Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

To: Andonius_99

I have heard a lot about Ayn Rand's books, but never picked one up. But I'll take a well plotted book no matter what. Does her stuff fall into that category?


81 posted on 12/30/2004 1:59:26 PM PST by exnavychick (Just my two cents, as usual.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 61 | View Replies ]


To: exnavychick
I have heard a lot about Ayn Rand's books, but never picked one up.

Ayn is worth a read, just because of her influence on political thinking. Atlas Shrugged is her seminal work. If you read it, you can skip the rest.

I wouldn't exactly call it a page turner, but it's got enough plot to keep most readers interested. There are two long sermons (er, I mean, long polemics by major characters) that you might as well skim or skip.

Ayn Rand is neither the goddess/philosopher her adherents claim, nor the demoness her detractors claim. I mostly salute her for being willing to publish her stuff in an era that was 180 degrees opposed to her individualistic philosophy. As a Russian immigrant, she hated collectivism with a passion, and that passion comes through. She does a pretty good job of dramatizing why socialism is guaranteed to fail in the long run. In many respects, her work is a fictional complement to "The Road to Serfdom" by F A Hayek, which also explained why socialism inevitably fails.

A fair warning - Atlas Shrugged will drag at points. But I think it's worthwhile to finish it.

106 posted on 12/30/2004 3:29:15 PM PST by Joe Bonforte
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 81 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson