Atlas Shrugged

By: Ayn Rand

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 62 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's Summary

In a scrap heap within an abandoned factory, the greatest invention in history lies dormant and unused. By what fatal error of judgment has its value gone unrecognized, its brilliant inventor punished rather than rewarded for his efforts?

In defense of those greatest of human qualities that have made civilization possible, one man sets out to show what would happen to the world if all the heroes of innovation and industry went on strike. Is he a destroyer or a liberator? And why does he fight his hardest battle not against his enemies but against the woman he loves?

Tremendous in scope and breathtaking in its suspense, Atlas Shrugged is Ayn Rand's magnum opus, an electrifying moral defense of capitalism and free enterprise which launched an ideological movement and gained millions of loyal fans around the world.

©1985 Eugene Winick, Paul Gitlin and Leonard Peikoff (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Good with some caveats

I enjoyed this book a lot but there are some negatives that diminished my enjoyment of it.

The Good:
- I loved the protagonists (Dagny, Hank Rearden, Francisco). They were strong, intelligent characters and I was rooting for them right from the start
- the story was interesting. I was anxious to find out how it would all end and it was gripping
- the philosophical disadvantages of Socialism are well-presented

The Bad:
- it seems very exaggerated. I don't think the staunchest defenders of Socialism would identify with the "Incompetents' (my word for them) in this book
- the antagonists in this book (James Taggart, Wesley Mulch, etc.) seemed to be the same person. They are one-dimensional with no redeeming qualities
- it was very, very long. A few times I wanted to stop because it was so long but I really wanted to find out how it all turned out. John Galt's speech on the radio could have been cut down to 10% of its length with no loss of meaning or impact.

Overall a good, enjoyable story and I recommend it

Dangerous propaganda.

The characters are all ridiculous caricatures, the preaching and allegory are embarrassingly heavy handed, and the plot is contrived. It feels like what would happen if my loudmouth uncle suddenly became literate and wrote a novel as a way of validating all his unfounded biases.

A long listen but worth the effort and patience

At 63 hours long, this is the definition of a marathon listening session, but I think it's worth it. Atlas Shrugged is a long story, which presents Ayn Rand's theory of objectivism through a number of speeches and discussions, but it also has a great fictional narrative that goes along side it. You may not like Rand's politics or philosophy, but at its heart this story has a great female lead character who fights to be successful and competent surrounded by idiots, fools and incompetents. So, give it a try, you might be surprised and enjoy it.

Are there worse uses of your time?

I have an MFA in creative writing, and a BA in literature and in my expert opinion, Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged is a triumph in nonsense.

Perhaps you want to read it listen to a story with a plot? With distinct characters? With words that make sense? If so, I would advise skipping Atlas Shrugged.

I did some research into Ayn Rand as I was experiencing this book. I was surprised to find her educated as she clearly mocks and condescends education throughout the book.

I certainly disagree with her perspective on a great many things. However, even without considering politics, this book is a remarkable failure. Each main character speaks from the exact same perspective, and every other character is meant to be a counter-point. Rand blathers on, as characters pronounce -villain monologue-like- their grand scheme for how perfect capitalism is.
Rand overuses words like morality, and logic, clearly unaware of their meaning or purpose in a sentence.
She speaks like a child who knows she is intelligent to adults who are worldly and knowing. It is a mix of ignorance and condescension that often borders on parody. Rand often sounds like a first year philosophy student, proud to hear her own voice incorrectly mimicking much greater minds.

Hurt version decidedly superior

While I appreciate many of Scott Brick's audiobooks, he misses the emotional impetus behind the characters and Ayn's incredible grasp of satire. Many of her characters are archetypes, and Hurt just plain understands how she intended them to come across. There are some issues with the audio quality(background noise, etc). This drawback is overwhelmed by the brilliance of his acting. He really brings the book to live. Brick on the otherhand comes across flat, misses the characters emotional states and motivations, and turns a great story less so. I have both versions, but if you only purchase one yourself, select the Hurt version. You will not regret it

A true classic! 'Who is John Galt?'

Released in 1956, Atlas Shrugged has become an American classic. I first read in in 1962 as a college sophomore. There are two versions if the novel at Audible, one is narrated by Christopher Hurt and the other is narrated by Scott Brick. Brick is my favorite narrator, but I admit that Hurt does a slightly better job with Atlas Shrugged, but both are superb. I recommend the Kindle version over either Audible version because of John Galt's very, very long speech to the nation which is easier to understand by rereading parts. (The Audible bookmark feature is almost as useful.)

Atlas Shrugged is too long and complex to easily summarize. Dagny Taggart inherits a railroad and expands it into an empire despite her weak brother James. Hank Rearden invents and patents a new steel alloy (Rearden Metal) that threatens to put all of his competitors out of business, but politicians interfere and threaten his patent. Taggart used Reardon Metal to enhance her railroad construction in the Rocky Mountains. Taggart and Readen become lovers and join forces against the thuggery of the politicians. The ultimate hero is John Galt who years before abandoned society when his invention of a revolutionary motor that would have literally changed the world was threatened by politicians and government regulators.

Reading or listening to Atlas Shrugged requires a significant commitment of time. It is well worth it; indeed, it would be worth twice the commitment. Atlas Shrugged is a great novel.

Stick with the Christopher Hurt version.

Belive me when I say stick with the Christopher Hurt version. I have listened to both. Scott Brick is said to be "THE NARRATOR" but he can't compair to Christopher Hurt.

The Hurt version isn't great sound quality. I did hear some background noise at parts. There is a part where is stops compleatly for a few seconds but stick it out. Hurt's version of Taggart alone is woth it.

Brick makes this book I belive 11 hours longer using the exact same words. Brick has 1 voice for each male and female character and his book is packed with many characters. I think brick trys to play some parts.

This is my favourite book. I read it every year. Belive me when I say stick with the Christopher Hurt version.

Change your views about life and living it.

Any additional comments?

This author has taught all who are willing to listen to what she has said, truly a life changing, mind provoking life style available to the listener.

What an incredible audio book

If you want a real treat - download this unabridged recording.

I have been meaning to listen to Atlas Shrugged for years, but I have been put somewhat off by its length.

When I discovered that a new recording had been made with no other than THE narrator Scott Brick the case was settled.

Atlas Shrugged is a story that will stick with you and make you reflect on The World, your life and the future.

It is set in The US and describes what would happen if you took away the initiative of the individual and deprived all of the intellectuals of their rights.

While I understand why many people will find the story political, controversial and even disturbing - it cannot help you appreciate how lucky we are living in democracies.

Download this recording, listen to Scott's mellow voice for 62 hours and prepare yourself for utter joy.

Wow.

great story...perhaps a bit long in the tooth

this is a truly entertaining story. one that many people in america would do well to hear considering our current political and economic situation.

i gave this 4, instead of 5, stars for two reasons:

most of the monologues in this book, and there are a handful, are almost suicidally long. the point is typically made within the first 5 or 10 minutes, but the listener is subjected to exhausting reiterations of the same idea. case in point is john galt's radio address clocking in at 3 hours of listening time. having said this, i loved francisco's diatribe about money being the root of all evil (or not, as the case may be) and that probably came in around 45 minutes or so.

the second reason i didn't give this 5 stars is that i felt the narrator portrayed dagney in an excessively weak and frail voice. i don't know if that was his best impression of a woman, but dagney deserved a more confident sounding voice. he did a great job with reardon and i found myself hating james taggert on multiple occasions because the whining tone of his voice was so grating.

overall, awesome book. would recommend to everyone, young and old.

Atlas Shrugged with indifference

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Value for money? Yep it's 63 hours long. Entertaining? Not in any real sense.

What could Ayn Rand have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Had Rand employed a judicious editor, introduced a sense of pace, or narrative thrust it might have been bearable. While I have no personal issue with didactic writing, labouring a point over interminable ages bears little fruit in terms of convincing or entertaining the reader.

Which character – as performed by Scott Brick – was your favourite?

Character performance is superb throughout and his delivery is a real strength.

Could you see Atlas Shrugged being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

Even God himself (deity of your choice) could not forge this into a film worthy of watching.

Any additional comments?

The book is notable not just for its length but also for containing the least appealing love affair in history.

John Galt would have liked it

A minor criticism first. The first track in this audio book is an introduction with spoilers, so you should skip it if you don't want the surprise to be spoiled. The narration is clear and well acted and the sound is good.



Atlas Shrugged is two books in one: a novel and a book of philosophy. As a novel, AS is very good. It has interesting characters that change over the course of the book in ways that seem reasonable given their worldview and the world they live in. The plot also makes sense and is very effective at presenting Rand's worldview.



Many people complain about AS. I think these complaints are largely due to them disagreeing with the philosophy without having any good arguments against it. Do characters speak more eloquently than most people do in real life? There isn't a novel worth reading where that isn't true. The characters sometimes give speeches when they have something to say that requires a speech. People disapprove of this stuff because they dislike the content of the speech, not because there is a speech. My suggestion about how to approach the book is this: every time you feel outraged ask yourself whether you have a logical argument against what Rand is saying. If you don't then you should be willing to admit that you might be wrong and keep going.



So, to conclude, this audiobook is a well-narrated presentation of a challenging and dramatic novel.

Has challenged me to rethink ideas

For a long time I was reluctant to start reading this book, as it is a very long book, but it has been a great "read" for many hours of driving. Yes, it is long, but it has kept me interested and curious for the next turn of events.



I knew it was a political/philosophical book and it has certainly provoked my thinking - more than I really like, as I normally do not see myself as such a radical liberal as promoted here. The "looters" seem so obvious wrong in this book, that it is scary how often we see and hear their ideas promoted in real life also now in 2013. Having travelled around the world, I see countries almost purely based on the model promoted by the "looters" here - and not surprisingly these countries seem on the brink of catastrophe.



Probably the most thought provoking book I have "read" in years.

Well Worth the Effort

I was so pleased when I saw the unabridged version of Atlas Shrugged had been released on Audible. I tried to fight my way through the tiny font 1168 page paperback I bought a few years ago but I only have so much determination. This is what audiobooks were meant to be.



As many know this set in an America where socialism has gone bad. At times you do feel as though Rand is hitting you over the head with her message, but I suspected it was always going to be that way.



After a slow start Rand manages to keep my interest in the plot, although I have to admit that it's lovers of philosophy who will get the most out of this book.



Well read by Scott Brick; next up for me in the unabridged Fountainhead.



The longest book I have ever bought and definitely value for money.

Way too long, only for ideologues

Rand is a terrible writer who doesn’t understand the meaning of the word subtlety - she makes the same point over and over and over, using ridiculous straw men characters.

Atlas Shrugged

This is a fantastic eye opening read. It gives the reader a whole new view of the economy today even though it was written in the late 50s. I would recommend this audio especially for those who find reading a book of this size difficult. Definitely a must have!

A work of fiction, a work of philosophy.

I really can not describe how much this novel has affected me. The value this book presents is just unmatched by any other work of its kind. For me Atlas Shrugged feels like a classic that is actually a classic. Themes of the book weave together like nothing I have ever read. If you enjoy a good thought provoking book, Atlas Shrugged will change your life.

Painful at times

I want to start by saying that I was very happy with Scott Brick's narration, to the point that I think I may have stopped listening around 50 hours if the narration hadn't been as strong.

Throughout reading this book I struggled to reconcile the feeling that a book challenging the more dominant narrative that societal good trumps individual liberty is important with a general frustration with the book. The story is ok but when that story strays into the barely concealed philosophic message it descends into lengthy rambling monologues that endlessly repeat themselves. All people who follow the 'wrong' moral code are set up as ridiculous straw men of their views, the 'good' characters are all absolutely faultless with no one who follows something approaching the right code ever doing anything slightly dubious even though the code allows considerable leeway for behaviour that would be considered negatively by many in our society. I got extremely close to stopping listening over 50 hours in because of an extreme example of this. A speech by a character that is positioned to be the cap stone of the philosophy the author wishes to communicate; Entire films have been able to communicate deep meaningful messages in less time than this speech which is so unpersuasive, so repetitive, so full of fallacies and false equivalences, untruths, and meaningless prose.

Atlas Shrugged - 30th Edition complete with extras

Would you listen to Atlas Shrugged again? Why?

A titan of a book, by any standards, would need to give it a while before revisiting, will be trying The Fountainhead though.

What did you like best about this story?

Narration perfectly executed by Scott Brick.

Which character – as performed by Scott Brick – was your favourite?

Brick's take on all the characters is excellent, but his Hank Rearden was the best.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Such a great book, narrated so well, with notes from the author etc thrown in for good measure.

Any additional comments?

One of the best purchases I've made on Audible.

An Explanation of Our Current Folly.

Prophetic vision of our future written Sixty years ago. This is a gripping read that seems to explain today's headlines. Well read in the audible format. An excellent explanation of why ,"There is no free lunch."