Atlas Shrugged
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand is a towering philosophical novel published by Penguin Books in 2007. This first edition spans 1168 pages and is presented in English. The narrative centers around the enigmatic John Galt and his ambitious plan to halt the progress of society, beginning with the provocative question, “Who is John Galt?” The story unfolds in a world where the most talented individuals have mysteriously vanished, leading to a faltering economy. Businesswoman Dagny Taggart faces the challenge of revitalizing the transcontinental railroad while grappling with the implications of Galt’s actions.
Readers will find a complex exploration of Objectivism, Rand’s philosophy that emphasizes competition, creativity, and individualism. The novel delves into the struggles of innovators and creators against a backdrop of societal decline, as Dagny navigates her conflicting views on Galt. This edition invites readers to engage with themes of human greatness and the consequences of a world where the driving forces of progress are absent.
Official synopsis Publisher
A towering philosophical novel that is the summation of her Objectivist philosophy, Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged is the saga of the enigmatic John Galt, and his ambitious plan to ‘stop the motor of the world’, published in Penguin Modern Classics.
Opening with the enigmatic question ‘Who is John Galt?’, Atlas Shrugged envisions a world where the ‘men of talent’ – the great innovators, producers and creators – have mysteriously disappeared. With the US economy now faltering, businesswoman Dagny Taggart is struggling to get the transcontinental railroad up and running. For her John Galt is the enemy, but as she will learn, nothing in this situation is quite as it seems. Hugely influential and grand in scope, this story of a man who stopped the motor of the world expounds Rand’s controversial philosophy of Objectivism, which champions competition, creativity and human greatness.
Ayn Rand (1905-82), born Alisa Rosenbaum in St. Petersburg, Russia, emigrated to America with her family in January 1926, never to return to her native land. Her novel The Fountainhead was published in 1943 and eventually became a bestseller. Still occasionally working as a screenwriter, Rand moved to New York City in 1951 and published Atlas Shrugged in 1957. Her novels espoused what came to be called Objectivism, a philosophy that champions capitalism and the pre-eminence of the individual.
If you enjoyed Atlas Shrugged, you might like Rand’s The Fountainhead, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.
‘A writer of great power … she writes brilliantly, beautifully, bitterly’
The New York Times
‘Atlas Shrugged … is a celebration of life and happiness’
Alan Greenspan
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