Howard Roark for he is the strong, silent type with rock solid principles. No ego, an ethical man.

I can only pick one? There are so many... but for the sheer and profound effect one book character can have on the lives of so many... girls...

#1 - Dagny Taggart... Overcomes massive odds, has to work from behind enemy lines and succeeds, and of course, a woman executive... 125% goal focused. Powerful, determined, and still feminine. Tahnk about it - a woman executive thriving in a mans world? In the 1950's?? Yeah... Go Dagny Go...

I am sure that he would have under different circumstances. Still, he had no choice. If he had done that he would have just turned himself into a new loot supply for the people who were actually destroying the world. As such it became a moral choice. To either provide loot for the looters, or not. A lot of time is spent saying that he was destroying the world. I would disagree. He didn't destroy the world. He simply didn't do anything to slow down the ones who were destroying the world. He accelerated their progress by showing others that they didn't need to sacrifice themselves trying to slow the progress and prevent the inevitable. As for creating a Silicon Valley of energy.. If their had been a next book, that would have no doubt been in there. We spend a lot of time thinking about what happens in the book. I kind of like to imagine the world that was born out of the ashes of the looter states and what would need to be done to rebuild on a solid foundation.

Howard Roark. The introduction of positive egoism is wonderful. No politics. No world issues. Just the right of a person to their intellectual property the same as to physical property. His courtroom speech is jaw dropping in it's simplicity. Now, if we are talking only about Atlas Shrugged, the list goes on endlessly.

In no particular order, Hank, Dagny and Ragnar. They all had very similar ideas, but, different approaches to the same end. I can't make one more important than the others.

Wow, my bad I thought we were talking about Looney Tunes characters.

It was a tough call for me between Rearden and d'Anconia. d'Anconia has a lot of chemical engineering (at its earliest roots) in him, and in addition to being a materials engineer, I am also a chemical engineer. d'Anconia's money speech is priceless.

Did you notice perhaps that most of us are choosing characters out of AS?

So many that I cannot choose just one.

Ragnar Danneskjöld - pistol packing philosopher!!!

Yes, and unlike Boxer, he rebelled and defected. And it was a near thing, too--for the knacker's van was already pulling in.

His shrug was monumental precisely because the looters depended on him. Jim Taggart's plea to Dagny to bring him back, and her refusal, were priceless.

This is my choice too. And for those exact reasons. Knowing (as Reardon) that my employees were the real strength of the steel poured is a very Reardon instinct. His men, in the end, were more important than the plant they worked in. That if you have "men of ability" you can always make the steel you need. While Hanks journey was a journey of self exploration, beyond individual research, it takes more than one man to build a railroad, a factory or a skyscraper. Those men, each on their own journey, when working together can build great things.

Tem;

From the perspective of dramatics either Dagny or Hank is our hero precisely because, as you say, they embark on personal voyages of discovery and discover not only the truth about the world in which they live, but the truth about themselves.

I'm partial to Hank because he's honorable, he fights on and fulfills his obligations, even though (don't tell JBrenner) this makes him look a bit of a dolt for not catching on as quickly as the others.

But, because he struggled on so long, his shrug seemed more important than the others, as though, if he'd kept struggling on, so would the counterfeit reality of the takers have continued.

He was Boxer, not the smartest animal on the farm but, without whom the others' counterfeit life could not go on.

Francisco Domingo Carlos Andres Sebastian d'Anconia.

Dashing, brilliant, passionate, animated, mysterious, romantic, accomplished, dedicated, and masterful.

As a materials scientist and engineer and co-founder of a couple of companies, I am partial to Hank Rearden.

Henry Rearden.

He is the true hero of Atlas Shrugged. The Triumvirs of Atlantis are "anti-villains"--men who fight in a good cause, with a single-mindedness of purpose that usually marks a villain. Henry Rearden is a hero precisely because he makes a voyage of self-discovery. He must discover, for himself, where justice, and his duty, truly lie.

When he takes part in the rescue of John Galt, he also demonstrates his critical role in collapsing the looters' state--by refusing to prop it up anymore. What John Galt couldn't tell him because he dared not approach, what Ragnar Danneskjöld wasn't in a good spot to tell him, and what Francisco d'Anconia tried and failed to tell him, he finally figured out for himself. And that is: in a world that spat on reason, a multi-million-dollar business did not and could not mean anything. And in the end he took a lot of his workforce with him--others who understood this deal as well as he.

I wish Ayn had spent a bit more time on Ragnar's character. Had she, I'm certain I'd have found much more in common with him as a soldier and as a civilian. As it is I have to place him second to Hank Reardon.

Ragnar Danneskjöld, because he was willing to stick to his guns even in the face of is very respected friends protests. It is easy to ignore people you do not respect.

Definitely Hank Reardon, because for him, a deal is a deal.

"Walk boldly into the unknown"!
This is why my forehead slopes.....wouldn't change a moment of my life! Adversity forces growth.

Equality 7-2521...........EGO! (The Virtue of Selfishness)
Interesting that I took up my first leadership "position" within 2 months of reading Anthem.

Howard Roark, because he loved himself enough to never compromise..even though the world was against him for the very same reason.

My favorite is Equality 7-2521 because he refused to allow anyone to deny his curiosity, he had faith in himself and was brave enough to walk boldly into the unknown and seize his life.

He is my 2nd favorite character. One of these days I will find him.