Atlas Revisited

[Backlighting]

It's many years since I first read Atlas Shrugged and subsequently attended one of her lectures.

Since then I believe I've read everything AR published

She just makes sense.

Last week I ordered Atlas on-line and should receive it soon.

I'm looking forward to reading, or more specifically, re-discovering it.

Much older and hopefully somewhat wiser now, I expect to discover some new gems of

enlightenment not previously seen way back when.

Hello John Galt, let the journey begin!

[Danneskjold]

I started re-reading Atlas Shrugged up to the part where the John Galt Line was just finished and then I lent the book out to a friend. Re-reading the book was incredible. After you know the ending and have already read it you see how absolutely perfectly every part of the book fits together. I caught a lot of the stuff I had missed the first time through (especially since I read it the first time through in five days so half the time I was reading it was three in the morning).

[Chris Grieb]

Jeff; There are some readers who read it every year. I'm not one of these but it deserves a quick look every so often. There are some scenes that are just great.

[Backlighting]

A movie could/ should be made with just the John Galt Speech.

If I had the money I would print that speech as an ad in the NY Times Sunday edition every month.

[Chris Grieb]

Las Vegas; One of the reasons Objectivism has not reached more people is because of ideas like buying ads in the New York Times which reprint Galt's speech. The cost would be huge, the return negligible Knowledgeable people in advertising will tell you to avoid something called gray space. Huge numbers of people when the see lots of gray space they go another part of the paper. In the late 1960 Ted Turner put up billboards saying read Atlas Shrugged. I don't have any idea how successful those billboard were and obviously they didn't work ever with Ted Turner who gave a huge amount of money to the UN.

[davidmsc]

I read AS every few years, and am always pleasantly surprised to notice things that somehow flew under my radar in previous readings. Each time, however, I am amazed at Rand constructed the story and was able to integrate so many aspects of society, politics, art, philosophy, etc.

Also: never heard that tidbit about Ted Turner. I used to very much admire his maverick spirit, and his creation of the first all-news network, and his recent slams against religion.

[BaalChatzaf]

A movie could/ should be made with just the John Galt Speech.

If I had the money I would print that speech as an ad in the NY Times Sunday edition every month.

That would make most of the population doze off and fall asleep, leaving the country open to attack by aliens. Are you an alien?

Ba'al Chatzaf

[Chris Grieb]

There is a very short biography of Rand by Jeff Britting that has a picture of one of the billboards. In 1980 during the Libertarian Ed Clark's campaign Turner was approached. Clark had spoken against the reintroduction of draft registration. Ted Turner was totally for both draft registration and conscription itself

Edited June 22, 2007 by Chris Grieb

[Reidy]

Curious as to your source on the Turner billboards story. I never saw one or even heard of this until now.

Somewhat related: when The NYT Sunday book section gave a nasty review to For the New Intellectual and Branden's letter of reply was too long to publish, he printed it as an ad for NBI.

[Chris Grieb]

As I said there is a photo in Britting book.

In my previous post about Ted Turner Jimmy Carter had reintroduced draft registration.

[Chris Grieb]

The ad had to be purchased because the NYT refused to reprint the reply NB had written. The review was Sydney Hook who was I believe Barbara Branden's advisor at NYU.