Atlas Shrugged: 35th Anniversary Edition [Hardcover]

Ayn Rand (Author), Leonard Peikoff (Introduction)

Book Description

Release date: March 1, 1992

The story of a man who said he would stop the motor of the world--and did. This novel is the setting for the author's philosophy of Objectivism.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Novel by Ayn Rand, published in 1957. The book's female protagonist, Dagny Taggart, struggles to manage a transcontinental railroad amid the pressures and restrictions of massive bureaucracy. Her antagonistic reaction to a libertarian group seeking an end to government regulation is later echoed and modified in her encounter with a utopian community, Galt's Gulch, whose members regard self-determination rather than collective responsibility as the highest ideal. The novel contains the most complete presentation of Rand's personal philosophy, known as objectivism, in fictional form. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

About the Author

Ayn Rand (1905-1982) is best known for her philosophy of Objectivism and her novels We the Living, Anthem, The Fountainhead, and Atlas Shrugged. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1168 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult; Anniversary edition (March 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525934189
• ISBN-13: 978-0525934189
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3,384 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #82,290 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ayn Rand's first novel, We the Living, was published in 1936. With the publication of The Fountainhead in 1943, she achieved spectacular and enduring success. Through her novels and nonfiction writings, which express her unique philosophy, Objectivism, Rand maintains a lasting influence on popular thought.

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#8 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics

#60 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Literary

#8 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics

#60 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Literary

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2,682 of 2,992 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Read Philosophy, Do Not Fear It July 27, 2005

By Hoke

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I want to say from the beginning that one does not need to agree with a philosophy to appreciate it. Obviously most of the critics and some of the supporters have never read this work. One need not approve of communism to give the Communist Manifesto a high rating but it is certainly a must read.

Ayn Rand's philosophy is known as objectivism. It is essentially having a objective reason and purpose for every action you commit.

Atlas Shrugged is one of two major novels that outlines her entire philosophy while trying to show how it would be applied. That is why this book deserves a 5 star rating. Any philosopher can give generic ideas with no application. Rand puts it all on the line to show exactly how she means her philosophy to be interpreted.

The student of philosophy will be able to understand her philosophy quite clearly after reading this. If you agree with her philosophy you should encourage others to read this book. If this book is so clearly wrong then you should encourage others to read it so they will see how clearly wrong it is. Those that want it burned or object to others reading it know that she offers some very strong arguments for a position they clearly do not want to be true.

This book takes place probably around the 1950s. It is centered around the industrial sector of the U.S., the only government that has not become a People's State. The main character in this book is Dagny Taggart. She is a no-nonsense VP of Operations for the largest railroad in the world. She is intelligent and is solely driven to keeping her RR as the best.

The times are dim and getting dimmer. In the beginning the country is in a recession of sorts and it is up to Taggart and others like her to save the country.... There are two problems that are preventing her from doing this. One, the government seeks more and more control when it should be stepping away. Second, the men of industry are disappearing one by one just when they are critically needed. No one knows where they go off to.

In the sense of a novel this is a good one. It is suspenseful and intriguing. Everyone can identify with the characters in this book. Most of the antagonists have been left rather shallow. That is on purpose. They are supposed to represent certain elements of society. This book can get dry at times. One man has a 60 page speech that can seem a little preachy at times but is wholly necessary within the context of the novel.

Ayn Rand is perhaps the best known and widest read philosopher of the 20th century. If you have any interest in philosophy or economics then this is a must read. Don't fear her teachings. An open mind is a dangerous thing to some people.

The most important thing to remember is not to take everything you read here as dogma. Think for yourself and apply whatever ideas make sense to you and ignore that which you don't like. Think for yourself. I think Rand would object to anyone blindly following her philosophy without actually believing in it. No one says you can't be charitable to others. Just make sure you do it of your own volition and not because it is expected of you or because you feel guilty. Read more ›

903 of 1,051 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars candid and unique piece of work July 23, 2000

By "mcgee22"

Format:Mass Market Paperback

An earlier reviewer struck an important vein when mentioning that academia and media have left this novel largely untouched, while it has continued to be read via word-of-mouth recommendations. Why? Rand is provocative; the novel engenders both deep respect and vitriolic opposition. Why?

To begin with, this is not an ordinarily structured novel; it is an overt statement of a philosophy. The plot, like many of those employed by Shakespeare, is not wholly original. (See an older book entitled "Secret of the League"). In any event, Rand uses the complex plot allegorically as a vehicle for describing her own unique philosophy and its consequences. Rand's philosophy, and it is clear enough upon reading, is a synthesis of Aristotelianism with more modern "humanistic" concerns, in the greatest and original sense of the term. Rand ties Aristotle's basic conceptions of logic to the workings of egoism and capitalism. She rejects Nietzschean irrationalism, Kantian ethics, and the kind of Pragmatism championed by Dewey. Her suggested replacement for these constructs is a body of thought which recognizes and responds to human needs and values, economic conditions, political necessities, and logical imperatives, even if incompletely at times. Oddly, her critics continue to tout her as little more than a "pop-philosopher". On to her book.

Atlas Shrugged is a fountainhead of skilled dialogue and monologue. Francisco's speech on "money" is insightful, and honest. Some prosaic passages, like Galt's enormous speech near the novel's end, could have used some editing. Nonetheless, such passages are meant to (and succeed in) conveying a rather thorough philosophy.... Also adept at employing dialogue, Rand leaves cutting snippets and short verbal gems throughout the book. She distinguishes perceptively between 'what people commonly say' and 'what those words often covertly are intended to mean.' This making-bare is done through the frankness of her protagonists, some of which mere foils to reveal more probing insights. Those who would call her characters "shallow" may be correct if judging by contemporary literary standards which praise personal texture and ambiguity. Rand seems more interested in the kind of moral tale woven by the great Greek dramatists, in which characters are primarily vehicles of ideas.

It was once said that the purpose of philosophy is to start with something that everyone takes for granted, and to end with that which noone will believe. Rand uses Atlas Shrugged to achieve this kind of ideational journey. No shallow fanatic, her novel is a work is also a great psychological study of the motives of several common ideas, values, and ethical standards. She constructs in Atlas Shrugged a powerful critique of collectivism, that thought which says "We are our brother's keepers."

I suppose one reason for the novel's continued popularity is that most readers are far too intelligent to be comforted by other kinds of books whose authors want them to think they are profound because they are difficult to grasp. Zservedah once called "clear prose the conceptual tool of conservativism." Readers are probably tired of being asked to find beauty in the Emperor's clothes, in works of art which are ugly, and in books which are pessimistic. Atlas Shrugged is unabashedly lucid and candid; it is refreshing to find such confident and clear writing in this age of self-doubt, relativism, and academic obscurity.

You will be a richer person for having read it.

Are some of Rand's adherents sycophantic? Certainly. Yet if her philosophy were the kind of "cheap trash" critics claim it to be, why the vehemence of her opposition? Read more ›

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars I do not regret reading this book December 4, 2011

By Avery Morrow

Format:Paperback

Everyone I knew told me that this book was bad. One time, I cracked open my dad's copy and accidentally flipped directly to the page where a bunch of people on a train are killed in a tunnel and Rand justifies each of their deaths, which understandably put me off the book for about a decade or so. Later, I read snippets of the money speech and decided for myself that Rand's philosophy was repugnant and easy to refute. But for some reason, after years of discussing philosophy with my friends, I picked up a copy anyway.

What I discovered was astonishing.

Yes, the philosophy goes against everything you've been taught. Yes, her approach to explaining her philosophy has the intensity of a tyrant, and is inappropriate enough to dissuade happy readers such as myself. But the story is actually incredibly engaging. I tried to think of a 20th century philosophy book to compare it to, but it really is incomparable, in terms of its life-giving drive. The modern reader has never had anyone explain philosophy to him in the assertive, challenging way Ayn Rand does, and the results for an open-minded person should be as inspiring as an in-person encounter with Socrates. I see the world in an essentially different way than Ayn Rand does. I got tired of the Galt speech after about 5 pages, and I wish that Rand had given her work to an equally intelligent editor, rather than basking in a cult of personality. But from the other 900 pages I took home a strong message, that I will carry for the rest of my life: the humanity that lived in the forest eating berries may have been happy, but it did not leave a mark on the world. Power and the symbols of power are not necessarily ugly; they can be more beautiful than any mud hut, and any hobo on the street can understand and appreciate that beauty....

A few people read this book and believe in the cult of Rand herself. I can understand that impulse, although I would probably have a lot of trouble associating with those people in real life. Most people, I believe, read it and gain from the experience while maintaining a more measured worldview. I am willing to bet that most of the people who hate the book have never read it, for even if you struggle with her philosophy, the book itself is much more interesting than just reading Galt's speech.

Thank you, Ayn Rand. Read more ›