Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand
Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand
216 Rating(s)
List: $29.95 | Sale: $20.97
Club: $14.97

Atlas Shrugged

Author: Ayn Rand, Leonard Peikoff

Narrator: Scott Brick

Unabridged: 62 hr 57 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/01/2008

Categories: Fiction, Classic


Synopsis

Peopled by larger-than-life heroes and villains, charged with towering questions of good and evil, Atlas Shrugged is Ayn Rand’s magnum opus: a philosophical revolution told in the form of an action thriller—nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read.Atlas Shrugged is the "second most influential book for Americans today" after the Bible, according to a joint survey of five thousand people conducted by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club in 1991.In a scrap heap within an abandoned factory, the greatest invention in history lies dormant and unused. By what fatal error of judgment has its value gone unrecognized, its brilliant inventor punished rather than rewarded for his efforts?This is the story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world—and did. In defense of those greatest of human qualities that have made civilization possible, he sets out to show what would happen to the world if all the heroes of innovation and industry went on strike. Is he a destroyer or a liberator? Why does he have to fight his battle not against his enemies but against those who need him most? Why does he fight his hardest battle against the woman he loves? The answers will be revealed once you discover the reason behind the baffling events that wreak havoc on the lives of the amazing men and women in this remarkable book.Tremendous in scope and breathtaking in its suspense, Atlas Shrugged is Ayn Rand's magnum opus, which launched an ideology and a movement. With the publication of this work in 1957, Rand gained an instant following and became a phenomenon. Atlas Shrugged emerged as a premier moral apologia for capitalism, a defense that had an electrifying effect on millions of readers (and now listeners) who had never heard capitalism defended in other than technical terms.

About Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand (1905–1982) was born in Russia, graduated from the University of Leningrad, and came to the United States in 1926. She published her first novel in 1936. With the publication of The Fountainhead in 1943, she achieved a spectacular and enduring success, and her unique philosophy, Objectivism, gained a worldwide following.

About Leonard Peikoff

Leonard Peikoff is universally recognized as the preeminent Rand scholar writing today. He worked closely with Ayn Rand for thirty years and was designated by her as heir to her estate. He has taught philosophy at Hunter College, Long Island University, and New York University. Peikoff for many years lectured on Rand’s philosophy throughout the country. He lives in Southern California.

About Scott Brick

Scott Brick has narrated bestsellers and Pulitzer Prize winners for every major publisher, over 1000 titles since his debut in 1999, including Jurassic Park, The Hunt for Red October, In Cold Blood, and many more. In addition to two Grammy nominations, eight Voice Arts Awards, and over sixty Earphones Awards, he’s also received seven Audie Awards, including two for his work on the Dune saga. In 2004, AudioFile magazine named Brick “one of the fastest-rising stars in the audiobook galaxy,” and in 2017 he was an inaugural inductee into Audible’s Hall of Fame.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jennifer on February 06, 2008

This book really makes you take a good hard look at yourself and your behavior, which is why I think a lot of people don't like this book. It's a lecture and most people don't like to get lectured. I loved it. It gave me a good swift kick in the ass. While I've never been a "looter," I have made sev......more

Goodreads review by Christopher on December 04, 2013

As Ayn Rand's immortal opus, Atlas Shrugged, stands as a tome to a philosophy that is relevant today as it was in her time. Basically, the major moral theme is that there are two types of people in the world: the Creators and the Leeches. The Creators are the innovators who use the power of their wil......more

Goodreads review by Jason on July 09, 2007

Would you like to hear the only joke I've ever written? Q: "How many Objectivists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?" A: (Pause, then disdainfully) "Uh...one!" And thus it is that so many of us have such a complicated relationship with the work of Ayn Rand; unabashed admirers at the age of 19, un......more

Goodreads review by Manny on December 01, 2009

In some ways, this is a very bad book. The style is stiff and clunky, and the world-view she is trying to sell you has holes you could drive a train through. There is a nice putdown in One Fat Englishman. The main character has just been given a precis of Objectivism. He says "I bet I'm at least as......more

Goodreads review by Christopher on June 07, 2007

When my mother gave me this book and said, "I think you will like this; I read it over a vacation in a week when I was your age," I took one look at the massive text and couldn't believe it. She also said that I reminded her of the characters....a statement to this day I take pride in.... And that is......more


Quotes

“[A] vibrant and powerful novel of ideas.”

New York Herald Tribune

“Ayn Rand is destined to rank in history as the outstanding novelist and most profound philosopher of the twentieth century.”

New York Daily Mirror

“Narrator Scott Brick takes listeners on a journey so extraordinary they’ll hardly notice the book’s length. While his performance offers little in the way of theatrics, Brick is capable of garnering sympathy and, perhaps most importantly, devout attention for Rand’s plot and characters. On the surface, Brick’s voice is a cool, unrelenting force determined to capture every facet of Rand’s complex story. But amid his calm and collected delivery, he taps into a more colorful emotional palette that will keep listeners involved. Brick’s subtle delivery holds far more than meets the ear.”

AudioFile

“Atlas Shrugged is not merely a novel. It is also—or may I say: first of all—a cogent analysis of the evils that plague our society.”

Ludwig von Mises, economist and historian

“Countless individuals working to secure liberty have found inspiration in the works of Ayn Rand. With her unique ability to depict heroism, idealism, and romance behind the creativity of the individual, Rand inspires readers to come to the defense of free minds and free markets.”

Chip Mellor, Institute for Justice


Awards

  • National Book Award
  • Washington Post Pick