Review of Atlas Shrugged

So I keep saying I'm going to better about making posts on this blog, and then I don't; but today I am going to make another post about a recent accomplishment.  I have read all of Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.  As almost anyone who will look at this knows I have been making some occasional posts on our other family blog - prayersforthefamily.blogspot.com and they have been about Melissa's accident and our little girl Ethne mostly.  I've posted a little bit about Ethne on this blog, but I decided to write about something else today. 

Atlas Shrugged is a book we purchased about 2 years ago after hearing a friend recommend it.  It was celebrating it's 50th year in print, so it seemed like it had to be good to last that long.  But after we got it I just never felt like I have the time to read it.  It's about 1,070 pages and typed in a small font, but by the time I did finish it, I was glad that I had read it. 

This book made it hard to listen to the news.  I would find myself listening to a headline about certain government regulations being imposed on prospering businesses and think, "Hey, that's whats happening in the book!" (with enthusiasm about making the connection) to, "Oh, that's what's happening in the book" (with a bit more terror).  So be prepared about what you will hear on the news while reading, because you will make connection.  Hopefully that doesn't mean we will go down a similar path. I figure that the best way to prevent it is to become aware of what is happening in our country.  I'm not going to get into a big political discussion about the right or the left; I'm just saying don't take other people's word as fact.  Go out, study, find facts for all sides, and gain an informed opinion.  Don't be afraid to get educated, read, and to grow.  Education seemed to be one of the themes of the book.  The people were treated as though they had no opinions and no education.  They were just to believe whatever they were told, but many of the different people you would meet knew better. 

In all, I recommend this book to everyone as an excellent read.  The story line is captivating, it will take you through every emotion from rage, to extreme happiness and everything in between.  Because it is divided into 3 parts, if you need to, take a break and read something else between each part - that's what I did.