[Macoozie]

sorry, got this after I posted.

“almost no one I know has actually read it”

I find that kind of hard to believe.
You really do need to surround yourself with a broader group of folks.

[JBW1949]

I read the book...Extremely interesting...

[Reily]

Thanks to our multimedia\podcast culture and incompetent K12 education reading is discouraged.

[Slicksadick]

I read it, and The Fountainhead as well. For those interested, here linked is a 6 minute speech from the Fountainhead movie 1949. It is lifted basically verbatim from the book and explains Rand's positions very well.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xtymi7

[21twelve]

“...about railroads and steel mills...”

I’m not sure the writer of the article even read it. I read it after finding out about the group RUSH, with much of the early lyrics influenced by Ayn Rand. It has been many years now, but I don’t recall it being a slog to get through. But back then I loved to read.