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• Ayn Rand, a Russian native, was an author and philosopher credited with founding the philosophy of Objectivism.

  In 2009, Rand's 1957 book, Atlas Shrugged became an Amazon.com bestseller as the fictional story she described in her novel, government control of American companies and banks, mirrored in some aspects the reality of 2008-2009 marked with government corporate bailouts and economic stimulus plans.AJC: Atlas Shrugged Riding High (April 27, 2009

  
  

• Fast Facts

  1. Born: 1905
  2. Died: 1982
  3. Born: St. Petersburg, Russia
  4. Lived in Russia through the Bolshevik Revolution (1917)
  5. Arrived in United States in 1926
  6. Moved to Hollywood to become a screenwriter in 1920s
  7. First novel: We the Living (1936)
  8. Fountainhead published: 1943
  9. No. of copies of Fountainhead sold since publication: 1 million +
  10. Philosophical influences: Nietzsche, Kant, Aristotle
  11. 1957: Atlas Shrugged publishedCNN: Atlas Shrugged Author Sees Resurgence (April 27, 2009)
  12. 2008: Atlas Shrugged sold 200,000 copiesCNN: Atlas Shrugged Author Sees Resurgence (April 27, 2009)
  13. Atlas Shrugged has been an Amazon.com top 50 best seller for more than a month during the Spring on 2009CNN: Atlas Shrugged Author Sees Resurgence (April 27, 2009)
  14. "Atlas Shrugged sold over 200,000 copies between January and April 2009CNN: Atlas Shrugged Author Sees Resurgence (April 27, 2009)

• Objectivism

  In her foreword to Atlas Shrugged, Rand described her philosophy in these terms: "My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute." Critics of Objectivism feel it encourages selfishness and egoism. Rand has a large following in the business community; former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan delivered lectures on Objectivism in the early 1970s and was a member of Rand's inner circle.

• Atlas Shrugged Synopsis

  • In Atlas Shrugged, a group of skilled and wealthy individualists go on strike and vanish in protest of government intervention in business. Railroad heiress Dagny Taggart and steel tycoon Hank Rearden, observing people whom they respect and admire as peers of ability, are trying to figure out what is going on.

  Taggart and Rearden meet John Galt, "an engineer who had been elevated to legendary status by stopping the motor of the world in encouraging other individualists to drop out, and who delivers the novel's showstopping 50-page speech -- an expansive summary of Rand's philosophy."CNN: Atlas Shrugged Author Sees Resurgence (April 27, 2009)

  
  Rand's opus also demonstrated little regard for corporations, as their interests were presented as oppositional to those people who had the knowledge and skill necessary to innovate. She referred in the book to the relationship of corporate lobbyists and politicians as the "politics of pull", where who a person knew in power had less weight than their ability or knowledge.

• Atlas Shrugged The Film

  • During the 1970s and 1990s, the possibilities of a miniseries adaptation emerged and Albert S. Ruddy, the producer behind The Godfather, expressed interest in developing a film version.

  • In 2006, interest of a film adaptation rose again with rumors of Angelina Jolie signed on to play Rand's heroine, rail magnate Dagny Taggart. Russell Crowe and Brad Pitt were also rumored to be attached to the project by as of the beginning of 2009, the status of the film unknown.CNN: Atlas Shrugged Author Sees Resurgence (April 27, 2009)

• Related Pages on Mahalo

  Russia | Federal Reserve | Atlas Shrugged | The Fountainhead | Alan Greenspan | Nietzsche | Kant | Aristotle | Automaker Bailout | AIG Bailout | Mortgage Bailout Plan | Bank of America | Bailout Bill Passes | Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 | Bailout Bill Text | Black Monday 2008 | 2008 Economic Stimulus Plans

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