| Author | Message | ||
     Spatten1 |
Moxnix: +1 Greenspan has lamented that he ignored the housing bubble, which in turn drove the economy to an artificially high level of overall demand under his watch. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
You think her english is tough. I have Atlas Shrugged in cyrillic, I havent made it past page ten. It is dictionary intensive, she is a vocabulary builder for sure. | ||
| Boltrider |
A bit ironic that Greenspan wrote a paper back in the '60s in strong support of hard currency. Ron Paul has talked a little bit about the conversations he's had with Greenspan and his penchant for flip-flopping. He said it was much like the typical politics of the public figure who says one thing to you in private, but then turns around and says something completely different when the cameras start rolling. | ||
| Bigdaddy |
Very tough read, but worthwhile. If you can make it all the way on AS then The Fountainhead will be a cake read...good too. | ||
| Wastegate |
Reindog needs to spend less time on Arfcom  | ||
| Strato9r |
oh, yeah, the speeches..........not only Galt's radio broadcast, but Francisco's cocktail party monologue. Yeah, the word "verbose" may apply. I always liked the "Henry Reardon" character; he said a lot more by what he did, standing by his principals to the last straw. And that Wyatt fellow, there is a great example of the ultimate flip off to forced social controls; torching YOUR own oil fields..... | ||
| Lemonchili_x1 |
I've never made it past about half way of Atlas Shrugged... one day I'll give it another shot. I'm currently finding my B'day/Xmas presents much easier to read - Lynn Goldsmiths pics of The Police 1978-1983, and "Open Up and Bleed", the Iggy Pop biography.  | ||
| Pso |
Read all of her works. Good read. Favorite book is still "Catch 22" I read it evry several years when I start to take myself and life too seriously. | ||
| 99savage |
Will have to re-read. The part that I found most memorable was the young, minor league, railroad scheduler who had the weight of the world placed on his shoulders when none of the important people would make a decision & passed off the problems downhill. - He had to fail no matter what decision he made. He made a decision & a lot of people died. - We see that in the headlines almost daily. | ||
| Reindog |
Oh oh, "Atlas Shrugged" isn't reading as fiction. Pretty good so far but I've only touched the surface. How LONG did it take you guys to read this sucker? wsj article "Rand, who had come to America from Soviet Russia with striking insights into totalitarianism and the destructiveness of socialism, was already a celebrity. The left, naturally, hated her. But as recently as 1991, a survey by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club found that readers rated "Atlas" as the second-most influential book in their lives, behind only the Bible. For the uninitiated, the moral of the story is simply this: Politicians invariably respond to crises -- that in most cases they themselves created -- by spawning new government programs, laws and regulations. These, in turn, generate more havoc and poverty, which inspires the politicians to create more programs . . . and the downward spiral repeats itself until the productive sectors of the economy collapse under the collective weight of taxes and other burdens imposed in the name of fairness, equality and do-goodism." And AS was written in 1957. Oh oh! | ||
| Reindog |
As usual, I am astonished at the diversity and literacy of the Badweb community. I assumed this thread would quickly swirl down to the archives but a lot of Badwebbers have already munched on this tome. Some have found nourishment, others indigestion. I can imagine Erik Buell has already checked it out, at least the Cliff Notes version. EB could easily be a character in this book...."Who is Erik Buell?" "Catch-22" is one of my favorite books of all time. (Message edited by reindog on January 02, 2010) | ||
| Nik |
I can imagine Erik Buell has already checked it out, at least the Cliff Notes version. EB could easily be a character in this book...."Who is Erik Buell?" I personally think Howard Roark is a better analogue. The first time through it took me a full year to read. | ||
| Bigdaddy |
John Galt Motorcycles just doesn't sound right. AS took me 5 or 6 weeks the first time. | ||
| Milt |
Would Erik come to your house and blow up your bike because Harley made him use their engine? Just asking. | ||
| Nik |
Why, its exactly has he designed it? It's even got his name on the airbox. (Message edited by nik on January 02, 2010) | ||
| Nik |
And what exactly is your problem? Yes, all of her books are filled with a healthy does of violence. They are fiction. It is used as an illustrative tool to convey her philosophy through extreme examples of human behavior. | ||
| Reindog |
I'm on page 55 and by the sound of the way this thread is headed, the fun has just begun! The characters (Jim and Dagney Taggert, Henry Reardon) seem a bit one-dimensional but are presented in a way to define their philosophical stances. I am looking forward to the looter Obama coming up in a few chapters. | ||
| Bikertrash05 |
Reindog needs to spend less time on Arfcom What is Arfcom?  | ||
| Strato9r |
Bwahahaaa! Hey, Chili! I got "Open up and Bleed for X-mas too!!! | ||
| Milt |
One of my Buells is not as designed. I have defiled it with aftermarket exhaust, handlebars and so forth. Despite my transgressions, I have no fear that Mr. Buell will act like an impetuous two year old and destroy my private property. Erik Buell is a great engineer, and by all reports a heck of a nice guy. I just think that comparing him to character in pulp novel does him a great injustice. ----------------------------------------- Sorry for the flame. As for Erik's reading preferences, let's ask him at homecoming. | ||
| Reindog |
'... as recently as 1991, a survey by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club found that readers rated "Atlas" as the second-most influential book in their lives, behind only the Bible.' You might disagree philosophically with AS but I would hardly characterize it as a so called "pulp novel". Why is there such a propensity to denigrate what one disagrees with instead of debating it's merits? This ain't exactly a Mickey Spillane novel. There is renewed public interest in AS because of the Great Recession and the Socialist takeover of government. If a film version comes out in 2011, then I suspect it will play a part in the 2012 presidential elections. Conservatives will have intellectual ammunition that is relatively palatable and we can begin the process of continuing the Reagan revolution started in the 80s. (Message edited by reindog on January 03, 2010) | ||
| Slaughter |
... and the Fountainhead. BOTH good reads (and it has been 3 decades since I'd read both) | ||
| Forerunner |
Been awhile, but I don't remember anything about the industrialists destroying any private property other than their own. The book is very heavy handed and over the top in its descriptions of both sides to make its point. Nels | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
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| Ferris_von_bueller |
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| Midknyte |
If a film version comes out in 2011... http://www.objectivistcenter.org/cth-13-1759-.aspx | ||
| Midknyte |
Read it this past summer. It helped me re-tune my thoughts and how guilt played too large a part in my financial situation, and to shed that and move on. Other concepts, like self-worth is completely your own responsibility. Kinda disappointed in the ending though. For all the build-up, the ending, once you got past "the speech", was too quick and succinct. I expected and hoped for more violence and calamity before things turned around. I don't believe a society as a whole can learn its' lesson so easily... And Dagny as a central character was more of a stubborn twat than any sort of heroine. It's easy to say that it ought to be required reading, but I don't think it would work on anyone who is not a "good" person already and just needs a boost. (Message edited by midknyte on January 04, 2010) | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
Watch the Phil Donahue interview. She makes some valid points but I believe she comes up short in the implementation of how we get from here to where she thinks we ought to be. A tad naive. | ||
| Aesquire |
I enjoyed "shrugged" warts and all. It's not gospel, as some people take it, since it's actually social science fiction in the traditional mold. Understand, besides the crud horror monster stuff that syfy ( idiot P.R. jerk name change to make it "more accessible" ) shovels as the movie of the day, Science Fiction is often a tool to put a moral or social problem on display in a way that does not invite attack from the "establishment" or church. The use of aliens as metaphors for parts of our own societies continues today, see "District 9". Sometimes the Soviet concept of "politically correct" - suppressing freedom of speech is so strong that ONLY sci-fi can touch certain issues. That has been true for decades, alas. I would commend the works of Mack Reynolds to you. He wrote socioeconomic fiction, sometimes in terms that could only be explored in a future sense. Plus, a lot of it is just plain fun. Other works, like "Black Mans Burden" address issues not yet allowed in publik schools. | ||
| Eryngium |
My all-time favorite piece of graffiti was spray-painted on a train car: "Who is John Galt?" I disagree with what I saw as the central theme of the book, but loved seeing her words rolling by - on a train of all places. Thought-provoking graffiti from a well-read artist; ain't THAT America? |
