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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ignore the Nit-Picky, I missed the Point Review Above,
By
This review is from: Atlas Shrugged: Manifesto of the Mind (Hardcover)
Ignore reviewers who nit-pick irrelevant details in Atlas Shrugged and the other novels of Ayn Rand. Far from promoting a a persecution, victimization attitude, Rand's books promote individualism, independent thinking and reason. Unfortunately, her philosophy contradicts centuries of flawed philosophy taught by and to our "intellectuals." For this reason, Rand's philosophy must be studied. It cannot be spoon-fed, like baby food, to those who "wish" that her book was written differently.Go to http://www.aynrandbookstore.com for books and tapes by authors and teacher who really understand the precise literary and philosophic integrations contained in her novels. You will find that Rand wasn't 100% accurate, but she formulated a philosophy that answers some of the most profoundly perplexing problems of our time. Her philosophy was formed by induction-that is, from the facts of reality, not wishful thinking or faith. Rand is decidedly anti-cult. If some of her followers have lapsed into cultism, then they, too, miss the entire point. The cultishness of some devotees does not detract from the fundamental soundness of her philosophy.
4 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting analysis of a flawed novel.,
By
This review is from: Atlas Shrugged: Manifesto of the Mind (Hardcover)
Mimi Reisel Gladstein concludes from the whole cult phenomenon surrounding Ayn Rand's _Atlas Shrugged_ that the novel must have some deep literary merit. But that is not necessarily the case. The cultish enthusiasm says more about the frustrations and repressed desires of adolescent and young adult Americans, of both sexes, than it does about Rand's particular abilities. I recall reading in Jeff Walker's book, _The Ayn Rand Cult_, that Rand figured out how to project into her novels the common adolescent feeling that you are being misappreciated and exploited by your "objective" inferiors, and meant for better things. _Atlas Shrugged_, frankly, isn't all that good as literature, though it does hold its own when compared with other productions of popular culture with cult followings among the young, like the novels of Robert A. Heinlein, for example. Rand's magnum opus acts more as a kind of literary Rorschach Test than anything else.Gladstein is on target when she discusses the genre-crossing aspects of _Atlas Shrugged_. Is it dystopian fiction, science fiction, a detective novel, a feminist-flavored romance? All of the above, it seems, though Gladstein doesn't persuade me that Rand consciously borrowed from Arthurian romance as well. The feminist and female-romantic elements of the novel were never emphasized all that much by Rand's "orthodox" followers, but Gladstein does make the case that Rand pioneered a new kind of strong, independent female character -- Dagny Taggart -- who holds her own in a man's world and doesn't need a man to make her life complete, though finding her ideal lover in John Galt certainly helps. In the 1950's such an idea was radical, but because many fictional female characters these days are "Xenafied," Dagny Taggart's prototypical role has been obscured. Perhaps the miniseries version of _Atlas Shrugged_ due out sometime next year will give Rand the credit in this one area she deserves. Still, I found some flaws in Gladstein's exposition of Rand's make-believe world. Gladstein fails to explore _Atlas Shrugged's_ unsubtle family-hating subtext: All of the major characters are alienated from immediate relatives as if that were a good thing. Even after Dagny makes an emotional connection with her hapless sister-in-law Cherryl, she displays no emotional response to Cherryl's suicide. The question of Hank Rearden's paternity never comes up, nor whether he and his wastrel brother Philip even share the same father. (If not, that could in itself explain the hostility between the two!) At the end of the novel, the strikers plan to leave their Rocky Mountain stronghold and rebuild an America where young people can look towards the future with hope -- but because the heroes don't have children, and apparently don't plan to, given the shortage of worthy females for them, you have to wonder where these youngsters are going to come from. (Because Dagny never seems to need contraception, despite having sex with three of the novel's heroes, she must be infertile.) Perhaps the creepiest aspect of all in the novel, which Gladstein seems oblivious to despite her feminist sensibilities, is how John Galt's behavior towards Dagny throughout most of the story resembles love-obsessional stalking. In the real world, a guy in his late 30's who is still a virgin, abandons a well-paying technological career so he can hold a menial job on a railroad, and obsesses over and surveils the railroad's attractive female Vice President (even going so far as to sabotage her business deals), would be considered potentially threatening. (Call Gavin de Becker!) I don't know if many women fantasize about falling in love with their stalkers, but this is an aspect of _Atlas Shrugged_ I don't quite understand. Nonetheless, Gladstein has written yet another contribution to Rand studies that I found worth the money, despite its limitations and brevity.
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