CNN: Ayn Rand Revival Sweeps USA

[clb09]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/books/04/27/ayn.rand.atlas.shrugged/index.html


"If only 'Atlas' were required reading for every member of Congress and political appointee in the Obama administration. I'm confident that we'd get out of the current financial mess a lot faster," Wall Street Journal columnist Stephen Moore wrote in early January.

[Kylie]

I just finshed reading Atlas, and I loved it.

But I am amazed at how closely our government resembles the band of incompetents in the book. It's almost as if they took her book, made it into an outline, and proceeded to fulfill every single thing she wrote.

I agree it should be required reading for every single person in this country.

[Bruno]

I just finshed reading Atlas, and I loved it.

But I am amazed at how closely our government resembles the band of incompetents in the book. It's almost as if they took her book, made it into an outline, and proceeded to fulfill every single thing she wrote.

I agree it should be required reading for every single person in this country.

+ 1 and welcome to the RP forums! :)

[Kylie]

+ 1 and welcome to the RP forums! :)

Thanks. Been lurking for a few months now, and had a hell of a time getting registered. But now I am here and I'm not leaving anytime soon.

:D

[silverhawks]

I would honestly dread to think of what Hollywood would turn a book like "Atlas Shrugged" into. Knowing how the movie industry regularly butchers and rewrites history and "adapts" literature, it would become the story of one person's altruistic crusade for a universal welfare state.

It's not surprising that the media is setting aside special time to criticise Rand, though; conservatism and atheism mixed together are a direct challenge to the current fascism being spun out by the Obama administration; as we all know, only Democrats are "allowed" to be atheists, and you can't have anyone going around breaking the collective paradigm, can you? :)

[Kludge]

I agree it should be required reading for every single person in this country.

Sleep (if permitted): 12:01 AM -> 9:00 AM
Morning Devotionals (Rand): 9:01 AM -> 10:00 AM
Liberty TV Programming: 10:01 AM -> 3:00 PM
Better Businessmen for Better Business Meeting: 3:01 PM -> 4:00 PM
Labor Approved by the Department of the Invisible Hand: 4:01 PM -> Midnight

:p

[d991]

About a month ago I went out and bought a copy to read for the first time. I'm now almost done, and my only disappointment is that I didn't read this book years ago. I've never been one for collective thinking, and Atlas Shrugged really drives home why it is such a problem.

[ClayTrainor]

I'd really like to get the audiobook version of this. I've never read it but, i have too many other books on my "reading list", and Atlas is a pretty huge one.

I might go grab it from Audbile right now.

[Todd]

I'd really like to get the audiobook version of this. I've never read it but, i have too many other books on my "reading list", and Atlas is a pretty huge one.

I might go grab it from Audbile right now.

I've gotten though about 1 1/2 chapter of The Fountainhead. At this rate, I'll never get to Atlas. :(

I may have to go the book on tape route too.

[PatriotG]

Thanks. Been lurking for a few months now, and had a hell of a time getting registered. But now I am here and I'm not leaving anytime soon.

:D

Welcome Aboard

[Bruno]

I've gotten though about 1 1/2 chapter of The Fountainhead. At this rate, I'll never get to Atlas. :(

I may have to go the book on tape route too.

I've yet to read Fountainhead, but have heard people say Atlas is better overall. Consider coming back to it after you read Atlas Shrugged.

[Icymudpuppy]

Reading Atlas was for me like finding my long lost family.

[emazur]

"Is it a novel? Is it a nightmare? Is it Superman -- in the comic-strip or the Nietzschean version?" Time magazine asked in its review, adding that Rand's "philosophy must be read to be disbelieved. ... She deserves credit at least for imagination; unfortunately, it is tied to ludicrous naivety."

fixed:
"Is it outright plunder? Is it a nightmare? Is it Monopoly -- in the board game or the real-life version?" Time magazine should be asking this in its reviews of the Democrat and Republican parties, adding that their "philosophy must be experienced to be disbelieved. ... They deserve credit at least for pulling the wool over Americans' eyes for so long; unfortunately, they are tied to the ludicrous destruction of our nation."

[A. Havnes]

And CNN didn't try to defame it! The commentors on the other hand were idiots.

[youngbuck]

I have the audiobook of Atlas Shrugged, but haven't listened to it yet. I want to read the hard copy as well.

I listened to an audiobook of her Romantic Manifesto, and found it really interesting for those that care. Definitely something I'm gonna have to go back through.

[FreeMo P48]

I first read Atlas Shrugged in the early 70's and thought it a plausible parallel to reality.
Each time I have read if since, it increasingly blended with the news on radio and television, which extended the book more into life. Now, when I read the book it feels naive, to a degree, compared to what is really happening. At least the villains in the book were up front and open about there intentions.

[Kylie]

I first read Atlas Shrugged in the early 70's and thought it a plausible parallel to reality.
Each time I have read if since, it increasingly blended with the news on radio and television, which extended the book more into life. Now, when I read the book it feels naive, to a degree, compared to what is really happening. At least the villains in the book were up front and open about there intentions.

Not so much, Free. They were not at the beginning, because they thought (in their feeble little minds) that what they were doing was for the greater good of everyone. Toward the middle they realized what they were doing, alot of them, and then purposefully continued to go down that path.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, though, and our leadership would be well advised to remember this.

[Reason]

Anyone else seen the movie "I heart huckabee's" ?

I am pretty sure that the woman that the main character has sex with is supposed to represent rand.

[Reason]

Watched a movie called "The Passion of Ayn Rand" , didn't exactly portray her in the greatest light.

Mostly shown as an extremist of selfishness and not giving a flying fck about other people.

There was a weird love triangle going on the whole time with her and this one dude fcking while the dude was married to another woman and she was married to another guy and all the pain that caused etc..

[Old Ducker]

I first read Atlas Shrugged during my baby days on my road of self-discovery and while I disagreed with much of it at the time, it did motivate me to further readings. I've probably read it three or four times since then. It's one of those books that once I start I have a hard time putting down, although Galt's speech is a bit much...good luck to the screenwriters trying to distill this into something fit for a motion picture.

As for characters, I have always thought Francisco D'Anconia was the one I identified with the most and that Dagny Taggart was a slut. Galt was a bit too "jesus like" to be believeable. Rand's idea of a device to harness static electricity was brilliant, if impractical. It has a contemporary parallel to cold fusion. The sound weapon she envisioned is now reality.

Just some random thoughts on a libertarian classic....

[BuddyRey]

I'd really like to get the audiobook version of this. I've never read it but, i have too many other books on my "reading list", and Atlas is a pretty huge one.

I might go grab it from Audbile right now.

You're in luck! The radio show Free Talk Live currently has a deal with Audible that lets you start a free trial on Audible and download one audiobook for free. If I'm not mistaken, I think it's Audible.com/freetalklive, but I'm not sure and hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

One crucial tip: Make sure you get the version read by Christopher Hurt, as it's almost universally acknowledged by listeners to be the superior version. He reads the work brilliantly and gives each character a nuanced and individualized interpretation, so you always know which character said which line, without being wacky or over-the-top.

[BuddyRey]

Bump!