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(written 2/02)

Readng Atlas Shrugged while in Costa Rica (it took about a month) was a good idea -- being away from the commercialism of the USA whie learning the good in capitalism and selfishness. So much to say about these two books [Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead], suffice it to say I am no longer anti-corporate giant. I respect anyone who read all of Atlas Shrugged without vomiting all the philosophy that Rand shoved down their throat. 30-odd pages of nothing but John Galt spouting the philosophy we have already picked up on in the first 900 pages? Come on. Great plot though, very interesting hypothesis of what the USA would be like if all the entrepreneurs & big business owners went on "strike".

[note: reading my review of this six years later I have a very different take. I think there are some true innovators and heroes in the business world like Howard Roark, but most of the people in charge and making the money have nothing to do with entrepreneurship. They are often CEOs who turn over every eight years or so with a huge retirement package. Now I think Rand's books seem like neo-con meritocratic propaganda, making businesses and the market out to be miraculous and holy, ignoring the reality of how it affects our society when business is not regulated.]