Atlas Shrugged (edit title)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis

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Summary

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Cast of Characters/Important People

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• John Galt: The main character of the novel, John Galt is the man who dominates the action, though he doesn't appear until two-thirds of the way through the novel.
• Dagny Taggart: The "real" main character of the novel. :) She is the de-facto president of Taggart Transcontinental, the dominant railroad in the U.S.
• James Taggart: The President of Taggert Transcontinental Railway. He is Dagny's brother.

Memorable Quotes

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• “Who is John Galt?”

• “Pride is the recognition of the fact that you are your own highest value and, like all of man’s values, it has to be earned.”

• “It is not advisable, James, to venture unsolicited opinions. You should spare yourself the embarrassing discovery of their exact value to your listener.”

• “Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplacable spark. In the hopeless swamps of the not quite, the not yet, and the not at all, do not let the hero in your soul perish and leave only frustration for the life you deserved, but never have been able to reach. The world you desire can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.”

• “Integrity is the recognition of the fact that you cannot fake your consciousness, just as honesty is the recognition of the fact that you cannot fake existence.”

• “All work is creative work if done with a fully thinking mind.”

  John Galt

• “After a while he went back to his task; he decided that pain was not a valid reason for stopping.”

First Sentence

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Table of Contents

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Glossary

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• Destroyer: Dagny's term for John Galt, before she knows who he is. He is the man, she believes, who talks to businessmen who are besieged by the new policies of the government. They give up and retire, never to be seen again. She comes to believe that he cannot exist, for she leaves Taggart Transcontinental without being visited by "the destroyer".
• Looters: Rand's term for people, usually in the government, who take money away from the businesses which make it. It also applies to their stooges and to people, like Ivy Starnes, who seek to redistribute wealth by their own standards, and exploit the workers who are the best workers to support those in need.
• Objectivism: Ayn Rand's philosophy of personal and commercial freedom, with the achievement of the individual being the paramount moral goal. Objectivism holds that there is an external object reality outside of perception, and bases all rational beliefs from this starting point.
• Producers: Rand's name for people show are efficient and dedicated to their work. It especially applies to people who are the owners or originators of business that create money.

Errata

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Series

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Authors & Contributors

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1. Ayn Rand (Author)

Awards

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• Prometheus (1983: Hall of Fame Award Recipient)

More Books Like This

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Books with Additional Background Information

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Books That Influenced This Book

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Books Influenced by This Book

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