Posted on 11/12/2013 11:29:26 AM PST by Publius
Who is John Galt?: A Navigational Guide to Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged is now available at Amazon. Click here for a link to the book. This book is the result of our first FReeper Book Club.
In recent press articles and among the general public, there is a sense that Ayn Rand’s monumental Atlas Shrugged is a prophetic work, accurately predicting the Great Recession and the path on which America’s economy and society are set. But Atlas Shrugged is a difficult book to read. Many are daunted by its extreme length, Rand’s prose style, interminable speeches where the action stops cold, the author’s atheism, and the sexuality of its characters. Rand references economists and philosophers such as Smith, Mill, Marx, Nietzsche and Aristotle without attribution. As a result, much of Rand’s message goes over the head of the average reader.
This makes it difficult for the reader to understand the main point of Rand’s book: precisely what is it that happens when Atlas shrugs, and how does a society change over the course of that event? Is it merely fiction, or is Atlas shrugging now?
The purpose of this book is to simplify the reader’s task in understanding what Rand is saying and the philosophical and economic sources she mined. With increased interest in Rand’s book on the part of book clubs, reading circles, and now a three-part movie, this book will aid casual and serious readers, book clubs, high school and college classes, moviegoers, and home-schoolers to master Rand’s work.
There are 30 chapters, each one matched to the 30 chapters Rand utilized for Atlas Shrugged. Each chapter starts with a synopsis and detailed discussion of Rand’s source material and the points she wishes to make. There may be one or more essays explaining arcane points of railroading, American society of the Fifties, or historical characters thinly disguised by Rand for the book. Rather than didactically draw open parallels to current events, each chapter closes with discussion topics posed to the reader, class or book club to encourage independent thought.
This book will be an outstanding aid to comprehending one of the most discussed books of this era.
Works for me!
Let us know what you spring for, please, so we can celebrate with you!
Thank you! I was actually on Amazon within the last couple days looking for this, but couldn’t find it. Thanks for the link.
That’s something I’m working on. It’s complicated because the University of Chicago holds a 1987 copyright on the Anti-Federalist Papers.
Hooyah! We’re still at the 500,000 mark on the best-seller list. I gotta tell Mom to get busy... ;-)
Ping.
I was a little surprised and quite pleased to see my name in the Foreword. Thanks for the acknowledgment! and congratulations once again!
Many thanks for the help, seriously.
LOL
Just made it through Part I, Publius. It’s great, but I have one question: I thought the anniversary party for Rearden was his 10th anniversary, not his 8th. I’d re-check it myself, but my copy is on loan to my son’s football coach.
His 8th anniversary. Page 128 of my copy in Part 1, Chapter 4.
And I thought that uptick in Russian porn spam I’ve been getting was because I have been visiting the Texas University fan site on SBNation to watch the Saban follies
I’ve re-read my copy several times. I wish I’d had this the first time I waded through AS.
High praise. Thank you.
I’ve never read Atlas Shrugged, sadly. Isn’t it over 1000 pages? The longest one I’ve read so far is Unintended Consequences.
Should it be read before reading Atlas Shrugged, or while you’re reading it?
Congratulations, Publius!
I loved that Book. I think I will read it again after I finish Moby Dick for the fifth time. (I like BIG FAT Books!) And for those who are critical of the long, philosophical speech towards the end, just remember that Tolstoy did the exact same thing at the end of “War and Peace”, as did Melville ALL THROUGH “Moby Dick”! LOL!
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