While I was in college, around 1976,the local library was having a sale of older books. I had heard of Atlas Shrugged, but knew very little about it. They had a copy for sale, and I have loved it ever since. It is scary to think how real it is.

I read Atlas Shrugged when I was in college. I was introduced to Ayn Rand by a friend of mine. I first read Anthem and Fountainhead. Then my senior year was Atlas Shrugged. I believe it was life changing because Ayn Rand so clearly depicted the evils of Socialism and how the looters resented the producers even while looting from them. I think this was done most clearly in the story of the three heirs of the 20th Century Motor Company and how they turned the company into a socialistic Eutopia. That was a great analogy for what is happening today.

it was less like regular fiction to me--different than allegory, even. maybe more like a book of examples, companion to a textbook. i remember sensing the philosophical framework in every paragraph. a lot of people i've met came to it fresh, or from The Fountainhead, (and most of those focused on the plot, skipped the speech, ignored the chapter titles, and didn't enjoy it much).

While growing up I would often hear my father say
"Use your common sense, reason, and think things through", and that always rang true to me. I am now 59. Last year as I was visiting with my dad(84) I commented on the sad state of our country's political direction. He said have I read Atlas Shrugged. I said "no , why"? .His answer was " when I was looking for an investor in my business I met Jerry Palmer". Palmer helped finance my dads business and was bought out
in year 6 of a 10 year plan. Palmer asked him "have you read Atlas Shrugged"? No was dad's reply
Palmer then said "I won't invest with anyone until they have read it" Jerry than walked to his car with my father he opened his trunk and handed a copy to him. There was a dozen copies in his car!
Fast forward 44 years and I went to the library and it was not available so I read Anthem. Upon returning Anthem, Atlas Shrugged was available. I checked it out and could hardly put it down. I immediately understood Why Jerry Palmer would require this as a foundation for a business partnership.
The story was very compelling. It was awe-inspiring to read Ayn's tremendous command of what was her 3rd language. As an artist I was transcended to the locations within the story fully appreciating the descriptive prose. It was easily the best book I had ever read. I than reread it out loud to my wife over the course of a few weeks. Next came Fountainhead I loved it as well. I picked up a copy of We the Living. I could not read it I tried a few pages and felt it was too depressing and that I had an idea of what was to come . I will read it. Likely sometime this fall. Reading Atlas Shrugged caused me to search out information about Ayn Rand and from that I found Galt's Gulch Online
It has been very informative and a pleasure to have civil discussions with the intelligent Objectivist's participating in a wide variety of topics. Thanks to all participants for your wisdom and knowledge.

I read Atlas Shrugged out loud to my wife it was not easy but I believe that the best rewards comes from work, valuable lessons require effort and thought.

So true. Some days are better than others.

I would say it's my defense against everyday life, but it's actually my defense against the irrational in everyday life.

Sarah, I also say the oath during the day and it helps me deal with everyday life.

It was during my junior year of High School and the woman I was dating turned me on to Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged". They both changed my life and how I looked at things. I could not put the book down especially "This Is John Galt Speaking". I had to have more....and then went on to read more of Ayn Rand's work. I have "Who Is John Galt" stickers on my car and posted at work. I have tried to live my life as close as possible to the quote - "I swear by my life, and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine". Life has always been a challenge, but with the ideas of "Atlas Shrugged" I have been able to make it to my 60's. I am proud to be a Gulcher. As a side note I wanted to married that woman right after high school but did not. We talked about marriage again after college. I was sadden to learn on Facebook that she passed away almost 2 years ago. Happy "Atlas Shrugged Day"

I actually read AS just before learning of the movie. I'd wanted to read it for years, but never made time to do so. I eventually read it on a e-reader, and couldn't put it down. My takeaway from the book was that we are very close to living in the times that Ayn Rand described.

Many have talked about Going Galt and developing a Gulch, and I have to say that I'm about ready! The outcome of the upcoming election will seal my readiness.

I had already read The Fountainhead, and decided to take on AS one summer. I remember thinking that the first couple of chapters were tedious. But I stayed with it. By the end of 100 pages I was hooked. I remember going to the beach and reading for hours, only to discover that I was sunburned on my shoulders and thighs (sitting in a chair). Since I completed AS the first time, I have re-read it three times more in its entirety--and one time while on vacation for a week--I read it out loud. Try that, and you will find deeper meanings everywhere--especially in Francisco's speech.

I remember that sense of 'discovery' as I read various parts. I remember thinking "Where has this been all my life?" and "Up to this point in my life, everything has been wasted." It was that real to me. I went to medical school and law school, so I am familiar with lots of reading and lots of work. But nothing could prepare me for the appetite that AS gave me--it made me want to understand how I could apply its principles to my life. Importantly, it shaped how I deal with others in my business.

Probably the most important thing it did for me was to make me realize that I no longer needed to waste time. And I am very frustrated when others waste my time. I expect a lot from people, now, and I anticipate that they expect a lot from me. And, that, my friends, is a good thing.

I was given the book December of 2009. I couldn't bring myself to take the first step of a journey of a thousand pages. Then, the movie came out, and I watched Part 1. I still didn't get started. Then I found the fifty disk audiobook in a library in Kissimmee, Florida. That made it much easier.

When you say you "had a different take on it than most", what do you mean?

Congrats on being named a semi finalist! If your essay is published somewhere let us know. I'd love to read it.

Was Atlas Shrugged the first Rand book you read?

I too read Atlas Shrugged in school. It was assigned as the summer reading book between sophomore and junior year. Unfortunately, I was new to the school district and found out about it 2 weeks before school started! Luckily, Atlas Shrugged really resonated with me so reading it quickly wasn't a problem. I think I lived with that book in front of my face for the entire 2 weeks.

Have any of your clients read Atlas Shrugged after you gave it to them?

I devote time to inspire a country where it is expected that 8th grade students have the interest, access, and freedom to read Atlas Shrugged or compelling and challenging literature of any stripe. When I was in 8th grade, and unfortunately largely still today, that is the exception not the rule. So it is with great appreciation that I look back on my 8th grade English teacher who handed me Atlas Shrugged and said "Try this one.". It might have been in an effort to get me off her back about new books to read, but I'll take it whatever her reason was.

I was blessed to be born with the innate interest to read it, but I was lucky to have the access and freedom from a teacher (I realized later, a fairly liberal teacher) who still cherished ideas,

I was not smart enough to have grasped Objectivism as a philosophy back in 8th grade, but I still remember my visceral reaction to the moochers. I knew who I identified with. But mostly I wanted to figure out how to run the world off static electricity. Still working on the motor. It was my second reading (later in high school) and third, fourth, and more readings in college after which the real message opened up for me.

That's my story, except to close with "Thanks Mrs. Thomas. I never had a chance to tell you how much you helped me that day in 8th grade."

My first experience with Atlas was via the audio book, while I started my career, which, then required me to drive 3-4 hours each day. After the first 3 hours I was hooked, and found myself pulling over to finish chapters before I stopped the playback. Now, I give a copy to each of my clients as we start working together and it the moral code with in as become the backbone for my business, my relationship with my customers and my business.

I first encountered "Atlas Shrugged" and Ayn Rand while a college freshman. The book flashed before me as I exclaimed to myself, "exactly!" Although sympathetic to the Randian principles since a kid, Atlas Shrugged and other of Rand's books, provided a system and structure to the ideas which guide my thinking to this day.

My first time reading Atlas Shrugged was an amazing, awe inspiring experience. I had been introduced to Anthem by my eighth grade English teacher (thank you, Mr. Boyden, if you're reading this). I went home that night and read the whole thing, and then immediately scoured my mother's bookshelves for The Fountainhead.
The Fountainhead took me a bit longer to digest and complete, but after I did that, I downloaded the Atlas Shrugged E book on kindle. I missed having the pages, feeling the physical possession of her words, but the story and the ideas were vivid and vibrant to me. I finally got through it, often after rereading the part where Galt meets Dagny, and entered the Anthem essay contest; after getting semi finalist, I finally got a physical copy of the book I loved. All of them have worn corners and well-broken spines; they are books that are read and applied.

I recite the oath every morning as a way to stave off frequent depressive episodes. Ayn Rand has given me hope through difficult times. And John Galt is my dream.

1985-1986. high school. i saw a pristine, untouched copy of "The Virtue of Selfishness" in the school's library. it was dated a few years before that, and had never been signed out. it took me the rest of the year to read and digest it, and i signed it back out numerous times. finally, it was in tatters. the librarian was a stern man, and he wouldn't let me purchase it. i expressed how important the book had become to me, but he forced me to turn it in on the last day before graduation. on graduation day, he gifted it to me, stamped "DISCARD."

pre-internet, i started the quest for more of Rand's work on foot. i eventually ended up with Atlas Shrugged, not knowing there were others considered easier reads. coming at it somewhat backwards as i did, i had a different take on it than most. it took me months, because i might read a single sentence before putting it down and taking a day to think about it and re-read something pertinent in my torn and taped-together copy of TVOS.

i spent the next couple years re-seeing and redefining my world through an Objectivist lens. i changed my major, my name, and many muddled things sorted themselves into crystalline order. i owe a great deal to Rand's works setting a powerful foundation for the rest of my life.