Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 (Tek) 9/28/84 based on 9/17/84; site azure.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!whuxlm!whuxl!houxm!mtuxo!mtunh!mtung!mtunf!ariel!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!teklds!azure!michaelk From: michaelk@azure.UUCP (Michael Kersenbrock) Newsgroups: net.books,net.sf-lovers Subject: Re: ATLAS SHRUGGED by Ayn Rand Message-ID: <287@azure.UUCP> Date: Fri, 21-Jun-85 05:23:43 EDT Article-I.D.: azure.287 Posted: Fri Jun 21 05:23:43 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 23-Jun-85 04:29:46 EDT References: <865@mtgzz.UUCP> Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR Lines: 103 Xref: watmath net.books:1973 net.sf-lovers:8106 > > ATLAS SHRUGGED by Ayn Rand > Signet, 1957, $1.75. > A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper My paper back copy was $4.95. > > In spite of its over a thousand pages, I can't find much to say about > this book. The premise is that the technical and managerial geniuses, who > have been all that has stood between the masses and ruin, have decided (with > the encouragement of one John Galt) no longer to let their talents and > abilities be comandeered by those less able than themselves, but instead to > drop out of society and form their own society based on their desires. (I > bet you hadn't realized that Ayn Rand invented the hippie!) Of course, > things quickly go to hell in a handbasket because of this, starting with the > collapse of the railroads, which Rand sees as the foundation of American > society, trade, and culture. The result is predictable to any one who has > read any Rand before (though I refuse to believe that even as their are food > and fuel shortages because of collapsing (in some cases literally) > railroads, a post card can get from Colorado to New York in four days. It > can't do that now!). > Remember that this book was published in 1957, so I suspect that the train system was of greater importance up until that time than it is now. Remember how just the slight (probably faked) oil shortage we had ten or so years ago affected us? What if the oil industry collapsed? (no gas,oil, etc) Society as we know it would collapse instantly. But then, that really isn't an important factor in Rand's book. It could have been anything, railroads were just handy. The book is about individualism and capitalism. When a person is born into a system where everybody else ("society") controls how you do things it can be difficult to know what has been done to you ("brainwashing"). Atlas shrugged goes to great length to convince you of what is going on, that is, how you are being controlled. This is taken both on an individual level and on an economic level. Rand's basic premise is that: you as an individual are important, and that "society" isn't a GOD-like creature that "knows" better than you what you should do in life -- because "society" is simply a large number of folk who know only as much as you do. She believes strongly in personal freedom. Further, she basically pushes the idea of capitalism in it's purest sense. She puts it up as the ideal that society should organize and strive for. This is a book about ideas and ideals. This is particularly interesting because as I understand, Ayn Rand was born and raised in Russia. She is more "American" than Americans (you know what I mean!). Rand greatly simplifies how the world works as to minimize the number of variables in the story. This is like doing a scientific experiment where you keep all the variables fixed except the one you are studying. Rand does this same thing to make her points. Further, she speeds up the effects (like having everything economically collapse in a year or two, where it really would take 20 years) as to speed up the story. These methods distort the story away from daily-life paced action, but then not nearly so much as television where the entire world is constantly saved within an hour (even with commercials). > Rand's obvious happiness in killing off all the "worthless" characters > in this book (which includes over 90% of the general public) makes it > somewhat difficult for most people to buy into the good points that she is > making. While her methods of making her points are not the most subtle in > the world, Rand's questions of ability and the responsibility of an Indeed, she isn't the least bit subtle, but the concepts are difficult to emotionally accept even though they are very simple logically. Rand takes things to extremes to make her point even clearer, to try and puncture through your emotional resistance to the ideas presented. > individual to "donate" his or her ability to the general good because others > have decided so is well worth considering. Unfortunately, eleven hundred > pages is more considering that you may want to do. The best way to read > this book is to skip all the long speeches (particularly in the second half) > and read it as a science fiction "end of the world" story. Then do your > philosophizing on your own. > > Evelyn C. Leeper > ...ihnp4!mtgzz!ecl Upon the books first reading, I would recommend reading the long speeches (maybe skimming here and there) and to skip them in later readings. This a book I like a very great deal. I would like to get hold of a hard-bound copy. It affected me greatly in terms of "energizing" me in my battle against the world for my livelyhood. I think someone can tell whether (s)he will like it in the first couple chapters, because the rest of the book will be the same only intensified. I strongly recommend this book. I regret not one penny of the $4.95 that I traded for the book. Mike Kersenbrock Tektronix Microcomputer Development Products Aloha, Oregon Disclamer: All opinions above are either E.C. Leeper's, mine, or Ayn Rand's. None are necessarily anywhere like that of anybody else at this company.