I read it while in high school and loved it. I would also recommend We the Living.

This is a lifesaver of a book or a civilization saver. Imagine; there are people who believe that teaching poeple that they need to think for themselves and for their own best interewt is evil. Wonders never cease

Compare the fall of the USA in this book with the fall of the USSR in 1989; they are parallel. While intellectual conservatives of 1950s believed themselves defeated and lassie- faire outdated and immoral. Ayn Rand held steadfast for capitalism, individualism and her radical philosophy that justified it; and she was exiled to the fringe of academia. To those who say Ayn Rand was an intellectual bigot, who did not understand humanity, they should read Atlas; she knew enough about the human spirit to see that Sickle and Hammer rested on cracked foundation, and that men can only be slaves if they consent to it.

I found the plot of “Atlas” to be compelling and the ideas inspirational. For me, the novel was a refreshing affirmation and explication of my implicit understanding of man’s nature and of the requirements on him for achieving happiness. However, just reading “Atlas” wasn’t enough for me to understand it (or her philosophy) fully. Over the past five or six years since reading the novel, I proceeded to read through nearly all of Ms. Rand’s published works (fiction and non-fiction) and through those of Dr. Leonard Peikoff (and some others), audited a course on Objectivism through the Objectivist Academic Center, and put in countless hours of thought. The intellectual rigor and clarity that Ayn Rand brought to a broad range of topics is astonishing. At each step through my studies, my fundamental conclusion about her philosophy has only deepened: I know nothing more exalting, empowering, exhilarating, and liberating than what she has presented.

For Polish readers there is an excellent translation of Atlas shrugged : Atlas zbuntowany (see my profile on visual bookshelf).

Ayn Rand's understanding of human nature is timeless.

This should be required reading for all of Congress and the White House. They should keep a copy in the oval office.

Fantastic story and sense of life. Rand's philosophy is non-complicated and totally factual. My personal favorite is 'The Fountainhead' and 'The Virtue of Selfishness'.

I'm reading Atlas Shrugged for perhaps the fourth time in the past 15 years, and I find that I get a little more out of the book each time. For instance, it is interesting to see the manipulation games Lillian plays on her husband Hank, and how Hank ultimately defeats those games. And Ayn Rand even relates such games to the political and cultural levels. There are some very practical lessons there for us all.

I started reading this book in 1978 an I've read it every three or four years since- Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead are my two favorite reads!

I fell in love with The fountainhead first, then worked up to Atlas Shrugged. Love it, and have bought and given away a few copies over the years. I'm glad it is getting so much attention, finally.

To any of you thinking of reading her non-fiction works first, I would advise you to think again. I wouldn't even read the introduction to Atlas. Just read the fiction first. Nobody writes a story like Ayn Rand.

If you haven't read it, read it. If you have read it, read it again!

If you haven't already, check out "Essays on Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged".
http://www.amazon.com/Essays-Ayn-Rands-Atlas-Shrugged/dp/0739127802/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243272252&sr=8-1

It's the best book ever. i love it, i read it every summer. and i always learn something new and, the most important, i feel reassured. i'm not alone. we're not alone.

Thanks Ayn Rand

The Fountain Head is best

It is the philosophy that powers my documentary movies and my life.

I'm reading it for probably the 11th or 12th time, and each and every time it inspires me. Throughout the book, Rand's metaphors really drive home the integration of mind and body and human existence with human creation. It is truly the Great American Novel.

If you like Atlas when you read it - consider contributing to the 'Free Books for Teachers' project. The Ayn Rand institute - www.aynrand.org - has distributed books to schools for years, and introduced over a million students to Ayn Rand. This worthwhile effort can always use more funding!

Atlas Shrugged provides the best argument for respecting the rights of the individual to choose his own values and to use his own independent mind to pursue those values in a society characterized by voluntary trade of ideas, goods, and services with minimal forceful interference by governments. The importance of Ayn Rand's novels and non-fiction is such that no one is educated who is unfamiliar with her work.

I read this book every year. The cover fell off my old, worn copy recently. My family gave me the new edition for Mother's day.
To compel through guilt or force one man to support the needs of another is the job of the mystics of spirit and the mystics of muscle, not man born with the ability of reason.

I read this book right after college and it caused me to really examine what I thought I believed. "Check your premises. Contradictions should not exist." Hmmm. This book changed my life and filled my mind with logic instead of reactive thinking based on emotion. It should be required reading for those seeking a high school diploma. What do you do when the weight of the world is upon your shoulders? Shrug.

We're not alone; there's hope, freedom will always arise, anywhere, anytime.

The Atlas Shrugged is one of my all time favorite books!

I have read and reread ATLAS SHRUGGED over the years. After the SCOTUS sanctioned theft, I picked up the book again just for some spiritual fuel. I needed to see a bright benevolent universe.

Looks like its worth checking out.

I read Atlas Shrugged when I was 14 and will read it again. My attention span is not what it used to be and I have preferred to read The Virtue of Selfishness, Return of the Primitive, and Ayn Rand Letters.

Awesome book. Read it in High School and it made an impression that's lasted ever since.

Finished my second reading of the book today...I got more out of the philosophy this time around...A GREAT BOOK !!

I've been a fan of this book, and a follower of Rand's lessons for almost 30 years, It's nice that Objectivism is finally going 'mainstream' !

This is a good book.

I am listening to the audio book and sometimes I forget whether I am listening to the book or the news on the radio.

I read Atlas Shrugged for the first time in 1981, start to finish in one go.
I was overjoyed that now I won't have to sit down to create my own philosophy and that I could get on with the business of living.
I thought that the entire world was not one big Galt's Gulch only because people had not read AS. I thought everything that's wrong with the world will be right if only everyone read Atlas.
After I gave the book to a couple of good intelligent people, I was wiser for their evasive response.
I have read it several times since then and it's high time I read it again!
The anticipation of reading it once again and also listening to it is as exciting as ever.
It's a pity that one can read Atlas Shrugged only once for the first time:-)

Great book. Ayn Rand put into words the way I have always thought the world should be and explicitly exposes what is responsible for its problems. I still pull it out and read certain passages for inspiration.
I must say though, my favorite book by Ayn Rand is The Fountainhead.
How much better our world would be with her philosophy in play instead of Karl Marx.

Outstanding book...more relevant now than ever.

If I get just one person to read the works of Ayn Rand, in particular ATLAS SHRUGGED, I have accomplished more in the world than marching in a dozen teaparties.

Okay, so I'm doing something lately, and I have no idea if it will accomplish squat. But, every blasted dollar bill (of any denomination) that ends up in my wallet gets "Who I$ John Galt?" scribed on it, in my less than beautiful penmanship. Thoughts?

As a hippie living in the Haight-Ashbury in the late 60s, early 70s, Atlas Shrugged turned my life around. Read about it TAS's The New Individualist-spring 2009 issue.

#1 at Amazon.com again!!! BoooooYaaaahhh!!!