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What a refreshingly frank review Terence, I confess to rating this book highly BUT that may have been for similar reasons, I read it in the 70’s, and probably didn’t understand it :-)

Ahhh... it was still a must read in the 70’s G.J. ! 😎

Great review, Terrance! Although not REQUIRED reading for me, I always felt it was one I SHOULD read. Started. Sopped. Started. Stop. Thanks for candor....based on your perceptive review, I can LET.IT.GO. !!!

Sorry^. I don’t know how to correct my errors^ !

Thank you Pamela. It’s good to cull the TBR list of the books you think you ‘should�� read but for whatever reason haven’t and know you’re not likely to. Happy reading! 😊

HA! I also read one of her books long ago just because... Now, it worries me that our current Speaker of the House considers her his favorite author. :))

Yes, it's a worry that a number of Republicans have either quoted her as a favourite author or referred to her alt right philosophy as something inspiring. We have a couple of pollies who subcribe to her supremely selfish thinking, but they won't get anywhere with it down here! I Hope!

You most likely read "The Fountainhead" �� her precursor to Atlas Shrugged. I think a film may have been made out of it. I read it before Atlas, but like it or not, Atlas had to be on your person when you entered the coffee shops in Melbourne. Being seen with it was much more important than reading it!

I have always felt I should read this. Lucky I held off until it became the boring, dated work of a bigot trapped by her paranoid era.

Alan wrote: "I have always felt I should read this. Lucky I held off until it became the boring, dated work of a bigot trapped by her paranoid era."

Spot on, Alan! It staggers me that a lot of US right-wing politicians quote Ayn Rand as an inspiration, etc.

Loved your honesty, Terence.
I know exactly what you mean, as I also did a lot of pontificating in my youth. You most certainly wouldn't have wanted to read some of the pretentious, pseudo-intellectual claptrap that I wrote in my late teens! : )

I have been planing to read this even though I hate Objectivism. I just feel like I need to read it to get a better insight into something I disagree with. Am I wrong?

A short review but right to the point! (Something Rand doesn't exactly do). Very good review!

I have been debating whether or not to read this book (along with Rand's other doorstop The Fountainhead), since they're both considered classics and I've even heard that they tend to work your mind, whether you agree with Rand or not.

Frankly, I'm looking for nothing but pure literary aspects to these books: plot, character, prose. But I doubt I would have found much of that considering how most people tell me that the books are a mere excuse to display Rand's philosophy. I think I may end up giving these two books a pass.

Kevin wrote: "Loved your honesty, Terence.
I know exactly what you mean, as I also did a lot of pontificating in my youth. You most certainly wouldn't have wanted to read some of the pretentious, pseudo-intellec..."

Thank you, Kevin! Of course, as my dear Mum used to say, all young teens know everything, but by the time they turn 25 they are staggered how much their parents have learnt in the intervening 10 years or so!

Saul the Heir of Isauldur wrote: "A short review but right to the point! (Something Rand doesn't exactly do). Very good review!

I have been debating whether or not to read this book (along with Rand's other doorstop The Fountainhe..."

Thank you, Saul! I think there are too many far worthier books out there to warrant spending a moment of your precious time on any of Ayn Rand's rantings.

Thorkell wrote: "I have been planing to read this even though I hate Objectivism. I just feel like I need to read it to get a better insight into something I disagree with. Am I wrong?"

Are you wrong? I have no idea, Thorkell, but if you do read Atlas Shrugged, you will learn the answer to "Who is John Galt?"!

OMG, I laughed out loud at your review!!!

Great review. If there was a book award for Biggest Anachronism this would be a contender.

Chris wrote: "OMG, I laughed out loud at your review!!!"

Pleased to amuse you, Chris!

Lori wrote: "Great review. If there was a book award for Biggest Anachronism this would be a contender."

Thank you for your interesting and pertinent comment, Lori!

I read it and hated it but your review gets 5 stars!!! Well done.

great review

Loved your thoughts, Terence :))

Sometimes we change for the better and sometimes not I enjoyed your review, Terrence.

Jill wrote: "I read it and hated it but your review gets 5 stars!!! Well done."

Thank you, Jill😎. I am thrilled to be awarded 5Stars!

Yigal wrote: "great review"

Thank you, Yigal!

Beata wrote: "Loved your thoughts, Terence :))"

Thank you, Beata! I always appreciate your thoughts and your comments!

Barbara wrote: "Sometimes we change for the better and sometimes not I enjoyed your review, Terrence."

Thank you Barbara!

At 18 I was pretty sure I knew all I needed to know to get through until I was older, you know, like 30 or something, but 60 years later... still so much to learn, but now not enough time ...😒😁

Greetings, Terrance

I "found you" through your comment on Keeten's Fingerpost review.

I removed shoes and socks to help determine that you were 20 (more or less) when you struggled through Atlas

(and now I see that you already confessed to your age at the time)

I never finished it, myself, despite three tries at forty-plus - and gave up on the Galt 30,000 word manifesto - but still found the 80% I did read worthwhile.

(FWIW, at age 18 I devoured the less-ambitious, more-accessible "Fountainhead")

You wrote:

In later years, as I read and studied more, I came to realise just what Ayn Rand and Nathaniel Brand were on about and Atlas Shrugged became a personal memento of the shallow crassness of me and my youthful peers in the late fifties and early sixties.

I did not find the movers and shakers in Atlas to be crass - nor shallow. None of them were "real" in the literary/character sense - but I sense that was not Rand's mission.

Unlike you, I did not read the "companion works" by Rand and Branden - so won't comment on Objectivism. I DID read the "authorized collection" of her letters and the three memoirs by Mr. and Mrs. Branden. I believe, had I been young and "in the neighborhood", I'd have "hung out" with Rand and her Tribe - but would soon have dropped out, as I believe that I am personally not very susceptible to the cultish pressures exerted there.

(I admit, though, I would likely have tried to remain "part of the wallpaper" - as the accounts of Rand suggested she was magnetic in her way - if not amenable to "argument")

You also wrote:

I really understood absolutely nothing about the incredibly selfish philosophy of Objectivism.

In Atlas the villains are much more energetic than those in The Fountainhead. I found myself alternately depressed and exhilerated depending on whether the chapter involved the bad guys or the heroes (and the ordinarily competent).

My thought is that *people* are selfish (which, after all, is a evolutionarily successful trait) but philosophies may not be.

(and, of course, selfishness is leavened by morals - both part of the package)

Objectivism may be "objectively" "incredibly selfish" - or that may be how many project themselves on it. IWO, Objectivism may not be so - but their are certainly many folks who themselves are "incredibly selfish".

Again, I have only distilled what I found valid and desirable from the novels - so no comment on the ancilliary works and practitioners.

Anyway, I look forward to your further comments on Fingerpost - and a review.

Jim wrote: "Greetings, Terrance

I "found you" through your comment on Keeten's Fingerpost review."

Hello Jim, and thank you very much for your extensive comments!

First, may I point out:
You say: "I did not find the movers and shakers in Atlas to be crass - nor shallow."

My comment was not about the "...movers and shakers in Atlas..."
but that "...Atlas Shrugged became a personal memento of the shallow crassness of me and my youthful peers in the late fifties and early sixties."

I agree with you "...that *people* are selfish (which, after all, is an evolutionarily successful trait) but philosophies may not be."

My "review" was a more or less 'dashed-off' comment about Atlas, but I think that probably I should have written something like:

At the time, I really understood absolutely nothing about what has proven to be the incredibly selfish philosophy of Objectivism."

Thanks again, I appreciate your comments.

Wow! What a burn! My grandson is now where you were then as far as this book goes. I haven't read it yet and I don't know if I will, unless he talks me into it. Of course it will be a DNF if I lose interest.

A dead dingo's donger!! Hahaha - love that Tezza. Your review was excellent mate, a review of a book I'd be too scared to touch. I love your line about you being 'adept at posing with book in hand.....' classic stuff. Nice one mate.

Thanks for your comment, Joe.😊
I remember it being a struggle to finish, but with the mob with whom I mixed at the time, I didn’t dare not finish!
I wouldn't recommend Atlas Shrugged unless you wish to probe a little into the philosophy of Objectivism ("I live my life for no man and ask no man to live his for me - John Galt"), which was a must for a certain brand of selfish right-wingers in the 50s and 60s.
I agree with “Jim�� that The Fountainhead was more accessible to read and although I also saw the film of the same name, I do not recall much about it.

Mark, you are the only person yet to mention "a dead dingo's donger", but I am not surprised it was you!
Thanks so much for your comment, mate😉!

I am indebted to GR stalwart, Michael Perkins, for this quote which I copied from his review of Atlas Shrugged:
“There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.�� �� John Rogers

Thanks, Terence. To that you can add this quip from Christopher Hitchens....

“I have always found it quaint and rather touching that there is a movement in the US that thinks Americans are not yet selfish enough.��

Excellent, and soo Hitchens! Thank you, Michael.

Terence M ;-) wrote: "Mark, you are the only person yet to mention "a dead dingo's donger", but I am not surprised it was you!
Thanks so much for your comment, mate😉!"

Bahahaha - nice one Terry, thanks mate!!

Dead dingoes donger left me spittin' chips

Thank you for the review. I used to be intimidated by those who have read this book. Now I don't feel the pressure of reading this book and feeling superior.

Edgarr Alien wrote: "Dead dingoes donger left me spittin' chips"

😄😄Thanks Edgarr - we Melbourne boys understand each other!

Lata wrote: "Thank you for the review. I used to be intimidated by those who have read this book. Now I don't feel the pressure of reading this book and feeling superior."

Good for you, Lata! You probably wouldn't have liked the book anyway, or those who have read it😊!

I read this when I was very young too, I suspect if I re read it I would give it a totally different rating, however, at the time I though it was an important book :-(

I guess when we were young “know-it-all’s��, GJ, we thought it was an important book, but you’re right, a re-read would probably change that point of view😊.

Terence, I read about 100 pages in 1970 and that was enough for me. I wasn’t any wiser at age 20 than you, but I’d encountered enough selfish men by then to decide I didn’t need to read about them as well. OTOH, I was adoring The Lord of the Rings at about the same time. :-)

Barbara wrote: "Terence, I read about 100 pages in 1970 and that was enough for me. I wasn’t any wiser at age 20 than you, but I’d encountered enough selfish men by then to decide I didn’t need to read about them as well..."

Good for you, Barbara, my friend😚!
My elder daughter, "Cate M", was born in 1970 and she became a most dedicated reader from a very early age. She is still an avid Fantasy lover and encourages me to sample the genre. I started The Lord of the Rings, plodded through a lot of it, but did not experience much enjoyment from the book, so eventually it was dnf'd😒.

Terence M ;-) wrote: " I started The Lord of the Rings, plodded through a lot of it, but did not experience much enjoyment from the book, so eventually it was dnf'd😒"

Wow! you actually dnf THE LOTR and admit to it! I am so proud of you ! I wish I had dnf it, instead of feeling miserable reading pages and pages of walking through the forest. It was like running on a treadmill, going nowhere.

Lata wrote: "Wow! you actually dnf THE LOTR and admit to it! I am so proud of you ! I wish I had dnf it, instead of feeling miserable reading pages and pages of walking through the forest. It was like running on a treadmill, going nowhere."

Thank you, Lata😊!
I laughed at your comments about reading LOTR. At my age, I do not hesitate to dnf an audiobook if I can't "get into it" within the first 30% or so. I have so many to listen to that sometimes I welcome a dnf as it gives me the chance to try another book!

Hey. I am a Republican Capitalist and this is the stupidest book I have ever read. I just began part two and it only gets worse. Talk about unlikable characters! Are we supposed to be in awe of Dagny and Reardon? Their conversations are ridiculous. No one talks like that. Dagny is basically a slut who lets men slap her around and likes it. But she can out insult any man and she gets away with it because she is the most beautiful woman ever born and wears the nicest clothes. Anyway, I understand Rand didn't practice what she preached. Basically that she would never live for anyone else nor expect them to live for her and yet you were not her friend unless you worshipped her. Not sure I will finish it but this Capitalist finds this tome so far, quite ridiculous.

Mark wrote: "Hey. I am a Republican Capitalist and this is the stupidest book I have ever read. I just began part two and it only gets worse. Talk about unlikable characters! ... Not sure I will finish it but this Capitalist finds this tome so far, quite ridiculous."

Thanks for the comment, Mark. It doesn't get any better than wherever in the book you are now, so struggle on if you must, or just give the old heave-ho!