Atlas Shrugged
First edition, 1957
Atlas Shrugged (1957) is Ayn Rand's fourth and final novel, nearly 1,200 pages in length and the fullest expression of her philosophy of Objectivism. Set in a near-future United States sliding toward economic collapse under an increasingly collectivist state, the novel follows railroad executive Dagny Taggart and steel magnate Hank Rearden as they struggle to keep their industries functioning while the productive minds of society mysteriously disappear. The central mystery, "Who is John Galt?", drives the narrative toward its famous resolution in Galt's sixty-page radio address, one of the longest polemical speeches in modern fiction, arguing for reason, individual rights, and laissez-faire capitalism against what Rand saw as the moral failures of collectivism and enforced altruism.
The novel has been enormously influential, particularly in libertarian and conservative circles, and remains one of the most widely read and debated American novels in publishing history. Admirers regard it as a foundational statement of radical individualism; critics have dismissed it as doctrinaire and dramatically overextended. Dust jacket design by George Salter. Adapted into a three-part film series beginning in 2011.
Hardcover. First Edition, First Printing. Octavo, cloth. New York: Random House, 1957. #10759.
An exceptionally sharp copy, fine in dust jacket with only the slightest edge wear, a few tiny nicks, and a short closed tear to the front panel. Bright and highly presentable, uncommon in this condition.
The novel has been enormously influential, particularly in libertarian and conservative circles, and remains one of the most widely read and debated American novels in publishing history. Admirers regard it as a foundational statement of radical individualism; critics have dismissed it as doctrinaire and dramatically overextended. Dust jacket design by George Salter. Adapted into a three-part film series beginning in 2011.
Hardcover. First Edition, First Printing. Octavo, cloth. New York: Random House, 1957. #10759.
An exceptionally sharp copy, fine in dust jacket with only the slightest edge wear, a few tiny nicks, and a short closed tear to the front panel. Bright and highly presentable, uncommon in this condition.
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