAteMyTV A great read indeed, but that’s sort of cheating, since it is actually two separate books that were later combined.
Yikes. This book is one I'll stay away from just because it's so intimidating. Thanks for the review Steffi!
Don’t be intimidated. It’s just trains and love affairs.
And science fiction
Atlas Shrugged is easy and interesting ... want a challenge? try "War and Peace" (the worst book I ever read)
@Piyush Sharma
I got a Pin ... it said "I Read War and Peace"
what it didn't say is that I had to write essays about it all the way though it ...
it sucked
Prof loved Tolstoy
The speech is awesome
I couldn't get through it. I might try now that I'm passed 25 LOL. I've read all of Rothbard's and mises' books though. Surprisingly Socialism and the theory of money and credit was easier for me. I'm an econ junkie though.
I can't get into this novel and I can say the same for Objectivism.
I liked this review n reviewer...
Love u
100 pages is nothing
1200 Pages in german ....
You are the most beautiful woman alive. Please don’t make any more videos. Your gonna break so many hearts
Sadly this ‘review’ was nothing of the sort. It was just full of praise for it. What didn’t work about it? Which characters were unnecessary? What were the plot elements that weren’t so good? What sort of imagery does she use? What is her style of writing? I could go on, but I don’t think you’re going to answer these questions or any others that would make a half decent review from a critical standpoint. (And I meant a Literature critical standpoint).
Cool, now _would you kindly_ please go play through BioShock and see these philosophies in action.
BioShock has no bearing on the validity of Ayn Rand’s philosophy. Obviously.
A man chooses; a slave obeys.
There’s more to what it takes to be a man.
It’s funny how it’s only cringey right wingers and libertarians who read this garbage. I was hoping the audience would be more diverse and critical of this book.
Steffi, are you jewish? i'm just curious.
See that’s what Socialism is all about
You're super cute.
Useless chatter..
Ruling class idealistic nonsense
This book sucked so hard. I want my time back.
"Atlas shrugged" = "Mein kampff"
I thought it was pretty shit
Wtf..