Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged published 50 years ago today

First posted 7/4/2020; last updated 7/5/2020.

Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand

First Publication: October 10, 1957 Category: philisophical science fiction Sales: 25 million

Accolades (click on badges to see full lists):

About the Book: “Rand’s fourth and final novel, it was also her longest, and the one she considered to be her magnum opus in the realm of fiction writing. Atlas Shrugged includes elements of science fiction, mystery, and romance.” WK “Although mainstream critics reacted poorly to Atlas Shrugged it was a popular success.” LC “The book explores a number of philosophical themes from which Rand would subsequently develop Objectivism…It expresses the advocacy of reason, individualism, and capitalism, and depicts what Rand saw to be the failures of governmental coercion.” WK “The book’s negative view of government and its support of unimpeded capitalism as the highest moral objective have influenced libertarians and those who advocate less government.” LC “The book depicts a United States caught up in a crisis caused by a corrupt establishment of government regulators and business interests.” LC “Railroad executive Dagny Taggart and her lover, steel magnate Hank Rearden, struggle against looters who want to exploit their productivity…A mysterious figure called John Galt is convincing other business leaders to abandon their companies and disappear…[He] is leading a ‘strike’ of productive individuals against the looters. The strike escalates when Galt announces his views in a radio address, leading to a collapse of the government.” WK He helms a plan “to build a new capitalist society based on [his] philosophy of reason and individualism.” WK “Peopled by larger-than-life heroes and villains, charged with towering questions of good and evil, Atlas Shrugged is a philosophical revolution told in the form of an action thriller.” AZ “This novel presents an astounding panorama of human life-from the productive genius who becomes a worthless playboy...to the great steel industrialist who does not know that he is working for his own destruction...to the philosopher who becomes a pirate...to the woman who runs a transcontinental railroad...to the lowest track worker in her train tunnels.” AZ Resources and Related Links: AZ Amazon LC Library of Congress (2012). “Books That Shaped America” WK Wikipedia