I read this when I was younger and did not enjoy it even then when I understand many people are captivated by the ideas it presents. I would have just forgotten about it like so many other mediocre books in the past, but my current employment brought it to my attention again. 

 

Both our CEO and company president claim this book as one of their favorites, one that influenced them. They think it is profound, they think that it is full of "truth" God help me, they really do. 

 

So I determined that I needed to revisit it, give it another chance. It was worse than I even remembered.

 

Not only is it full of misguided, fear-inducing "othering" of those with a different type of contribution to make or those with a differing set of values, but it is also just plain bad.

 

I am not someone who needs to like the characters in a narrative in order to enjoy or even love a story. I mean, F. Scott Fitzgerald is my favorite author, and he rarely writes anyone likable. But the main characters in this book are a child's idea of 

 

 

What I loved - almost every aspect of the overall message, several of the characters (some less and less as the book went on), and the foresight required for a monumental work with such depth and meaning

What I didn't like - the length...it drags on and on in places (I like long books, but the descriptions were a bit over the top sometimes)

What I hated - the subplot!!! Hated, hated, hated the romance aspect, but not because it was romance. It was so crazy stupid how it played out and how the characters behaved. And what they put up with! And then it got worse. I wanted to scream at the absolute RIDICULOUSNESS as it neared the end.

So, if you can tolerate the not-so-good to find the REALLY REALLY GOOD in this book, I highly recommend it. I sincerely don't want to turn anyone away from the message this story brings. Please read it. But I had be honest and warn that there will be difficult bits.

Ayn Rand is one of my favorite authors and I have only read Atlas Shrugged. I saw the first two movies after a friend had mentioned them and loved the subject matter. After being sadly disappointed with the third movie (Atlas Shrugged Part III), I felt compelled to read the book. The first two movies were fairly decent representations of the story, but unfortunately in my opinion, the third was not.

To start, I'm not here to preach political beliefs to anyone. I strongly agree with Ayn's perspective on life. If you want to have a long conversation about it or a debate, I'm not interested in doing so. I know that we all have different perspectives and opinions about life and how things should be. That's what makes life so fun and exciting. Different points of views that offer us insight into determining if we do or don't like something, and if we choose to incorporate more of those things in our own lifes.

The message is poignant and the characters are strong. I think that everyone, from every country, can gain immense value by reading Atlas Shrugged.

Ayn is not American born and I appreciate her work ethic and mentality greatly. I'm excited to read more of her works.

I'm so thrilled that I finally read this! I have sort of a love-hate relationship with this book. There were momentns when I thought I was crazy for reading it and other times when I loved it. It's very heavy reading. She could have chopped 400 pages off and it would have been a better novel, but I think the narcissist in her just wouldn't shut up. Perfect title and I loved discovering the meaning behind it.

I'm so thrilled that I finally read this! I have sort of a love-hate relationship with this book. There were momentns when I thought I was crazy for reading it and other times when I loved it. It's very heavy reading. She could have chopped 400 pages off and it would have been a better novel, but I think the narcissist in her just wouldn't shut up. Perfect title and I loved discovering the meaning behind it.