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RE: Books that inspired me #1: "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand
The only part of the book that I didn't like were the huge speeches. Especially the John Galt speech. Not that the speech itself wasn't good, or that I disagreed with it, it just went on for far to long. It was obvious that Ayn Rand wanted this piece to be not just a work of fiction, but a manifesto, and it was hampered in a few parts due to this.
Me too. And maybe it was important for her, that it is a really thick book. The critics of her style are having a point. But the critics of the idea seem not get the point of the book. It's a elaborated thought experiment.
For sure. I mean it has parallels to reality today.
(For instance, in Australia, the maritime and truckers unions lobbied for a change in coastal shipping laws which increased the cost of interstate transport to the point where it is cheaper to buy goods internationally and have it delivered than it is to buy it from a state away. )
My personal opinion is that it would have been better if she wrote the book for the sake of the story, then used it as a gateway to her more 'involved' work. It's hard to get people from the outside of a movement interested if the content is not initially easily consumable.