PDA

View Full Version : Just got Atlas Shrugged for Christmas! This should be fun...anyone got adderal?




tggroo7
12-25-2008, 08:32 PM
So I asked for and received Atlas Shrugged for Christmas. I wonder if Santa is a libertarian? Anyway, had no idea how humungo the book is! LOL I was like, "well here's a new life goal...get through this thing!" How many people here have actually read it? I don't do a lot of reading but I'm going to pick up some educational (i.e. libertarian/Austrian School related) books to read. Anyone have any tips on how to get through this...by tips I might mean adderall...lol.

Well I'm just kind of excited about it so I had to post...not much of a question in this post other than looking for some replies from others who have read it.

O yea, Merry Christmas!

yongrel
12-25-2008, 08:58 PM
I got through it by getting ill and being on bed rest for a week.

A successful strategy for me when I have to read large texts is to make reading it part of your daily routine. Set aside an hour every day at the same time where you sit down and read Atlas Shrugged in a comfy chair. When it becomes part of your daily routine, you'll find it easier to get through the book, keep track of where you are, and stay engaged in the story. When I had to read the History of the Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire, I set aside 9pm-10pm every night for several months, which was the only way I managed to get past even the first volume.

Also, adderall is the quickest way I know of to turn yourself into a manic asshole.

tremendoustie
12-25-2008, 08:59 PM
So I asked for and received Atlas Shrugged for Christmas. I wonder if Santa is a libertarian? Anyway, had no idea how humungo the book is! LOL I was like, "well here's a new life goal...get through this thing!" How many people here have actually read it? I don't do a lot of reading but I'm going to pick up some educational (i.e. libertarian/Austrian School related) books to read. Anyone have any tips on how to get through this...by tips I might mean adderall...lol.

Well I'm just kind of excited about it so I had to post...not much of a question in this post other than looking for some replies from others who have read it.

O yea, Merry Christmas!

I read it. Very good book, although I disagree with Rand on a couple points -- for one I think voluntary charity is good and moral.

And, the way I finish a book I like is to read all the time :). I kind of get addicted to books when I like them ...

emazur
12-25-2008, 09:41 PM
Personally I read both Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead by listening to the audio version - took several weeks listening about an hour a day while walking the dog, and many times I would listen for a longer period in a day. So that doesn't help you much, but just in case later on you give up (don't!), know that there's an abridged audio version - don't remember how long but I remember seeing it at the library - I think 13 to 20 hours long.
Since you said you don't do too much reading, maybe you should consider reading Ayn Rand's "Anthem" first. It's very short and finishing it will give you a boost of confidence to finish Atlas Shrugged. Best of all you can download a free and legit version:
http://digg.com/business_finance/Free_legit_audiobook_of_Orwell_s_1984_Ayn_Rand_s_A nthem
(George Orwell's 1984 is also freely available on that link)

Conza88
12-25-2008, 10:10 PM
When you are not doing anything, nor interrupted.. get amongst it, go to bed way early and read till the early morning... or all day, whatever.

Took me about 3 days from memory... :confused: Or maybe that was Fountainhead *shrugs* :)

Read both pretty quick, cldn't put them down.

sevin
12-26-2008, 09:06 AM
I've read it 3 times. Although I don't agree with Ayn Rand on everything, I agree with her about 90% of the time. It's probably the best book I've ever read, and I think everyone should read it at least once.

Also, I can honestly say that if it weren't for Atlas Shrugged, I probably never would have left the neo-cons behind and become a libertarian.

Conza88
12-26-2008, 09:09 AM
I've read it 3 times. Although I don't agree with Ayn Rand on everything, I agree with her about 90% of the time. It's probably the best book I've ever read, and I think everyone should read it at least once.

Also, I can honestly say that if it weren't for Atlas Shrugged, I probably never would have left the neo-cons behind and become a libertarian.

lol, that is funny though. If she was still alive - she would probably be hanging out with the neo-con movement. (Mentioned in some Mise s Institute Lecture)

That makes sense to me. Her and her objectivist followers are defs in the pro war crowd.

Truth Warrior
12-26-2008, 09:13 AM
Atlas Shrugged by AynRand (http://bookshelved.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?AynRand)

If you don't want to read it yourself, I'll give you the ultra-condensed version:

Everybody: Who is John Galt?

Dagny Taggart: You must be John Galt.

John Galt: Indeed, I am he.

Dagny Taggart: So, where are you and all your friends hiding?

John Galt: I'm not telling you.

[She figures it out anyway. Later:]

Dagny Taggart: John Galt, you are so clever! Please rape me!

[He does. Later, on the radio, he explains the basic tenets of Objectivism:]

John Galt: I rule. You all suck.

THE END.

http://bookshelved.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?AtlasShrugged (http://bookshelved.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?AtlasShrugged)

mconder
12-26-2008, 09:25 AM
Well I'm just kind of excited about it so I had to post...not much of a question in this post other than looking for some replies from others who have read it.


I read it last month. I really think that her whole philosophy of hard work and the right of property could have been done in far fewer pages. All of her archetypes seem to have to go on very long rants and I'm like...uh...your preaching to the choir here. There are a couple ways of explaining the liberty philosophy I hadn't though of before, but other than that it doesn't make the most compelling novel. I think it's very repetitive in parts. That said, anyone who has a "libertarian" take on life should be familiar with it.

sevin
12-26-2008, 09:27 AM
lol, that is funny though. If she was still alive - she would probably be hanging out with the neo-con movement. (Mentioned in some Mise s Institute Lecture)

That makes sense to me. Her and her objectivist followers are defs in the pro war crowd.

I don't care about her followers, they're misinterpreting things. Her philosophy explicitly states that a government should never initiate the use of force. (they seem to think other countries initiated the war with 9/11)

Also, she would not be a part of the neo-con movement. That's ridiculous. She herself has said that conservatives are even more dangerous than liberals.

And Truth Warrior, yeah the guy who thinks everything he has to say is so damn important it has to be in bold. I just lost all respect for you. You sound like the punk kids I used to argue with in highschool.

Truth Warrior
12-26-2008, 09:38 AM
I don't care about her followers, they're misinterpreting things. Her philosophy explicitly states that a government should never initiate the use of force. (they seem to think other countries initiated the war with 9/11)

Also, she would not be a part of the neo-con movement. That's ridiculous. She herself has said that conservatives are even more dangerous than liberals.

And Truth Warrior, yeah the guy who thinks everything he has to say is so damn important it has to be in bold. I just lost all respect for you. You sound like the punk kids I used to argue with in highschool.

< sniff > :( ( Nah, it's just easier for these old eyes to read. ;) )

Truth Warrior
12-26-2008, 10:00 AM
Objectivism on One Foot
The following is a short description of Objectivism given by Ayn Rand in 1962:


At a sales conference at Random House, preceding the publication of Atlas Shrugged, one of the book salesmen asked me whether I could present the essence of my philosophy while standing on one foot. I did as follows:
Metaphysics: Objective Reality
Epistemology: Reason
Ethics: Self-interest
Politics: Capitalism
If you want this translated into simple language, it would read: 1. “Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed” or “Wishing won’t make it so.” 2. “You can’t eat your cake and have it, too.” 3. “Man is an end in himself.” 4. “Give me liberty or give me death.”


If you held these concepts with total consistency, as the base of your convictions, you would have a full philosophical system to guide the course of your life. But to hold them with total consistency—to understand, to define, to prove and to apply them—requires volumes of thought. Which is why philosophy cannot be discussed while standing on one foot—nor while standing on two feet on both sides of every fence. This last is the predominant philosophical position today, particularly in the field of politics.


My philosophy, Objectivism, holds that:
Reality exists as an objective absolute—facts are facts, independent of man’s feelings, wishes, hopes or fears.
Reason (the faculty which identifies and integrates the material provided by man’s senses) is man’s only means of perceiving reality, his only source of knowledge, his only guide to action, and his basic means of survival.
Man—every man—is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life.
The ideal political-economic system is laissez-faire capitalism. It is a system where men deal with one another, not as victims and executioners, nor as masters and slaves, but as traders, by free, voluntary exchange to mutual benefit. It is a system where no man may obtain any values from others by resorting to physical force, and no man may initiate the use of physical force against others. The government acts only as a policeman that protects man’s rights; it uses physical force only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use, such as criminals or foreign invaders. In a system of full capitalism, there should be (but, historically, has not yet been) a complete separation of state and economics, in the same way and for the same reasons as the separation of state and church.
Copyright © 1962 by Times-Mirror Co.

http://aynrandlexicon.com/arideas/intro_ob.html (http://aynrandlexicon.com/arideas/intro_ob.html)

Andrew-Austin
12-26-2008, 12:07 PM
I read it in my senior year of High school, when there was nothing worth paying attention to in class. So, I had plenty of time to read it.

TruthisTreason
12-26-2008, 12:35 PM
Long but good book! Enjoy.

powerofreason
12-26-2008, 03:50 PM
I don't care about her followers, they're misinterpreting things. Her philosophy explicitly states that a government should never initiate the use of force. (they seem to think other countries initiated the war with 9/11)

Also, she would not be a part of the neo-con movement. That's ridiculous. She herself has said that conservatives are even more dangerous than liberals.

And Truth Warrior, yeah the guy who thinks everything he has to say is so damn important it has to be in bold. I just lost all respect for you. You sound like the punk kids I used to argue with in highschool.

all governments initiate force.

what would happen if i didnt want to pay taxes?

what would happen if i wanted to offer a competing police service?

OferNave
12-26-2008, 07:01 PM
Atlas Shrugged by AynRand (http://bookshelved.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?AynRand)

If you don't want to read it yourself, I'll give you the ultra-condensed version:

Everybody: Who is John Galt?

Dagny Taggart: You must be John Galt.

John Galt: Indeed, I am he.

Dagny Taggart: So, where are you and all your friends hiding?

John Galt: I'm not telling you.

[She figures it out anyway. Later:]

Dagny Taggart: John Galt, you are so clever! Please rape me!

[He does. Later, on the radio, he explains the basic tenets of Objectivism:]

John Galt: I rule. You all suck.

THE END.

http://bookshelved.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?AtlasShrugged (http://bookshelved.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?AtlasShrugged)

An impressively concise short story, Truth Warrior. I'm impressed. However, I still think Ayn Rand's the better novelist. :)

BeFranklin
12-26-2008, 07:09 PM
An impressively concise short story, Truth Warrior. I'm impressed. However, I still think Ayn Rand's the better novelist. :)

Ayn Rand's idea of romance was also a bit suspect :cool:

Truth Warrior
12-26-2008, 07:36 PM
An impressively concise short story, Truth Warrior. I'm impressed. However, I still think Ayn Rand's the better novelist. :)

Don't be impressed. It was not original with me, check the trailing link. ;) Definitely.<IMHO> :)

BeFranklin
12-26-2008, 08:45 PM
Don't be impressed. It was not original with me, check the trailing link. ;) Definitely.<IMHO> :)

Maybe a slight title change so people won't be confused :D

Atlas Shrugged by AintRand

If you don't want to read it yourself, I'll give you the ultra-condensed version:

Everybody: Who is John Galt?

Dagny Taggart: You must be John Galt.

John Galt: Indeed, I am he.

Dagny Taggart: So, where are you and all your friends hiding?

John Galt: I'm not telling you.

[She figures it out anyway. Later:]

Dagny Taggart: John Galt, you are so clever! Please rape me!

[He does. Later, on the radio, he explains the basic tenets of Objectivism:]

John Galt: I rule. You all suck.
THE END.

ronpaulforprez2008
12-27-2008, 10:16 AM
Ayn Rand was alleged to be a mistress to Philippe Rothschild,
who instructed her to write the book.

Truth Warrior
12-27-2008, 10:29 AM
Maybe a slight title change so people won't be confused :D

Atlas Shrugged by AintRand

THE END. Noted.

I think I can manage to post without your input or advice. ;)

Thanks! :)

"I don't know the secret to success, but the secret to failure is ... try to please everybody."

Truth Warrior
12-27-2008, 10:33 AM
Ayn Rand was alleged to be a mistress to Philippe Rothschild,
who instructed her to write the book. Alleged by whom? :) Ayn doesn't really strike me as having been the dutiful, obedient mistress type. ;) Her's was NOT the Rothschild agenda nor message.<IMHO>

torchbearer
12-27-2008, 11:14 AM
Someone truly loves you.

Thrashertm
12-27-2008, 11:46 AM
atlas shrugged by aynrand (http://bookshelved.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?aynrand)

if you don't want to read it yourself, i'll give you the ultra-condensed version:

everybody: Who is john galt?

dagny taggart: You must be john galt.

john galt: Indeed, i am he.

dagny taggart: So, where are you and all your friends hiding?

john galt: I'm not telling you.

[she figures it out anyway. Later:]

dagny taggart: John galt, you are so clever! Please rape me!

[he does. Later, on the radio, he explains the basic tenets of objectivism:]

john galt: I rule. You all suck.

the end.

http://bookshelved.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?atlasshrugged (http://bookshelved.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?atlasshrugged)

lol!

Thrashertm
12-27-2008, 11:48 AM
So I asked for and received Atlas Shrugged for Christmas. I wonder if Santa is a libertarian? Anyway, had no idea how humungo the book is! LOL I was like, "well here's a new life goal...get through this thing!" How many people here have actually read it? I don't do a lot of reading but I'm going to pick up some educational (i.e. libertarian/Austrian School related) books to read. Anyone have any tips on how to get through this...by tips I might mean adderall...lol.

Well I'm just kind of excited about it so I had to post...not much of a question in this post other than looking for some replies from others who have read it.

O yea, Merry Christmas!

I'm listening to it on audiobook when lifting at the gym. My suggestion is that you don't force it. If you don't like the first 50 or so pages, don't waste your time on it.

crhoades
12-27-2008, 01:43 PM
Just finished it. I had a plane ride from TN to CA as well as some days off for Christmas. Very enjoyable read.

BeFranklin
12-27-2008, 03:46 PM
Noted.

I think I can manage to post without your input or advice. ;)

Thanks! :)

"I don't know the secret to success, but the secret to failure is ... try to please everybody."


Hey I didn't say I thought you liked me. After all those anti-Christian posts, I think not. Nope, I just said it was funny with the title change.

I posted that well aware I might get a nasty reply back :) I did it anyway, becasue we're not suppose to hold grudges, but forgive each other like children so easily do.

Truth Warrior
12-27-2008, 05:02 PM
Hey I didn't say I thought you liked me. After all those anti-Christian posts, I think not. Nope, I just said it was funny with the title change.

I posted that well aware I might get a nasty reply back :) I did it anyway, becasue we're not suppose to hold grudges, but forgive each other like children so easily do. You seem to have a very strange definition of "nasty", when it's not coming from you.<IMHO> :rolleyes: So much for "turn the other cheek", I guess. :(

Bruno
01-14-2009, 06:48 PM
Wife and I are sharing the book. We are at Part 3, page 640.

I was intimidated, too, at first. Lots of pages of fine print. But we have had to pry each other away from the book for our turn.

I was very surprised by the level of romance and the sexuality in the book, which I wasn't expecting.

Conza88
01-14-2009, 06:55 PM
Wife and I are sharing the book. We are at Part 3, page 640.

I was intimidated, too, at first. Lots of pages of fine print. But we have had to pry each other away from the book for our turn.

I was very surprised by the level of romance and the sexuality in the book, which I wasn't expecting.

I predict future roleplaying scenario....

lmao :eek:

RCA
01-14-2009, 07:17 PM
Anyone find some people love the book but then don't transfer the lessons to reality very well? My brother is almost done reading the book and he "loves" it but he still seems unable to look at reality much differently. You can lead a horse to water, but...

DeadheadForPaul
01-14-2009, 08:50 PM
If I had to describe Ayn Rand to someone who had never read her works, it would be either egomanic or Cunty McCunterson