Ayn Rand

[agraftonite]

I have not yet finished Atlas Shrugged (I'm Head Deep in My Medical book at the moment..) but I have been doing some research on the reaction to this book based on the amount of Media coverage it has received lately. Please do check out the link and let me know what your thoughts are....I found the comment section most interesting...

Thanks ~^_^~
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/juliette-powell/colbert-shrugged-ayn-rand_b_179741.html

[Kat Kanning]

One of my favorite books

[K. Darien Freeheart]

Atlas Shrugged gets a mixed review from me. Sometimes libertarians toss around Konkin or Rothbard as like.. sacred texts.. and some try to do the same with Ayn Rand. It really looses it's lustre when you read it KNOWING it' fiction and that the book might use some things as plot devices, not principled points.

I suppose the problem I have is that I read the book thinking it was important and it turned out not to be. It was a fairly entertaining read, I think.

[agraftonite]

Kat: What did you like about the book?

Kevin: From what I was told the book is all about principles and the story just sort of supports those principles, how did the book not end up "important" and by "important" what do you mean exactly?

[K. Darien Freeheart]

From what I was told the book is all about principles

how did the book not end up "important"

That.

I read the book because someone told me it was a story about a libertarian society, and touched on great principles pertaining to "self". It turned out to be a story... not too much more than that. It felt to me that there were some libertarian-like trends, but some of the story events weren't what I'd consider principled or at least, not fitting with libertarian principles. It made for plot movement and it made for an interesting hypothetical set of characters and places, but it didn't meet my expectations as a pillar of libertarian knowledge and that's primarily why I began reading it.

[Giggan]

I have yet to read it, but wanted to add...

It's supposed to be objectivist first, and libertarian as it pertains to objectivism. If your approach to libertyism is more in alignment with Rand's other philosophical whathaveyous, then AS will likely strike more of a chord.

[Ogre]

Looking back now, the book, despite being fiction, actually sees quite incredibly prophetic.

[Peacemaker]

From what I was told the book is all about principles

how did the book not end up "important"

That.

I read the book because someone told me it was a story about a libertarian society, and touched on great principles pertaining to "self". It turned out to be a story... not too much more than that. It felt to me that there were some libertarian-like trends, but some of the story events weren't what I'd consider principled or at least, not fitting with libertarian principles. It made for plot movement and it made for an interesting hypothetical set of characters and places, but it didn't meet my expectations as a pillar of libertarian knowledge and that's primarily why I began reading it.

Loved the book.  I'm curious to hear about the story events you consider not prinicipled.  But I think you should wait as agraftonite is still reading it an we wouldn't want to spoil it by giving away the story(!)