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Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged: A Philosophical and Literary Companion |  | Authors: Edward W. Younkins, Edward Wayne Younkins
Creator: Edward Wayne Younkins
Publisher: Ashgate
Category: eBooks
This item is no longer available
Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 5331
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Pages: 432
Number Of Items: 1
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.52
ASIN: B002EQAYQS
Publication Date: October 31, 2007
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Product Description
Since its publication in 1957 "Atlas Shrugged", the philosophical and artistic climax of Ayn Rand's novels, has never been out of print and has received enormous critical attention becoming one of the most influential books ever published, impacting on a variety of disciplines including philosophy, literature, economics, business, and political science among others. More than a great novel, "Atlas Shrugged" is an abstract conceptual, and symbolic work that expounds a radical philosophy, presenting a view of man and man's relationship to existence and manifesting the essentials of an entire philosophical system - metaphysics, epistemology, politics and ethics. Celebrating the fiftieth year of "Atlas Shrugged's" publication, this companion is an exploration of this monumental work of literature. Contributions have been specially commissioned from a diversity of eminent scholars who admire and have been influenced by the book, the included essays analyzing the novel's integrating elements of theme, plot and characterization from many perspectives and from various levels of meaning.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 15
 A true must-have December 14, 2007
Charles Almond
47 out of 53 found this review helpful
Very few novels have stood the test of time. This year marks a venerable exception to this axiom, with the fiftieth aniversary of the first publication of Ayn Rand's groundbreaking novel Atlas Shrugged, which has never been out of print since its inititial publication. Hugely popular among literature and philosophy buffs alike, it has meant many different things to many people over the years. To some, it is just an entertaining story with fascinating characters and plot twists, while to others it is the cornerstone of their business, political, economic, and life's philosophy.
One such man, Dr. Edward Younkins of Wheeling Jesuit University, has long argued the merits and deeper meaning of Ayn Rand's ideas and Objectivist philosophy, which was laid out so completely in her culminating work, Atlas Shrugged. While Dr. Younkins has authored other works on related ideas, he may well consider this his crowning achievement. Few have understood this complex and artistic work with the depth and breadth of Dr. Younkins, and he has worked with many of the worlds leading scholars, authors, philosophers, businessmen, and educators to compile thirty six different essays on various aspects of Atlas Shrugged. Each contributor has laid out in easily understood form a different aspect of Atlas Shrugged and its significance to the human condition.
Dr. Younkins has then organized each of these separate works into a comprehensive companion, designed to help anyone understand the deeper truths Ayn Rand worked so hard to articulate to those who are willing to look. After reading Dr. Younkins' companion compilation, it is clear to anyone why the works of Ayn Rand have had such staying power and influence over the best and brightest minds of our age, from such minds as Alan Greenspan all the way down to the causal reader just looking for a good story. Anyone wanting to expand their knowledge and understanding of this classic work need look no further.
Freedom and capitalism December 4, 2009
Reason22 (FL, USA)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
It's rather amazing that 30 years after her death, more and more people are reading Atlas Shrugged. Some people would say that her writing was terrible. Do you think her terrible writing is the reason why more people are picking up this book? NO OTHER freedom or capitalism writer will stand the test of time as Ayn Rand. She was able to convey her message to the common people. Something that most economists and freedom writers often fail to do. What she accomplished was to make people realized why we must fight for capitalism. It is about freedom and no other system have lifted so many people out of poverty and misery as capitalism. To judge her writing and ignore the great message displays an extreme degree of ignorance.
Atlas Shrugged September 3, 2009
John M. Vanderslice (New Jersey, USA)
11 out of 16 found this review helpful
There are many different themes in this book. Most notable are the tones of capitalism vs. communism and the the producers in society vs. those who mooch off of the government.
Dagny Taggart is the female protagonist. This is a story about one person's fight against government corruption and greed. As an executive for one of the biggest railroads in the country run by her brother, she is frustrated by the lack of production from other workers until she runs into Henry Rearden, a scientist who has created his own metal plant and through many hours of hard work has grown the company to be one of the best in the industry. The two discover they have a lot of ideas in common in regards to work ethic and business practices.
Against Dagny and Henry (and many other industry giants introduced in the book) is the government which believes that they should share the wealth they have created for themselves from their own hard work with the rest of the world. In addition, they should share the secrets of their success with the rest of the world so that other companies can produce the same product without having to put in the same amount of work.
John M. Vanderslice
50 years NEW July 12, 2010
Kase (Kentucky)
Excellent and everyone should read it. I could not put this down. I read this through 22 hours of flight time and still could not stop until I finished the book. For me personally, this was a very disturbing read. A fiction novel written over 50 years ago and the story could have been written as a non fiction reflecting what has been happening in the last several years in the political systems of today. Those that work hard for what they earn and being made to feel guilty by those who don't want to work and want to be given everything. The characters are appealing in their humanity.
I will be honest and say I had not heard of this book until seeing something about it on a recent Glen Beck show. I am so glad I have found Ayn Rand as an author.
Glow-in-the-dark hammocks September 10, 2009
Van Halen Kurtz (Twin Oaks)
12 out of 25 found this review helpful
Behind every louder-than-life critic of Marxism is someone who never read Marx and, here's dialectics for you, behind every ranting opponent of Objectivism is someone who never read Ayn Rand. Until now. Atlas Shrugged is sure more entertaining than anything Lenin ever wrote ~ namely, sexy scenes. But Rand and the Soviets she hates so passionately do share similar literary techniques. Such as the whole idealist approach to depicting "reality as it could/ should be." Not to mention a very blunt didactic tongue. And let's not forget a definite measure of misanthropic superiority. Reductionist revenge! And why not? Rand came out of the U.S.S.R. Of course, she wanted to turn the tables upon her ideological opponents so why not use metaphors of labor (the strike), liberals (utopian society), anarchists (totalitarian nihilism) and even AA (hitting bottom) to make her "radical" points? But the main deal is Rand is an excellent storyteller and her prose is page-turning. Atlas Shrugged is noir, top to bottom ~ Orson Wells should have done the movie (with Charlton Heston as John Galt) ~ as well as vaguely sci-fi (Robert Heinlein comes to mind). Plus, there's feminism all over the place (Dagny Taggart runs the railroad), polyamory (gets frisky with 3 protagnonists, including Galt) and, even cooler, Galt's motor gizmo, using no fossil fuels, is totally Green. 1957 no less. Some of the pulpier passages, combined with the prevailing atmosphere of bureaucratic defilement and technological horror (Thompson harmonizer, Ferris Persuader) surpasses Orwell's 1984 and even invokes Burroughs' Nova Express. Hot damn. And the climatic action scene which ends the book ~ X-Men meets X-Files. Kitsch-i-licious! Whether or not you subscribe to Rand's deregulationist capitalism (the U.S. railroad system was paid for by taxpayers, you know), this is way more fun than the band Rush who Rand couldn't endure hearing. Rand hated rock n roll. So did Lenin.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 15
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