Posted on 01/15/2009 10:32:08 AM PST by Publius
Sign me up. I read Atlas Shrugged at age 16, but concede that my admiration for Rand took a considerable hit once I read of her relationship with Nathaniel Branden:
http://www.nathanielbranden.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_25&products_id=29
Rand was brilliant as a philosopher, but terribly flawed as an individual, as her tumultuous relationship with NB showed. On a related point, we certainly know much more than we did in the 1950’s about the health consequences of smoking, but even during a period of being an unrepentant admirer of Rand and her views, I always thought it incongruous that someone who would offer up such an uncompromising defense of selfishness (and that the standard of value for ethics should be whatever promotes an individual’s life) would at the same time be such a fierce advocate of smoking. How could anyone who purportedly treasured life the way she did rationally conclude that smoking was a defensible habit? The reality is that close to 90% of smokers wish they could stop (and my guess is that Rand herself—had she been willing to admit to even a single weakness to herself or her readers—shared this view), but lack the self-discipline to do so. This is hardly the model of rational self-interest that permeates her writing.
That said, to me Rand was a terrific introduction to libertarian thinking and points of view and a very articulate defender of individual freedom (and scathing critic of big government both from a consequentialist perspective as well as a more pure philosophical perspective). Some of her characters were cartoonish, but on balance I felt that after reading Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead (as well as later non-fiction writings on Objectivism) I got a better perspective of what makes proponents of big government tick and how they view the world. I look forward to the discussion.
“it’s a chick flick” — that’s absurd.
Are you in, though?
So are you in?
Yeah, I’m in.
“even tho’ Rand had a lot of say in it’s filming, she was still unhappy - and didn’t want Hollywood to get it’s hands on “Atlas””
I’m not sure how correct you are. FWIW, IMDB says:
# According to Variety The Godfather (1972) producer Albert S. Ruddy spent years trying to bring Atlas Shrugged (2009) to the big screen, attracting the interest of Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway along the way.
# In the late 1970s, NBC had plans to bring Atlas Shrugged (2009) to television as one of the multi-part mini-series popular at the time. Ayn Rand wanted Farrah Fawcett to star, but the project never materialized.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480239/trivia
I had heard Angelina Jolie was involved in this project, but until this thread, had never read that it was to be a mini-series. FWIW, mini-series plans appear abandoned (that’s the inference I draw from IMDB) and if movie ever appears, it’s now on tap for 2011 (nearly 50 years after the book first was published).
I have the very large paperback from Plume Books, which is a subsidiary of Penguin Putnam. It works for my tired old eyes.
I agree. We’ve gotten to the point where he’s agreed to simply say if a guy had written the book it would only be 200 pages long. For my part, I’ve agreed to only give him “the look” instead of going complete redhead on him when he mentions this.
Would that “Hoffer” in your handle be Eric Hoffer by any chance?
Have you ever read Taylor Caldwell's The Devil's Advocate?
Are you in?
Oh, nicely done. Yes, it is. I agonized when trying to pick a FReeper name. It’s part of the reason I lurked for 3 years before signing up. I finally picked two of my favorite authors and used that.
If I can put in a request for the book club, I’d like to suggest we read Hoffer’s The True Believer.
“Forbidden category: Weapons.” That’s pretty funny! For a while firefox was blocking my site, saying it was a phishing site or something, which is asinine, since my site is a non-interactive “read only” kind of a place. All you can do is click from page to page, there is no place on my site to give any kind of information.
I am number two on a waiting list for this book at my local library and they have 15 copies of the book, so I should have it soon and will play catch up if need be so I can participate in the discussion.
While I am waiting for the copy of “Atlas Shrugged” I am reading a book published shortly after WWII, titled, “Behind the Curtain” by John Gunther. I have just started the book, but it is interesting to read about the communist influence in Europe.
One interesting point made in the book thus far, was that the communists wanted there to be large populations of poor people, as that made it easier for them to institute communist and socialist policies to take care of the people.
I’ve had this book next to my bed for 2 years but i never seem to find time to start it! Sign me up and thanks for the kick in the pants!
I thought I had read every one of her books, the title is vaguely familiar, but I can’t remember the story line. I spent many hours of convalescence time with my friends, Pearl Buck, Taylor Caldwell, and Costain. From my bed and wheel chair, I traveled through China, Spain, the Middle East, then Africa. I cried my way through Buck and little Peony, teared up with Caldwell and was the frisky heroine of many a sword fight and the faithful companion of “The Dear and Glorious Physician”, even though I was flat on my back or butt as the case may be. My dear friends took me everywhere they went.
Add me to the list, please.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.