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Atlas Shrugged (Centennial Ed. HC) |
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List Price: $39.95
Our Price: $25.07
Your Save: $ 14.88 ( 37% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Dutton Adult
Average Customer Rating: 
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PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.52
EAN: 9780525948926
ISBN: 0525948929
Label: Dutton Adult
Manufacturer: Dutton Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 1192
Publication Date: 2005-04-21
Publisher: Dutton Adult
Studio: Dutton Adult
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Editorial Reviews:
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The year 2005 marks Ayn Rand’s Centennial Year. The astounding story of a man that said that he would stop the motor of the world—and did. Tremendous in scope, breathtaking in its suspense, Atlas Shrugged is unlike any other book you have ever read.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: One of the most important books ever written.
Comment: If you are a philosophy buff, regardless of your feelings about Rand's views, you need to read this book. I particularly liked the application to everyday activities and relationships that are described in Atlas Shrugged. This is VERY heavy reading, but the story is enjoyable to the very end.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great book! Still relevent 40 years after it was written.
Comment: I had heard of this book before, but the size of it kind of scared me away. I am very glad I decided to get it in spite of the long read. This is one of the best novels I have ever read. It is at least as timely today as it was in the 50s when it was written. I am hooked on Ayn now and would recomend anything by her. Good story as well as relevent metaphor/parable in todays liberally altruistic political climate.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Where is a good editor when you need one?
Comment: This book screams out for an editor, an aggressive one at that. But alas, because of Rand's cult status she no doubt was able to ride roughshod over any attempts to rein in her voluble style.
The book remains a classic, and despite it prodigious length should be read to understand Ayn Rand's philosophic perspective. Her characters suffer from lack of believability as does her story. Her treatment of evil is ham-fisted with her characters nearly caricatures who evolve into straw men easily knocked down by the equally caricature like heroes. Her philosophical perspective screams from every single page and is so heavy handed as to render the reader nearly senseless. Personally, I think she would have been even more influential had she crafted her tale with characters a little less caricature like.
BUT, and this is a big but, hers is a worthy philosophical viewpoint that should at least partially inform every conservative or libertarian mindset. One should be very careful however not to be swept away by Rand but rather to carefully and rationally incorporate her ideas into an overall pursuit of truth.
Rand rejects religion. I do not think that one needs to reject religion to appreciate the value of Rand's perspective for at the end of the day many of her ideas would create a more humane rational world fully compatible with a religious perspective. I am a paleo-conservative of the Reagan school who likes Rand a great deal but feel that religion and Western traditions are an essential part of a truthful perspective that informs my own viewpoints.
My suggestion would be to read Rand with the same grain of salt that you would read any author. Maintain your skepticism. Do not surrender your mind to Rand but rather allow her to test and possibly shape your ideas.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Next time you hear the word "bailout" in the news...
Comment: ....reach for a copy of this book.
I decided to buy a copy of this book from Amazon after seeing it mentioned on several blogs I read. After having a tough time starting to read it - the initial chapters set the stage and introduce the characters, but are a bit dry - I was not able to put it down. Simply put, this book continues to be printed - and sold - because it is nothing short of brilliant.
Rather than attempt to explain the themes of the book (these can be easily found by Googling "Atlas Shrugged") I will instead tell you that the book is probably one everyone living in a capitalistic society should read - both as affirmation of the power of capitalism and its embrace of the power of the individual, and as a warning of where we *will* be headed if we ever lose the power of reason.
Next time you have a question you can't readily answer - for instance, why so many businesses that should be allowed to fail are instead being bailed out by our present government - just ask yourself, "Who is John Galt?".
Customer Rating:
Summary: A lesson for us all...
Comment: When Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged first came out in the late 50s it was extremely popular. The main character, John Galt, and his beliefs, or Rand's if you will, created a ground-swell of followers. Enough so that there were bumper stickers saying "Who Is John Galt?"
To put it simply, this fast-reading, enjoyable novel proposes what can happen when the powerful, "producers/movers" of society, decide to forego their efforts and drop out, leaving the economy in the hands of the "takers/slackers."
This is an iconic publication, and possibly more important in this century than the last.
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