Atlas Shrugged

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

I'm posting this book here as I'll be receiving and reading it soon. I 'll then post my feelings on it. Any others who have read this book or have questions on it should weigh in. ;D

[Blaze72]

Atlas as in the titan?

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Dec 21, 2012 7:10:14 GMT -5 Blaze72 said:

Atlas as in the titan?

The figurative reference is based on Atlas that holds the world. The book is based on individual rights and the free market.

www.amazon.com/Atlas-Shrugged-Ayn-Rand/dp/0452011876/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356092186&sr=8-1&keywords=atlas+shrugged

[Blaze72]

Found out this book was the inspiration for Bioshock 1 & 2

here's a quote from Andrew Ryan

I am Andrew Ryan, and I'm here to ask you a question. Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow? 'No!' says the man in Washington, 'It belongs to the poor.' 'No!' says the man in the Vatican, 'It belongs to God.' 'No!' says the man in Moscow, 'It belongs to everyone.' I rejected those answers; instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose... Rapture, a city where the artist would not fear the censor, where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality, Where the great would not be constrained by the small! And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Dec 28, 2012 21:11:02 GMT -5 Blaze72 said:

Found out this book was the inspiration for Bioshock 1 & 2

here's a quote from Andrew Ryan

I am Andrew Ryan, and I'm here to ask you a question. Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow? 'No!' says the man in Washington, 'It belongs to the poor.' 'No!' says the man in the Vatican, 'It belongs to God.' 'No!' says the man in Moscow, 'It belongs to everyone.' I rejected those answers; instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose... Rapture, a city where the artist would not fear the censor, where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality, Where the great would not be constrained by the small! And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well.

Yea, it's half a century old, many things have used its philosophy.

[Blaze72]

Not sure if the new Bioshock is using it for inspiration.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

It is possible. Many works draw from it.

[Ragnar Danneskjöld]

Who is John Galt?

Once I started reading Atlas I never wanted to put it down. Be sure to watch out for spoilers online that would ruin the plot. My user name is from my favorite character in the book. Once you find out who he is and what he does you will know why I like him so much.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Jan 8, 2013 18:41:58 GMT -5 Ragnar Danneskjöld said:

Who is John Galt?

Once I started reading Atlas I never wanted to put it down. Be sure to watch out for spoilers online that would ruin the plot. My user name is from my favorite character in the book. Once you find out who he is and what he does you will know why I like him so much.

Never minded spoilers that much, but I don't hunt for them. I am reading Free Market Revolutions, but Atlas Shrugged is by my bed.

[Ragnar Danneskjöld]

Where is your book report on this one, bro?

Don't let it sit on the shelf for 3 years like I did because I was put off by the length. It's worth every page.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Jun 24, 2013 23:37:14 GMT -5 Ragnar Danneskjöld said:

Where is your book report on this one, bro?

Don't let it sit on the shelf for 3 years like I did because I was put off by the length. It's worth every page.

I'm a really fast reader. I was partway into reading that book by the Ayn Rand institute. I'm going to be going on the road more so I'll probably start reading it soon. I don't mind long books though.

[Ragnar Danneskjöld]

Cool. I think atlas is the longest novel I've ever read. I read athem, fountainhead, and atlas back to back in a non-stop marathon so it's almost like one big 2000 page book, lol

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Jun 25, 2013 17:14:50 GMT -5 Ragnar Danneskjöld said:

Cool. I think atlas is the longest novel I've ever read. I read athem, fountainhead, and atlas back to back in a non-stop marathon so it's almost like one big 2000 page book, lol

Atlas is one of the longest books around so it probably is.

[malum]

I like Atlas Shrugged, I read it several times, I tend to think it could be shorter but when I try to discuss economics with nine out of ten people I begin to see why she felt the need to beat every point to death. Rand herself fell well short of her ideals but I guess one could argue that she would have done better without the state pillaging her pay check every week. If someone only wanted to read one Rand book I'd probably recommend The Fountainhead over Shrugged.
It is somewhat eerie when real events mirror events in the book. For example (spoiler and I don't see the button)

SPOILER: Click to show

the explosives train crash in North Korea in 2004 was very similar to the Taggart Tunnel crash. Many of the laws we see being passed now could easily be in the book. The bank bail-in laws for example, or the proposed "one time only" wealth tax, or the IMF's 71% federal income tax.

IMHO a better book on the dangers of the welfare state is Hayek's Road to Serfdom, but it isn't fiction and isn't 'entertainment'. On a more entertaining note I would also recommend the econstories The Fight of the Century Keynes vs Hayek Round 2 on youtube as a fun introduction to the statist vs free market views on economics.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Dec 22, 2013 1:07:26 GMT -5 malum said:

I like Atlas Shrugged, I read it several times, I tend to think it could be shorter but when I try to discuss economics with nine out of ten people I begin to see why she felt the need to beat every point to death. Rand herself fell well short of her ideals but I guess one could argue that she would have done better without the state pillaging her pay check every week. If someone only wanted to read one Rand book I'd probably recommend The Fountainhead over Shrugged.
It is somewhat eerie when real events mirror events in the book. For example (spoiler and I don't see the button)

SPOILER: Click to show

the explosives train crash in North Korea in 2004 was very similar to the Taggart Tunnel crash. Many of the laws we see being passed now could easily be in the book. The bank bail-in laws for example, or the proposed "one time only" wealth tax, or the IMF's 71% federal income tax.

IMHO a better book on the dangers of the welfare state is Hayek's Road to Serfdom, but it isn't fiction and isn't 'entertainment'. On a more entertaining note I would also recommend the econstories The Fight of the Century Keynes vs Hayek Round 2 on youtube as a fun introduction to the statist vs free market views on economics.

You just do spoiler tags with [ spoiler ] [ / spoiler] (with the brackets put back in) or you click the bottom right tab. That's all.

I need to really dig my heels into this book and read it. I read really fast so it isn't the length, I just have to "get into" stuff, if that makes sense.