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TruckinMike
10-17-2007, 12:05 PM
Have you read Atlas Shrugged?


October 17, 2007

A Freestar Media/Zogby poll found that 8.1 percent of American adults have read the book Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. The poll of 1,239 adults was conducted by Zogby International between October 10 and October 14, 2007 at the request of Freestar Media, LLC. Among the poll's 80 questions was "Have you ever read the book Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand?". The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.

Atlas Shrugged chronicles an America where government has taken control of nearly all aspects of the economy. As society collapses the heroine follows a trail of clues surrounding the disappearance of innovators and the rise of a mysterious phrase "Who is John Galt?" Last week Ayn Rand fans celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first publishing of Atlas Shrugged.

It's influence is rising. A 1991 poll by the Library of Congress and Book of the Month Club found that Atlas Shrugged was the second most influential book after the Bible. 2008 Presidential candidate Ron Paul often quotes the author and even named his son "Rand". Next year a movie version of Atlas Shrugged will be produced with Angelina Jolie in the lead role.

Could reading Atlas Shrugged promote financial success? The poll found that 14% of those earning $100,000 a year or more have read Atlas Shrugged while only 2% percent of those earning less than $35,000 a year have read it.

About the same percentage of men and women have read Atlas Shrugged, 48.2% men vs. 51.8% women. However, respondents living in the east (11%), west (10%), and south (9%) are about twice as likely as those living in the central/Great Lakes region (5%) to say they have read the book. Among the poll's other findings: 38.7% of passport holders have read it, as have 10.8% of people who visit YouTube.com a few times a month.

Freestar Media, LLC was created by Logan Darrow Clements to produce media applying Ayn Rand's philosophy of reason, individual rights and laissez-faire capitalism to current events. The company's most popular project was The Lost Liberty Hotel, a rebellion against eminent domain abuse that involved applying the Supreme Court's Kelo vs. City of New London ruling to one of the justices who voted in favor of it. Mr. Clements is currently producing two documentary films, one about socialized medicine, the other about eminent domain abuse.

--xxx--

Contact: Logan Darrow Clements, President, Freestar Media, LLC

phone: 310-593-4843

e-mail: logan@freestarmedia.com

website: http://www.freestarmedia.com

verification: http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1372

Note: FreeSTar Media is the group producing the counter movie to "SICKO" called "Sick and Sicker". Check out the trailer at the above freestarmedia website.

Truckinmike

saku39
10-17-2007, 01:29 PM
Yes, I have. I liked a lot of it, but had problems with some of it as well.

<begin review/critique>What I had a problem with was her complete rejection of altruism. (State sanctioned altruism, meaning welfare-- that is something to disagree with, but personal altruism? What's wrong with taking care of your fellow man from time to time?) She didn't make any distinction. She created a world where there were classes of "moochers" and "looters" that were totally inferior to the elite "strikers." Maybe it was not her intention but I didn't like the idea at all.

Her protagonist characters, while intended to be passionate, came off more like robots-- perfectly logical but without any warmth or humanity. Some parts seemed like a demagogue speaking at some rally. (Of course, the Atlas Shrugged protagonists are improvements to Rand's previous novel. They had WAY more warmth and human qualities than Howard Roark did in Fountainhead.)

Rand's attacks against communism, beaucracy and government welfare were awesome. I consider it classic. She deconstructed the ideas of socialist government and movements very well. Anybody that has communist ideals needs to read that book, because it points out how stupid communism really is. It's one of the best character assassinations of collectivism, government welfare and market intervention.<end review/critique>

It's long, but it's good. Read it. :)

fsk
10-17-2007, 04:28 PM
If you understand agorism, you'll almost consider "Atlas Shrugged" to be nonfiction.

kylejack
10-17-2007, 04:32 PM
Yes, of course.

Blowback
10-17-2007, 04:48 PM
My favorite.

JaylieWoW
10-18-2007, 07:51 AM
I have not read it yet but intend to do so in the very near future.

LibertyEagle
10-18-2007, 07:54 AM
Wow! I'm shocked at that percentage. I figured it would be far less.

redpillguy
10-18-2007, 10:01 AM
<begin review/critique>What I had a problem with was her complete rejection of altruism. (State sanctioned altruism, meaning welfare-- that is something to disagree with, but personal altruism? What's wrong with taking care of your fellow man from time to time?)

Altruism has a selfish motive. The human brain secretes "feel good" chemicals when we perform altruistic acts. So we do it to feel good.

Altruism is hard wired into humans (as it is in many primates). It helps propagation of the species:
http://books.google.com/books?id=ws_HtuMoWHsC&pg=PP1&dq=shermer+science+good+evil&sig=6A7YBB9gJV6nPYVPltokjDPAdGE

kylejack
10-18-2007, 10:02 AM
Altruism has a selfish motive. The human brain secretes "feel good" chemicals when we perform altruistic acts. So we do it to feel good.

Altruism is hard wired into humans (as it is in many primates). It helps propagation of the species:
http://books.google.com/books?id=ws_HtuMoWHsC&pg=PP1&dq=shermer+science+good+evil&sig=6A7YBB9gJV6nPYVPltokjDPAdGE

Did you answer the question in the original post?

Syren123
10-18-2007, 12:04 PM
Read it when I was 20. Blew me away so bad I couldn't get off the couch for a week. I love that book.

BTW...this past Oct 12th was the 50th anniversary of the release of Atlas Shrugged. Oops...I see that was in the original post.

A movie with Angelina Jolie? I guess nothing's sacred. If anything can foul up something as important as Atlas Shrugged, it is Hollywood.

PaleoForPaul
10-18-2007, 12:25 PM
Yes I read it for the first time two years ago. Great theories, but a painful read. It would have made a better 100-200 page non-fiction political manifesto then it does story. Hopefully the conversion to the silver screen will make it more accessable for people who don't want to pick up a book that thick.

kylejack
10-18-2007, 01:33 PM
A movie with Angelina Jolie? I guess nothing's sacred. If anything can foul up something as important as Atlas Shrugged, it is Hollywood.
She's fine. She'll do okay.

allyinoh
10-18-2007, 01:51 PM
I am getting ready to read the Virtue of Selfishness. I really would like to read Atlas Shrugged. A friend of mine just got done reading it.

Does anyone know how much the book runs in price? (Oh I guess I could just look it up myself huh? ;])

Suzu
10-18-2007, 01:56 PM
First read it when I was 16 and have reread it numerous times. One of my favorite novels. The Fountainhead is also excellent and for Rand newbies should be read first (before Atlas Shrugged).

Syren123
10-18-2007, 03:39 PM
She's fine. She'll do okay.

It's not her I'm worried about. It's the writers and studio suits who have the power to completely foul it up and miss the point entirely. They may distort a character to better showcase some dimwit actor, leave out entire storylines or rewrite the story altogether to make it palatable to some demographic. There are any number of nightmares that could befall it.

But on the bright side, in the hands of intelligent writers, a visionary director and some producers who aren't complete egomaniac dickheads, it could become a work of art. Keeping fingers crossed.

RTsquared
10-18-2007, 04:03 PM
I actually started to pick up a copy of Atlas Shrugged at Barnes and Noble last night...but I knew that it still sold 6-figure copies a year, and figured I could find it in a used book store.

I tried to read The Fountainhead a couple times - I could not get through it. However, Anthem is perhaps the best book I have ever read.

rp4prez
10-18-2007, 05:52 PM
It's been on my shelf to read for some time now. Now I'm going to grab it and probably not put it down for days, something I don't have time to do right now! Aw screw it! :)