Posted on 01/17/2009 11:27:40 AM PST by Publius
>>It’s a hot topic.
I just found a whole bunch of “Flair” buttons (to decorate your page) on Facebook having to do with Atlas Shrugged.
I’m a bit late, just finished reading ch. 1, AS for the first time. One chapter a week is my first pick. I may lurk and learn as someone else said. I’ve always struggled with analyzing books. But hopefully, with everyone else’s insightful comments, I will get better at it, maybe even throw my 2 cents in.
Ping to Chapter 1.
If the titles of the threads can be done so the series shows up in order, I don’t really care how often new chapters are posted. My inclination is for option 1 or 2.
I'd been anxious to read “Atlas” for years but finally only did so about a year or so ago.
Now that I have gotten that out of my system, I think that I would rather enjoy reading it again at a more leisurely pace.
I'd feel privileged to be included on the ping list here.
Ping to Chapter 1.
I’m just getting started here - lost my copy of the book and had to go and buy another...so I’ll be catching up. Any pace is fine for me. I’ll just go with the flow. :)
Ping to Chapter 1.
Nonsense. I clearly remember a couple of pieces that I heard for the first time because they were so instantly recognizable (to me). One was Beethoven's Choral Fantasy; and the other was Mozart's First Symphony. (I even correctly presumed a very young Mozart.)
And I don't know if someone else has already said this but I make Jean Sibelius the model for Richard Halley.
I think the oak tree on the Taggert Estate that Eddie Willers thought about was quite significant, and I do not believe it has been mentioned here.
ML/NJ
ML/NJ
The Sibelius angle is interesting. I would define early Sibelius as anything that predates the Third Symphony. Back in 2000 the Seattle Chamber Music Festival programmed the Sibelius Quintet for Piano and Strings in G minor, a very early work. There was one short passage in the first movement where I would have said, "That's Sibelius!" But the rest of the piece sounded nothing like Sibelius, either before or after the Third Symphony. It would have been a tough piece to dittersdorf.
But I like your idea. I'm something of a fan of Sibelius, and I can see the connection with Halley.
Liberals prey on the youth's desire to change the world and hide behind meaningless platitudes to encourage their cooperation and enthusiasm. Meanwhile liberals go about appeasing the youth while consolidating their power in secret. If found out, the liberals count on forgiveness since they have earned it through their "good deeds".
The problem is that liberals don't care about not only the implementation of certain policies but also the method of implementation. So, society inevitably bears the blunt of their poor planning.
I used to do this too. But ten or 15 years ago, I sprang for a hardcover edition. I just finished my seventh complete reading of AS. This time I was motivated to read it to see what I might have missed or forgotten about what is likely to happen here soon, and also in that regard I have been encouraging others to read it and I wanted to be able to consider details they might want to discuss.
ML/NJ
Mine too! It's been sitting on my shelf for years, and I never got around to reading it until now.
Unfortunately, I read a spoiler online, so now I think I know where the story is going. OTOH, the spoiler might have made the plot sound more interesting and compelled me to finally start reading it. Glad this book club has been started here.
Excellent point about the “service” ethic.
I am ops manager for a very small engineering consulting company. Our president is the owner and he started the business from his apartment in 1997 with only one large client. Twelve years later we are an international corporation, well respected and known, and in this economy where many companies are either floundering or folding, we are doing comparatively well. I attribute it to our president’s rule that we are, if nothing else, service oriented. It’s a work ethic that is rarely seen day-to-day.
What an excellent time to read, re-read, or re-re-read Atlas.
I think in a post here someone inadvertently let something slip about how events will unfold. Although kind of disappointed, since then what was said is actually making the book more interesting. Right now, in chapter 2 all seems pretty dismal and depressing. With no end in sight. Knowing that there is hope is making me want to keep reading! If only in real life I had that same hope for our country ;(
See you on the thread in the next chapter!
Excellent suggestion. Especially when you see the visual imagery in Rand's description of the oak tree: Its roots clutched the hill like a fist with fingers sunk into the soil, and he thought that if a giant were to seize it by the top, he would not be able to uproot it, but would swing the hill and the whole of the earth with it, like a ball at the end of a string.
The government has its tentacles embedded in the "earth" of the people. If the government were shaken and pulled up, it would, no doubt, take a significant chunk of earth with it.
She goes on to say: The trunk was only an empty shell; its heart had rotted away long ago; there was nothing inside -- just a thin gray dust that was being dispersed by the whim of the faintest wind.
The government has no substance inside. It is only a shell, but that isn't obvious to everyone. Its tentacles (roots) are wrapped around the people (earth) who depend on big government. It would take a destructive lightening bolt for those people to see the truth.
Boy. I hate it when Ayn Rand is so right.
Good observations...very good.
The Constitution is a limit on Federal government. To discover the limits on City government, you should look at the charter of the City (well, unless Obama has his say and Federalizes everything).
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