Atlas Shrugged
Why did he have to fight his battle, not against his enemies, but against those who needed him most, and his hardest battle against the woman he loved? What is the world’s motor — and the motive power of every man? You will know the answer to these questions when you discover the reason behind the baffling events that play havoc with the lives of the characters in this story.
Tremendous in its scope, this novel presents an astounding panorama of human life — from the productive genius who becomes a worthless playboy — to the great steel industrialist who does not know that he is working for his own destruction — to the philosopher who becomes a pirate — to the composer who gives up his career on the night of his triumph — to the woman who runs a transcontinental railroad — to the lowest track worker in her Terminal tunnels.
You must be prepared, when you read this novel, to check every premise at the root of your convictions.
This is a mystery story, not about the murder — and rebirth — of man’s spirit. It is a philosophical revolution, told in the form of an action thriller of violent events, a ruthlessly brilliant plot structure and an irresistible suspense. Do you say this is impossible? Well, that is the first of your premises to check.
1176 pages, Hardcover
First published October 10,1957
This edition
- Format
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1176 pages, Hardcover
- Published
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April 21, 2005 by Dutton
- ISBN
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9780525948926
- ASIN
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0525948929
- Language
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English
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Prometheus (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Prometheus (Greek: Προμηθεύς) is a Titan, culture hero, and trickster figure who is credited with the creation of man from clay, and who defies the gods and gives fire to humanity, an act that enabled progress and civilization. Zeus se...
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Atlas
In Greek mythology, Atlas (Ancient Greek: Ἄτλας) was the primordial Titan who held up the celestial sphere. He is also the titan of astronomy and navigation. Although associated with various places, he became commonly identified with the Atlas Mountains i...
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Dagny Taggart
The protagonist and heroine of Atlas Shrugged, Dagny Taggarts engineering and industrial knowledge serve her well working for Taggart Transcontinental, making her the companys President in all but name. The same knowledge allows her to identif...
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John Galt
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Hank Rearden
Hank Rearden started out as a miner, and after expending incredible effort, came to own the very mines he once worked in. Ten years after acquiring his mines, Rearden had built a massive steel empire. During this same period, Rearden created Rearden Metal...
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Francisco Danconia
Once one of the greatest minds of his generation, Francisco dAnconia is little more than a squanderous playboy by the time the events of Atlas Shrugged take place. To the other characters of Atlas Shrugged, Francisco is almost deliberate in his effo...
About the author
Fiction of this better author and philosopher developed a system that she named. Educated, she moved to the United States in 1926. After two early initially duds and two Broadway plays, Rand achieved fame. In 1957, she published Atlas Shrugged, her best-selling work.
Rand advocated reason and rejected faith and religion. She supported rational and ethical egoism as opposed to altruism. She condemned the immoral initiation of force and supported laissez-faire capitalism, which she defined as the system, based on recognizing individual rights, including private property. Often associated with the modern movement in the United States, Rand opposed and viewed anarchism. In art, she promoted romantic realism. She sharply criticized most philosophers and their traditions with few exceptions.
Books of Rand sold more than 37 million copies. From literary critics, her fiction received mixed reviews with more negative reviews for her later work. Afterward, she turned to nonfiction to promote her philosophy, published her own periodicals, and released several collections of essays until her death in 1982.
After her death, her ideas interested academics, but philosophers generally ignored or rejected her and argued that her approach and work lack methodological rigor. She influenced some right conservatives. The movement circulates her ideas to the public and in academic settings.
