Atlas Shrugged

Hello again, after a long hiatus! It's quite easy to tell when I'm most busy. No time to read, and definitely no time to post about the things I do read. But I'm back, and eager to review.

I discovered Ayn Rand the summer before my senior year of high school, and since then, I've made it a habit to read her two most famous books, Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead, each summer since. The novels are essentially lessons in philosophy woven into a plot. They're long, intense and perfectly suited for lazy summer days when little else is occupying my mind.

Atlas Shrugged is my favorite of the two and Rand's last published work before her death. Rand's philosophy is called Objectivism. In Atlas Shrugged, the themes of her philosophy are fierce independence, selfishness and intellectual progress. The plot is fascinating...all the great minds of the world slowly disappear; inventors, musicians, businessmen, actresses, prodigies, philosophers, engineers, academics, etc. In their absence industries crumple, social systems implode and all hope is lost. I'd tell you more, but I'd much rather you read the book for yourself.

A few interesting facts to further entice you:

Rand, February 2, 1905 - March 6, 1982 was born and educated in Russia. She emigrated to the United States in 1926, at age 21. She became a naturalized American citizen in 1931.

At approximately 645,000 words, Atlas Shrugged is one of the longest novels ever written in any European language. (But it's TOTALLY worth it!)

Atlas Shrugged was voted the most influential book in readers' lives after the Bible.

Rand was greatly influenced by Aristotle. She also had an intellectual kinship with John Locke.

Her work is simultaneously admired and condemned. (As all good books should be)

Rand collected a group of young thinkers to whom she taught her philosophy. One of those was Alan Greenspan, future Chairman of the Federal Reserve.