Atlas Shrugged

Learned Helplessness - Martin Seligman A Random Walk Down Wall Street - Malkiel The Millionaire Next Door - Stanley Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand Second the Incerto series by Nassim Taleb

1984, George Orwell Permanent Record, Edward Snowden My Early Life, Winston S. Churchill Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand Edit: To some extent probably also: The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas Don Quijote, Miguel de Cervantes

Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand 1984, by Orwell Walden, by Thoreau Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse But really, the one that had most direct impact in my life was Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall. Not in my vision of the world but in my lifestyle.

> a gigantic monologue in the middle So just because you can't think of another book that has this, it's not well written? idk I'm no follower of objectivism but Atlas Shrugged is a book you definitely dont forget... and in my classification that makes it good

Not the person you were responding to, but if you ignore the hundred-page speech (which isn't that difficult to do) it's a fairly serviceable pulp sci-fi romance novel. It's far from Shakespeare and far from my favorite thing I've ever read, but it'll do in a pinch. I don't care for the philosophy/politics, but I've read a lot of good sci-fi that I didn't care for the philosophy behind. I like Starship Troopers, which isn't as fascist as some people think but is certainly right-wing. I like Orson Scott Card, regardless of what I think of his opinions on gay people. I like the Culture novels, which are lowkey anarcho-communist. I like China Mieville, and he's an unsubtle hardcore Marxist. Those are all much better than Rand, but not totally out of the ballpark (I think the Fountainhead is actually much better written than Atlas Shrugged). I agree with the original thread comment: people who can't separate literary and political merit are usually pretty tiresome in lots of other ways.

A good pairing is Atlas Shrugged and The Illuminatus! Trilogy. I just happened to read at the same time but would recommend it.

It had a profound influence on me as well, I read it as a celebration of creativity and the human spirit. I never got the weird cult stuff that has emerged from it. I thought it was well written though. She just has a weird style; I kinda dug it. I would call it writing Brutalism, and it was very clear and to the point.

Atlas Shrugged had a profound influence on me, too. It is a treatise on selfishness. A stench of arrogance leaks out from every paragraph. It showed me the worst of the worst. What not to be. I like to think reading it made me a more empathetic, social, caring person. It also awakened my antenna to the vileness in people that may lie just below the skin. That is was excruciatingly badly written was a bonus. It showed me that dangerous ideologies are persistent enough to survive laughably poor communication.

This is easy...Atlas Shrugged

Atlas shrugged, Minto Pyramid Principle, Nail it then Scale it

Both Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead, can be great creativity catalysts if read in your younger years. Though the rage fades as you age and come to grips with the reality and unfairness of life. They are still great books to read. Fight Club is another great movie as well.

Hardcore zen Man in search of meaning Atlas shrugged: too long winded, but popped my progressive reality buble. Return to religion: made me see how most of our problems(depression, anxiety, meaninglessness) are caused by our lack of transcendental Recently the bible, Marc, Genesis. But I saw the Peterson biblical lecture before, without that I would have not appreciated for sure. I see all around me that the progressives are captured by ideologies, most cannot see clearly because their religious shaped hole almost always get filled with the ideology du jour. They tend to live meaningless lives, don’t have kids or very few, their couples are brittle, they run after money, travel, pleasures and then find out that it doesn’t give sustainable happiness. My take is that our mind is religious even if you don’t want it to be, kind of our operating system. Better put something tested and reliable (with a few updates) than rewrite from scratch and fall in the same traps than everyone before.

It also helped me a lot. It taught me the ethics of rational self interest. It helps me to this day when I discuss my salary for example. Also, relationships work better when you know what you want, you have to give your partner the chance to do something for you every now and then, that works best when you have personality. I struggled with this. To be able to say I love you one must first be able to say I. For me the best parts are those about personal freedom. I read most things Ayn Rand wrote and I really enjoyed it. Somehow, HN does not like Ayn Rand. I don't understand it really. I also read Rutger Bregman's Human kind, some people say it is the opposite of Atlas Shrugged, but I disagree strongly. I like both books and I think they can be part of unifying philosophy. Perhaps Paul Graham's "What you can't say" [0] is an explanation. I believe Ayn says some things that you can't really say anymore, but perhaps they are true. [0]: http://www.paulgraham.com/say.html

The following have all had a significant effect on my worldview. You can find more information at [1]. - The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany - Thinking, Fast and Slow - Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind - Crime and Punishment - The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York - Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies - The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity - Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead - Franny and Zooey - Master of the Senate - Atlas Shrugged - Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed - Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap? - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics - The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don't - Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans - Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage - Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World - Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones - Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow…

I know it's trite to say it, but in my early 20s reading Atlas Shrugged helped me regain my bearings. And, no, it did not turn me into Peter Thiel.

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand Atlas Shrugged by the same author It’s striking how fundamental the principles from those books are. An assembly code of the society:-)

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. HANDS DOWN!

It's a shame you're going to get downvoted by a lot of knee-jerk "ooh, I hate Ayn Rand" types (most of whom have probably never read a word she wrote), but FWIW, I second your mention. Atlas Shrugged is definitely worth reading. I won't say it's a great book in many ways - Rand's language is a bit awkward and stilted (especially by contemporary standards), and it probably is a bit too long. But in terms of getting to the heart of the divide between those who adhere to an individualist / internal locus of control mindset, and those who don't, it's very enlightening. Also, FWIW, I enjoyed The Fountainhead more than Atlas Shrugged, and usually recommend that anyone who is new to Rand start with it first.

Ayn Rand: Atlas Shrugged

I found the stories in Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged to be compelling enough that I could both empathize with (some of) the characters while at the same time disagree wholeheartedly with their choices. They're good books for trying to find out _why_ you agree or disagree.

At random Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand. Love her or hate her, she makes you think. The Hard Thing About Hard Things - This is a great book about building businesses, and business in general. Capital in the 21st Century - One of the greatest books about economics and capital written ever - let alone in the last decade. The Intelligent Investor - This is Buffet's favourite book, and regardless of how many times I read it, I still learn more. One can never digest it in full. Predictably Irrational - This excellent tome makes behavioural economics digestible outside of economics. It's enlightening, though provoking, and turns several accepted truths on its head, purely by being written at all. Nexus (Ramez Naam) - This science fiction book explores transhumanism and would it could mean in the near future. It's both light and pulpy, but at the same time makes you think about the outcomes of technological progression.

I'm surprised no one mentioned "Atlas Shrugged" by "Ayn Rand". It's not a typical fiction book but really made me think

Atlas Shrugged had the most profound impact on me. Ishmael was a funny, short and enlightening read.

Atlas shrugged I read this for the first time during the summer I graduated from college and was backpacking through South America. It struck me like a thunderbolt, putting into words principles that I strongly believed in but had not seen in print elsewhere.

Cliche, but How to Won Friends and Influence People, along with Atlas Shrugged were the 2 biggest influences for me when I was trying to get sober. Or rather, they kept me dedicated when I was getting sober and wanted to deviate.

For those of us, like myself, that don’t realistically expect to read her books, Your reasons for feeling that way are, of course, your own, and I'm hardly one to tell you to do otherwise. But if I could offer any comment on this, let me just say this: there is a LOT of what I would call "caricaturized misrepresentation" of Rand and Rand's work out there in the wild. If your view on reading Rand is based on what you've heard about her from others, I'd strongly suggest you consider carefully if you can trust what you've been told. On the flip-side, I'll also say this: while I personally am sympathetic to a lot of Rand's thinking / philosophy, I do think she did herself a mis-service in the way she chose to use the words "selfish" and "altruism". That is to say, her usage, while possibly pedantically correct, runs somewhat counter to the common vernacular usage, and it makes it unreasonably easy to misinterpret her meaning, or to impute things that aren't there, whether intentionally or otherwise.…

The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand The Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins How To Win Friends And Influence People - Dale Carnegie The Game - Neil Strauss The Four Steps To The Epiphany - Steve Blank ... among others.

Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead.

I've read both books. I personally didn't find them to be well written, however they convey what they are trying to convey well enough. If anything, people should read them to better understand how libertarians of the Objectivist streak view the world. It would be eye-opening to say the least.

I have read Atlas Shrugged twice now, and it is a really nice treatment of guilt, especially unearned guilt. It is less useful as a treatise on humans. Many, many people hate it, but most of those who hate it has not read it - they would be shocked, for example, to know that one of her heroes pays his workers more than the norm and more than what the other unions require (he does so, so that he can have the best workers), and how the heroes are not above, or unable to, do manual work.

Atlas Shrugged is one of those books that is often life-changing. Whether that is positive or not depends wildly upon the reader and their situation. Other books I'd put in that category are Fight Club and Walden

The Name of the Wind - For all the reasons mentioned above, is one of my absolute favorite fiction books. Its not just the characters, its Rothfuss' use of language. I've never kept track of so many quotable phrases in a book. Enders Shadow Series by Orson Scott Card - I loved the majority of the Ender's Game series was disappointed when it was over. Throughout those books, Bean was always my favorite character and it was a great day when I discovered the Ender's Shadow series which chronicles Bean's life over several books. The thing I loved most about Bean were his powers of analysis and he taught me to think more about scenario outcomes and think about multiple ways of achieving my goals. Dune - A pattern is emerging here. I love the books where the hero CHOOSES to ascend and works to get there. Paul Atredies starts out a boy against harsh conditions and rises to the challenge. The Stand by Stephen King - I read this book when I was 14 or 15 on summer break in a week. I fell in from the start and read for entire days until it was done and when it was over I was in awe at the size (1000+ pages) and scope of what King accomplished.…

Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand. I like idea of 'I' itself which can shrug the belief(s) of social norms.

Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand Will be reading The Fountainhead shortly afterwards!

Non-Fiction: "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie, because it changed my understanding of people for the better. "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" by Richard Feynman, because it gave me a model for how to enjoy life. "Models" by Mark Manson, because it helped shape my understanding of heterosexual relationships. "An Introduction to General Systems Thinking" by Gerald Weinberg, because it illuminates the general laws underlying all systems. Fiction: "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert A Heinlein, because it showed me a philosophy and "spirituality", for lack of a better word, that I could agree with. "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand, because they showed me how human systems break, and they provided human models for how to see and live in, through, and past those broken systems. "Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality" by Eliezer Yudkowsky, because it set the bar (high) for all future fiction, especially when it comes to the insightful portrayal of the struggle between good and evil.

It showcases some interesting dynamics regarding businesses becoming involved with politics and power. It's a good walk through of how "we just want the government to make companies give their fair share" can easily turn into something darker. I certainly wouldn't promote objectivist an-cap policy writ large, but there are truthful elements in both Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. I specifically like how Ayn Rand draws a link between collectivism and racism, which was truthful in the era she was writing in. A rare perspective.

I recommend the first. Atlas Shrugged is one of my favourites. The main lesson I took from it was to think for myself. A quote from the book (paraphrased): "an error made by yourself is safer than ten truths taken on faith".

- Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand - V for Vendetta - Alan Moore/David Lloyd - Heat: How we can stop the planet burning - George Monbiot These are the books that quite literally changed my world view and interpretation of our place/purpose in it.

In my early 20s I embraced Objectivism through this and Atlas Shrugged (bad writing aside), and in my 30s I abandoned it. Particularly, the process of abandoning it forced me into a clearer view of my personal value system. That in turn has made me a better person: it is hard to have integrity if one doesn't understand what they believe.

One of the best read of mine, "Who is John Galt ?"

Atlas Shrugged. It clarifies the moral benefit of a selfish honest creative pursuit of money. It seriously improves your workday to feel faintly heroic about it.

Older Stuff: The Bible/Quran, The Republic (Plato), The Social Contract (Rousseau), Tao Te Ching (Laozi), Brothers Karamazov (Dostoevsky), History of the Peloponnesian War (Thucydides) Newer Stuff: Nine Stories (Salinger), The Razor's Edge (Maugham), Nausea (Sartre), Siddartha (Hesse), Road to Serfdom (Hayek), The Book (Watts), Design of Everyday Things (Norman), Atlas Shrugged (Rand), Invisible Man (Ellison), Debunking Economics (Keen), Blood Meridian (McCarthy), The Center Cannot Hold (Saks), This Time Is Different (Reinhart/Rogoff), Infinite Jest (Wallace), Calvin and Hobbes (Watterson) All of these books are well written and have given me some perspective on interesting people/situations/ways of thinking.

Atlas Shrugged, but he's not the 'reading books' type of guy. Atlas Shrugged's Taggart Transcontinental is the company I wish I could work for. I hate the nitpicking and bad attitude that I currently deal with. I took this job to write code and make money, why do I have to go to all these stupid meetings, read these stupid e-mails, use Slack, answer this stupid desk-phone etc? 'Going to work' is what is killing my work, and nothing I say or do seems to matter. I just want to actually get some work done, seemingly unlike the rest of this entire corp. Give me my keyboard, my editor, and my coffee. That's all I need and I'll write up what I did at the end of the day, talk to me then.

Well... yes and no... Rand divides all the characters into two groups, to put it simple into the socialists and the capitalists. The capitalists get the virtues of honesty, integrity and are rational and so on, while the socialists are depicted as dishonest, corrupt, irrational etc. If you fail to understand these characteristics are not necessarily tied to either of the groups, yes the warning label is appropriate. If you do understand this - and I hope some males between the ages of 13 and 21 do - this book can help you improve your attitude towards work. After reading Atlas Shrugged I must say I'm more eager to get things done and ignore pessimistic people who think things simply cannot be done because it is a lot of work. It definitely helped me.

I'll skip some mentioned already by others. Books I really enjoyed this year: The Wright Brothers, David McCullough - wonderful book on the Wright Brothers, easy to read, shows that persistence and logic thinking pays out. 5/5 The autobiography of Malcom X, Malcolm X - Nice bio, a bit repetitive sometimes. 3/5 Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand - Although the book has more than 1200 pages it really kept me going. I read this book to get a better understanding of the ideology of some republicans. Fun read. 4.5/5 Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt - Levitt studies all kind of different everyday questions using economics. 4/5, short, easy to read Guantanamo Diary, Mohamedou Ould Slahi - Diary of a Guantanamo prisoner who has been imprisoned since 2002. The US has never charged him with a crime. Profound and disturbing. 5/5 No place to hide, Glenn Greenwald - Story on Edward Snowden, probably read by most of HN. Enjoyed it, that's it. 4/5 How to lie with statistics, Darrel Huff - Short book on statistics, easy to read and fun. 4/5

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Free Will by Sam Harris. Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus by Ludwig Wittgenstein

I'm sure there are many, but a few that jump to mind, in no particular order, and spanning both fiction and non-fiction: The Selfish Gene - Dawkins A New Kind of Science - Wolfram The Singularity is Near - Kurzweil Gödel, Escher, Bach - Hofstadter Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies - Hofstadter Atlas Shrugged - Rand The Fountainhead - Rand Nineteen Eighty-Four - Orwell The Trouble With Physics - Lee Smolin Time Reborn - Lee Smolin Ambient Findability - Peter Morville Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software - Steven Johnson Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age - Duncan Watts Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means for Business, Science, and Everyday Life - Albert-laszlo Barabasi Artificial Life - Steven Levy The Four Steps To The Epiphany - Steve Blank The World is Flat - Thomas Friedman not a book, but the various writings of Douglas Engelbart - http://www.dougengelbart.org/library/library.html Glasshouse - Charles Stross Permutation City - Greg Egan Neuromancer - William Gibson The Shockwave Rider - John Brunner The Society of Mind - Marvin Minsky…

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality by Eliezer Yudkowsky These are the most intelligent and well written books I've ever read. Authors are amazing at thinking clearly, and expressing their ideas. Stories are fantastic, and the author's philosophies are amazing and mind-expanding.

Just finished atlas shrugged. It got a little long, but for the 1st 80% of it I was pretty engrossed by the plot line, themes and all aside. I enjoyed it

Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand. Really enjoying it. Interesting how certain times can shape the perspective of the roles of society, companies and government. Before that I read the entire Game of Thrones series. Not really worth the time invested if you ask me, but it was fun nonetheless. Might be one of those few books where watching their TV version is more enjoyable (disclosure: haven't watched the series). On the technical side, I'm trying to read Google's papers once in a while. Good mixture of theoretical background with practical approaches.

For me the main thing that Atlas Shrugged made me extend my conception of civil disobedience to economic laws. I believed that civil disobedience against for eg racial segregation laws is morally correct. Atlas Shrugged made me agree that in some cases, economic law can be unjust as well, and it would be moral to disobey it. It did so by presenting a fictional instance of unjust economic laws. At least I read it as pure fiction - whether such unjust laws actually exist anywhere in the world is, I think, best treated as a completely separate question.

I appreciate the thoughtfulness of this response. I spent my high school junior year of english reading most of Rand and writing a 30 page paper on her. She has some very useful and powerful insights - but beyond my initial enthusiasm I grew to find her morally repulsive. There is some really weird shit in there like her constant need to be submissive to powerful men. Still, 20ish years later I'm a designer, engineer and entrepreneur and I find myself often referring to moments and characters in her books. However, I find it slightly upsetting that Atlas Shrugged is so often on people's #1 list.

Atlas Shrugged is indeed mind blowing. The reason is because you can actually see this sort of thing happening (depending on where you are, in my case, Brazil). It gave me a new respect for entrepreneurs.

Not the GP but here is my answer. NOTE1: spoiler alert. NOTE2: please don't think of me as some heartless Objectivist - I have adjusted my views since I read it about 10 years ago but at the time, the following points were earth-shaking revelations to me: * It revealed to me how influence peddlers in society use a combination of coercion and guilt to suppress an individual's individuality * It revealed that these "thugs" are interested in suppressing your thoughts and controlling your money. I read this book during the Bush years and the suppression of speech in the name of "patriotism" rang true, while prior regimes' punitive taxation policies also rang true as meeting Rand's definition of thugs. * She basically posits that an individual's greatest purpose of existence is to create and to do the best for themselves that they can.…

Really a tie between Blink, and Atlas Shrugged.

Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand also, not a book but very good "The last question" Isaac Asimov [1] [1] http://www.multivax.com/last_question.html

"Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality" by Eliezer Yudkowsky - the most brilliant book I've read this year. I wish I'd read it 10 years ago. And Atlas Shrugged - controversial, I know, a lot of people here hate it for some reason, but it was incredibly influential on me, inspired my passion for entrepreneurship and science and philosophy. Still is one of the best books I am aware of. If I could send 2 books back in time to the 14-year-old me - these would be it.

Currently reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and Exploding the Phone By Phil Lapsley. Atlas Shrugged is an amazing account ofIndustry and government. Lapsleys book is a bit dry but it's a quick read and very informative

Meditations (Marcus Aurelius) - incredibly clear ideas probably clear-up 80% of issues you have with everyday life The Bible (& The Gnostic Gospels) - I love the idea that Jesus was a real guy who (literally) petrified his childhood playmates because they "vexed" him by dispersing his anti-gravity water :) Atlas Shrugged - no excuses Self and Others - personal pyschology Seth Speaks - a lady channels an interdimensional being The Road Less Travelled - a psychoanalyst's memoirs Letters to a Young Artist - encouragement for going your own way, a series of letters The Alchemist - help you read the signs from the heart of the World for your own path An Introduction to Zen Buddhism, et al (T. Suzuki) - really interesting, non-duality, higher third unification of opposites Hear the Wind Sing (Murakami) - really bizarre and pure, his first one written late nights at kitchen table after working in a bar, before he became famous Rich Dad Poor Dad - solid advice Discrete Maths (Rosen) - interesting and very learnable, a great reference An Imaginary Life (Malouf) - great clarity of writing The Solid Mandala (Patrick White) - amazing observation of people

Here's my usual list of recommendations, the best books I've read in the past 5 years. Fiction: - Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality If you know nothing about this book you might naturally hesitate to read "Harry Potter fanfiction" and assume that it's dumb/horrbile, but it's not. Just suspend your disbelief and read the first 5-10 chapters. Trust me, it's brilliant, hilarious, and life-changing. - Atlas Shrugged Controversial, I know, a lot of people here hate it for some reason, but it was incredibly influential on me, inspired my passion for entrepreneurship and science and philosophy. Still is one of the best books I am aware of. Nonfiction: - Hackers and Painters by Paul Graham Also a collection of his essays that you can find on github. He is one of the most clever writers I am aware of, but I assume you know that, since you're on HN. - "On Intelligence" by Jeff Hawkins This book explains in simple terms a very awesome and elegant theory on how mind works. Incredibly fascinating, I've learned a lot from it and it explains a lot of things, and will change the way you think about thinking process. - The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins…

I started reading "Atlas Shrugged" after reading about Peter Thiel's libertarian views. I'm thoroughly enjoying it!

Read: Ayn Rand - We The Living Currently Reading: Ayn Rand - Atlas Shrugged Honestly loving Atlas Shrugged, but We The Living is easily my favorite book I have ever read. It has deeply affected how I think about life and I share many philosophical beliefs with Rand, would highly highly recommend.

Atlas Shrugged.

Not a book, but the essay "Conscience of a Hacker" has never been far from my mind. In middle-school, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Starship Troopers started a fairly strong libertarian bend as well as a somewhat antiauthortarian In high-school, Atlas Shrugged gave me a clear vision of how important it was to create things with the skills I'd learned, and how naked self-interest could shape a society. In college, Pump Six illustrated the failings of "In the future, it's going to be even more awesome to be rich and white". After college, The Jungle showed me both the importance of social safety nets and how easily people who say "I'll just work harder" get screwed by the system--any system. Makers gave me a better appreciation for taking care of my self and my body. ~ It's important, I think, to constantly be reading new things and taking in new ideas; had I stopped with Atlas Shrugged, for example, I'd probably be a lot different (and more naive) than I am today.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand 1984 by George Orwell

On the cause and mitigation of collapses, my humble opinion is that a culture of technical ambition and inquiry is likely to be as important as specific knowledge. You might want to look at what kinds of people (culturally and ethnically) are behind most innovation and engineering, and look at the differences and influences there. (It may be interesting to look at the historical trend of their power, as well, for futurological purposes.) If the culture that produces civilization stays around through a collapse, there probably is less to worry about than if that culture doesn't survive. Thus among your important books may be some of the books of industrial culture, like Atlas Shrugged, most good science fiction, some enlightenment philosophy and poetry, Paul Graham's writing, etc.

I have never heard of any public highschool that views Atlas Shrugged as critical reading It's (been) required reading at West Point, amongst other places in the US. High-school reading lists are probably poor indicators: Plato, Nietzche, and Kant would be Atypical if not unheard of (if that is your standard). Atlas shrugged has other interesting reasons to read it, however. Its main theme is actually dealing with assholes at work. Academics are embarrased by it, because its filled with "non-collegial" behaviour. But that just means they don't get out much. Economics as a field which assumes opportunistic and deceitful behaviour are non-events. Atlas Shrugged is a great reminder of the fallacy in that. A typical Economist would consider Rand a "Crackpot", for using opportunistic and deceitful behaviour as basis for an empirical philosophy. But consider that lawyers get paid to write contracts to mitigaet the very dangers that economists assume away. Your Lawyer will tell you...never trust an Economist...theyre all crackpots and live in Ivy towers. =D…

Atlas Shrugged The Fountainhead (both by Ayn Rand)

The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Those are the two to start with. If you like those, check out some of her nonfiction books: The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism, Philosophy: Who Needs It, and Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology (these are but a few - Rand wrote a long series of nonfiction books). Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist by Tara Smith (a philosophy professor at UT-Austin) is excellent because it unpacks Ayn Rand's ethical system in an academic style. Finally, Leonard Peikoff's Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand gives a comprehensive view of Rand's entire philosophy. Light reading (not by Objectivist authors, and not in any particular order): Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture by David Kushner The Soul of A New Machine by Tracy Kidder The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA by James Watson What Do You Care What Other People Think?: Further Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard Feynman Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard Feynman

Aaaah, a couple of ones that jump to mind: Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. I prefer the latter, but they're both great books. I discovered Rand later in life, after a lot of my beliefs were probably already pretty well locked in, but her outlook certainly resonates with me, and the inspiration I found in her books helps nudge me in the direction of truly to live my life more fully as my life, not someone else's idea of what my life should be. The Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins. I was already a borderline atheist anyway, although I tended to use the term agnostic to avoid arguing with friends & family, considering that I live in the Bible Belt. But Dawkins' book showed me a counter argument to the "irreducible complexity" argument that made sense on a very fundamental level, and IR was one of the last things that kept even a vestige of "mystical" thought alive in me. After reading this book, I felt very comfortable in being an atheist, and I also decided to quit dodging the issue and start telling people that I'm atheist, whether they like it or not. Also, see above: I'm not interested in living a life that's about trying to please other people. I get one…

Sophie's World: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophies_World Atlas Shrugged.

Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand The Four Steps To The Epiphany - Steve Blank Blue Ocean Strategy - W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne Business Model Generation - Alexander Osterwalder

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

Atlas Shrugged is a must read for any entrepreneur.

Mine are : Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, I just love this book! Greatest Trade Ever by Gregory Zuckerman. And I read manga , so include One Piece as well :D

Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand

Currently reading: The girl who kicked the hornet's nest Top Favorites: Count of Monte Cristo, The three musketeers, Sherlock Homes and the Hound of Baskersville, Atlas Shrugged, The Client

Just now I'm reading something I wanted to read for a long time: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The next will be Through the Looking Glass, same author. Amongst the last few books I read, I recommend Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five, Marlen Haushofer - The Wall (although this will be too kafkaesque for some), Fahrenheit 451. I do love Jules Verne as well. Atlas Shrugged should be known to anyone around here, I guess.. Relating to Atlas Shrugged: Nietzsche - Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Both books were very influential to me when I was younger.

Atlas Shrugged.

The Biology of Belief by Bruce H. Lipton The Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand The Attractor Factor by Joe Vitale The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz

Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead, and Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, by Ayn Rand. To a lesser extent, The Double Helix, by James D. Watson.

I can think of a handful of books that have had a major impact on me. Off the top of my head: Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury The Game - Neil Strauss The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand Four Steps to the Epiphany - Steve Blank Business @ The Speed of Thought - Bill Gates The Art of the Start - Guy Kawasaki

Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand), In Memory Yet Green/In Joy Still Felt (Isaac Asimov), The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (Robert Heinlein). Those books are probably what made me into a self-sufficient human being who wants to stand on his own and keep living the best he can.

Atlas Shrugged Mediocre novel, tremendous ideas. The prose is a slog but worth it. http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Shrugged-Ayn-Rand/dp/0452011876/

Another vote for Atlas Shrugged. And like you, I found it put a lot of things I already felt, properly, albeit at times rather verbosely. Along with this, I would insist on The Law, by Frederic Bastiat. Written in 1850, this book still wows me.

The Gay Science - Nietzsche - Age 16 I and Thou - Martin Buber - Age 18 Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand - Age 17

Atlas Shrugged. I'm not a Rand groupie but seeing some of the core ideas of what I always felt but never could quite articulate literally changed me as a person.

Atlas Shrugged. It would have fired me up to start something.

I loved that Rand "quote" too, when I saw it. Reading Atlas Shrugged made me an asshole for at least 2 weeks - I remember some stormy arguments with my flatmates over drinks. As polemic it's amazing; as a moral code it's callous.

Here's a few I've really liked that have a broader subject matter than only what you asked for. I figure that if you like to read you'd like these books. --- NON-FICTION --- Darkness Visible A Mathemematician's Apology Omnivore's Dilemma Fermat's Enigma The Code Book Born to Run Judgement of Paris Siddhartha Killing Pablo The Victorian Internet Lone Survivor I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman Papillon Into Thin Air Born on a Blue Day Touching the Void Got Fight The Conquest of Happiness --- FICTION --- Switch Bitch Lost Horizon The Cuckoo's Egg The Simlarillion The Time Traveler's Wife The Alchemist The Count of Monte Cristo A Canticle for Leibowitz Neverwhere My Uncle Oswald Stories of Your Life and Others Invisible Cities Life of Pi Atlas Shrugged --- WALL STREET / FINANCE --- When Genius Failed Liar's Poker Buffett (Lowenstein) Bull! Black-Scholes and Beyond (textbook) Fixed Income Securities (textbook) The Road to Serfdom The Smartest Guys in the Room Fortune's Formula The Fourth Turning Inside the House of Money --- ENTREPRENEURSHIP / COMPUTERS (non-textbook) --- Masters of Doom It's Not About the Bike Dot. Bomb Founders at Work The PayPal Wars…

Another lovely counterpoint to Ayn Rand is "Sewer Gas and Electric" by Matt Ruff. It is absurdist science fiction that is hilarious and full of fascinating characters. I really enjoy Atlas Shrugged as well, I've read the whole book twice, actually. But I don't believe it is a good code to live by. My favorite quite about her books comes from The Daily Show. On the back of America The Book there is a fake blurb from Rand: "just like one of my books, reading this book will make you an asshole for two weeks." Her books are seductive because they intentionally oversimplify life. Her characters are not realistic and are completely binary. Everyone is either a superhero or a weasel. This makes for entertaining reading, but not much else. Read "Crossing to Safety" by Wallace Stegner. It is a brautiful book about an intense relationship forged between two couples. It's my favorite thing I've read recently.

Can't believe this hasn't been listed yet: Atlas Shrugged http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Shrugged-Ayn-Rand/dp/0452011876

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0300087012 I read this after listening to the following lecture: http://arc-tv.com/inspiring-heroes-great-leaders%E2%80%94fre... (http://arc-tv.com/inspiring-heroes-great-leaders%E2%80%94frederick-douglass/). His strength of character allowed him to escape slavery and abolish the practice in the United States. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand: http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0452011876/ Don't buy the mass-market paperback, the writing and margins are so small that it is a pain to read. Spend a little extra for the larger version I linked to.

She was kind of looney (if you take what she writes at face value) but she does have some interesting ideas, which can changes your outlook on your life. But no you don't shock me by not having read it - I specifically said that most people would have read it, which means that it may not make as good a suggestion as, something that is less well known.

Atlas Shrugged

"Siddhartha", "Steppenwolf" - by Herman Hesse. "Atlas Shrugged" - by Ayn Rand. "Mrityunjay" - by Sivaji savant (originally in marathi/hindi language.. based on the character of Karna from Mahabharata.Not very sure how good the english translation is though.The title means - he who has conquered Death.)

Atlas Shrugged bu Ayn Rand http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_Shrugged

Atlas Shrugged - finally got around to reading it after dozens of recommendations from good friends. Shocking how relevant and prophetic it is, especially with respect to the events of 2009.

1. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand 1. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury And, sorry, but I have 3 "number 1 fav" books: 1. 1984 by George Orwell

Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand. Still not sure about the second one. :-)

Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand Firestar, Michael Flynn

Finishing "Atlas Shrugged". While ideas and the spirit of the book have aged only slightly, the way of writing seems way too pretentious for our times. But overall the book is interesting. From historic and ideological point of view.

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand Much of what makes an audiobook great is the reader's grasp of the material. Both of these books are great works of literature, but the skill of the reader makes them even better as audiobooks.

Star Trek, Plays by George Bernard Shaw, Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged, Firefly

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Technically, it's sci-fi. Neuromancer a close second.

The Fabric of Reality - David Deutsch Godel, Escher, Bach - Douglas Hoftstadter Karl Popper's books (too many to list) The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand

For sheer enjoyment (measured in how many times I've re-read them, at least at various times in my life): Heinlein's _The Door into Summer_. Connie Willis' _Bellwether_ (these can be funny, right?). Ayn Rand's _Atlas Shrugged_ (more in my youth than today, but I can probably still recite passages by heart). Non-fiction: Gerry Weinberg's _Secrets of Consulting_. Lynn Truss' _Eats Shoots & Leaves_.

Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)