Who is John Galt?
Fans of the author Ayn Rand have every reason to be excited about the upcoming movie adaptation of her most famous work, Atlas Shrugged. Hollywood always seems to have a way of turning great novels into appalling film versions but other than the fact the movie is set in modern times, it by all accounts looks to be a very accurate portrayal.
For those unfamiliar with Ayn Rand or the book Atlas Shrugged, go haze yourself for being an uncultured heathen and then pick up a copy. It is a book that should be required reading for every high school senior in America. At first glance it can be pretty intimidating for the casual reader. Depending on the size of the font, a typical version can be well over 800 pages long. Now many of us have a little too much on our plate with Spring Break, formal, crawfish boils, etc. so I recommend buying the audio book. I’ve never really been one for audio books but after listening to W’s Decision Points on my way to Colorado this past break, I am a convert.
This book has had a profound impact on millions of people throughout the world and is a major inspiration for conservative/libertarian thought. Atlas Shrugged may or may not have a large impact on your worldview but you will surely never have to ponder the question, “Who is John Galt?”
the fact that this takes place in modern days, considering the rail road industry, is grounds to not see it
13 years ago at 9:01 amYou’re putting down the rail industry?
13 years ago at 12:08 pmAmtrak currently operates at a loss. The railway industry is not the bustling industry it was at the time Atlas Shrugged was written.
13 years ago at 1:38 pmI’m not talking about passenger rail–rail freight is extremely efficient and makes good business sense.
13 years ago at 1:54 pmYes, but the rail roads nowadays are no where near where they were in 1930s
13 years ago at 2:36 amYes because there wasn’t air freight on the scale we have now, but most goods don’t need to travel that quickly…that’s why intermodal transportation (sea, rail, truck) is the backbone of the industry. Air is only for urgent shipments.
13 years ago at 8:56 amThat and you know shipping things like steel and oil by air might be a little impractical.
13 years ago at 1:40 pmI think it looks great. Worth a viewing.
13 years ago at 12:07 pmI find it fitting that this is coming out around the same time that Obama is trying to build government sponsored high speed rail across the US
13 years ago at 12:56 pmi thought the exact same thing
13 years ago at 2:46 pmnothin says frat like a Russian born Atheist feminist. Adam Smith-Wealth of nations is the essential book on American capitalism, its an obvious choice, but definitely better than Atlas Shrugged.
13 years ago at 1:01 pmTo be fair, her female characters have a tendency to melt under the gaze of steely eyed businessmen.
13 years ago at 1:39 pmAyn Rand has to be taken with a grain of salt. Read the book and you’ll see how she doesn’t let her feminist crap flood in
13 years ago at 2:58 pmTHE Wealth of Nations was published in 1776, the same year America become a nation. Further, the colonies are a constant reference as a capitalist model in relation to their position within liberal European economics emerging at the time. The colonies had a higher literacy rate than any nation in Europe, and higher wages than England.
Adam Smith might not have written the book when America was a country, but it is the basis for our economy. You gonna tell me that Jefferson, Washington, Madison, and Adams didn’t build American democracy because they were born before it was a country?
Get the hell out you uncivilized geed.
13 years ago at 5:24 pmshes not a feminist in fact i think she desperately she wished to be a man. and plus it doesnt matter if shes russian born she fled because she realized how much better we are.
13 years ago at 10:49 pmContrare…1776 was the year the colonies declared indpendence. This simply made them a colony in revolt. The war didn’t end officially until 1783 when the British gave up any official claims in America. The Constitution wasn’t signed until 1788 which made us a nation instead of a loose confederation. But no one needs a history lesson since we are all die hard Americans right Fratting Seven Seas?
13 years ago at 4:00 pmHELL YEAH!!!!!!!! Best book ever. If you consider yourself a republican, then you will watch this movie.
13 years ago at 1:25 pmShe is hot.
13 years ago at 2:17 pmAnd she’s only 27.
13 years ago at 2:18 pmI read this book over winter break, the same copy that my mom and dad both read on their train ride into nyc every day. What an amazing piece of literature.
13 years ago at 3:27 pmThis is literally the greatest book I have ever read
13 years ago at 3:27 pmis it wrong if the entire time i watched that trailer i thought it was a parody of sorts
13 years ago at 4:09 pmThis is a fictional modern America that actually care about commuter trains, I assume?
13 years ago at 5:02 pm