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Atlas Shrugged
- Narrated by: Christopher Hurt
- Length: 52 hrs and 20 mins
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The Fountainhead
- Written by: Ayn Rand
- Narrated by: Christopher Hurt
- Length: 32 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the 20th century's most challenging novels of ideas, The Fountainhead champions the cause of individualism through the story of a gifted young architect who defies the tyranny of conventional public opinion. The struggle for personal integrity in a world that values conformity above creativity is powerfully illustrated through three characters: Howard Roarke, a genius; Gail Wynand, a newspaper mogul and self-made millionaire; and Dominique Francon, a devastating beauty.
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One small voice
- By Amazon Customer on 2019-03-16
Written by: Ayn Rand
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We the Living
- Written by: Ayn Rand
- Narrated by: Mary Woods
- Length: 18 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
We the Living portrays the impact of the Russian Revolution on three people who demand the right to live their own lives. At its center is a girl whose passionate love is her fortress against the cruelty and oppression of a totalitarian state. Rand said of this book: "It is as near to an autobiography as I will ever write."
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Performer seems to misunderstand punctuation
- By Conrad on 2019-08-12
Written by: Ayn Rand
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How the Mighty Fall
- And Why Some Companies Never Give In
- Written by: Jim Collins
- Narrated by: Jim Collins
- Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Decline can be avoided. Decline can be detected. Decline can be reversed. Amidst the desolate landscape of fallen great companies, Jim Collins began to wonder: How do the mighty fall? Can decline be detected early and avoided? How far can a company fall before the path toward doom becomes inevitable and unshakable? How can companies reverse course?
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Very informative and good listen
- By Biker Boy on 2023-05-05
Written by: Jim Collins
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How to Invest
- Written by: David M. Rubenstein
- Narrated by: David M. Rubenstein, Ray Dalio, Marc Andreessen, and others
- Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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What do the most successful investors have in common? David M. Rubenstein, cofounder of one of the world’s largest investment firms, has spent years interviewing the greatest investors in the world to discover the time-tested principles, hard-earned wisdom, and indispensable tools that guide their practice. Rubenstein, who has spent more than three decades in the hypercompetitive world of private equity, now distills everything he’s learned about the art and craft of investing.
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As a former portfolio manager (25 year) who is still active, excellent
- By Rubyjean on 2023-09-17
Written by: David M. Rubenstein
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Bronze Age Mindset
- Written by: Bronze Age Pervert
- Narrated by: Adam Smith
- Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Some say that this work, found in a safe-box in the port area of Kowloon, was dictated because Bronze Age Pervert refuses to learn what he calls "the low and plebeian art of writing". It isn't known how this work was transcribed. The contents are pure dynamite. He explains that you live in ant farm. That you are observed by the lords of lies, ritually probed. Ancient man had something you have lost: confidence in his instincts and strength, knowledge in his blood. BAP shows how the Bronze Age mind-set can set you free from this iron prison and help you embark on the path of power.
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The Exhortation for the Men of Our Age
- By Connor on 2020-01-12
Written by: Bronze Age Pervert
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The Story of Lululemon: Little Black Stretchy Pants
- Written by: Chip Wilson
- Narrated by: Chip Wilson
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The unauthorized story of Lululemon. Chip Wilson’s part in this story comes from the learning of thousands of mistakes. He set the culture, business model, quality platform, and people development program and then got out of the way. Lululemon’s exponential growth, culture, and brand strength have few peers, and it is because of those employees who choose to be great. This book is also about missed opportunity - five years of missed opportunity. Chip was playing to win while the directors of the company he founded were playing not to lose.
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Simply, a great book and guide for entrepreneurs
- By Tyler B on 2018-11-25
Written by: Chip Wilson
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The Fountainhead
- Written by: Ayn Rand
- Narrated by: Christopher Hurt
- Length: 32 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the 20th century's most challenging novels of ideas, The Fountainhead champions the cause of individualism through the story of a gifted young architect who defies the tyranny of conventional public opinion. The struggle for personal integrity in a world that values conformity above creativity is powerfully illustrated through three characters: Howard Roarke, a genius; Gail Wynand, a newspaper mogul and self-made millionaire; and Dominique Francon, a devastating beauty.
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One small voice
- By Amazon Customer on 2019-03-16
Written by: Ayn Rand
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We the Living
- Written by: Ayn Rand
- Narrated by: Mary Woods
- Length: 18 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We the Living portrays the impact of the Russian Revolution on three people who demand the right to live their own lives. At its center is a girl whose passionate love is her fortress against the cruelty and oppression of a totalitarian state. Rand said of this book: "It is as near to an autobiography as I will ever write."
-
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Performer seems to misunderstand punctuation
- By Conrad on 2019-08-12
Written by: Ayn Rand
-
How the Mighty Fall
- And Why Some Companies Never Give In
- Written by: Jim Collins
- Narrated by: Jim Collins
- Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Decline can be avoided. Decline can be detected. Decline can be reversed. Amidst the desolate landscape of fallen great companies, Jim Collins began to wonder: How do the mighty fall? Can decline be detected early and avoided? How far can a company fall before the path toward doom becomes inevitable and unshakable? How can companies reverse course?
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Very informative and good listen
- By Biker Boy on 2023-05-05
Written by: Jim Collins
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How to Invest
- Written by: David M. Rubenstein
- Narrated by: David M. Rubenstein, Ray Dalio, Marc Andreessen, and others
- Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
What do the most successful investors have in common? David M. Rubenstein, cofounder of one of the world’s largest investment firms, has spent years interviewing the greatest investors in the world to discover the time-tested principles, hard-earned wisdom, and indispensable tools that guide their practice. Rubenstein, who has spent more than three decades in the hypercompetitive world of private equity, now distills everything he’s learned about the art and craft of investing.
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As a former portfolio manager (25 year) who is still active, excellent
- By Rubyjean on 2023-09-17
Written by: David M. Rubenstein
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Bronze Age Mindset
- Written by: Bronze Age Pervert
- Narrated by: Adam Smith
- Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Some say that this work, found in a safe-box in the port area of Kowloon, was dictated because Bronze Age Pervert refuses to learn what he calls "the low and plebeian art of writing". It isn't known how this work was transcribed. The contents are pure dynamite. He explains that you live in ant farm. That you are observed by the lords of lies, ritually probed. Ancient man had something you have lost: confidence in his instincts and strength, knowledge in his blood. BAP shows how the Bronze Age mind-set can set you free from this iron prison and help you embark on the path of power.
-
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The Exhortation for the Men of Our Age
- By Connor on 2020-01-12
Written by: Bronze Age Pervert
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The Story of Lululemon: Little Black Stretchy Pants
- Written by: Chip Wilson
- Narrated by: Chip Wilson
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The unauthorized story of Lululemon. Chip Wilson’s part in this story comes from the learning of thousands of mistakes. He set the culture, business model, quality platform, and people development program and then got out of the way. Lululemon’s exponential growth, culture, and brand strength have few peers, and it is because of those employees who choose to be great. This book is also about missed opportunity - five years of missed opportunity. Chip was playing to win while the directors of the company he founded were playing not to lose.
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Simply, a great book and guide for entrepreneurs
- By Tyler B on 2018-11-25
Written by: Chip Wilson
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The Sovereign Individual
- Mastering the Transition to the Information Age
- Written by: James Dale Davidson, Peter Thiel - preface, William Rees-Mogg
- Narrated by: Michael David Axtell
- Length: 19 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Two renowned investment advisors and authors of the best seller The Great Reckoning bring to light both currents of disaster and the potential for prosperity and renewal in the face of radical changes in human history as we move into the next century. The Sovereign Individual details strategies necessary for adapting financially to the next phase of Western civilization.
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not suitable for the dead of brain.
- By bigkiddreams on 2020-12-24
Written by: James Dale Davidson, and others
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Capitalism
- The Unknown Ideal
- Written by: Ayn Rand
- Narrated by: Anna Fields
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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The foundations of capitalism are being battered by a flood of altruism, which is the cause of the modern world's collapse. This was the view of Ayn Rand, a view so radically opposed to prevailing attitudes that it constituted a major philosophic revolution. In this series of essays, she presented her stand on the persecution of big business, the causes of war, the default of conservatism, and the evils of altruism.
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Capitalism is moral, it respects human nature
- By George Gutierrez on 2023-05-20
Written by: Ayn Rand
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The Creature from Jekyll Island
- A Second Look at the Federal Reserve
- Written by: G. Edward Griffin
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 24 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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This classic expose of the Fed has become one of the best-selling books in its category of all time. Where does money come from? Where does it go? Who makes it? The money magician's secrets are unveiled. Here is a close look at their mirrors and smoke machines, the pulleys, cogs, and wheels that create the grand illusion called money. A boring subject? Just wait. You'll be hooked in five minutes. It reads like a detective story - which it really is, but it's all true.
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Fantastic Book
- By Gabriel on 2020-07-01
Written by: G. Edward Griffin
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The Fountainhead
- Written by: Ayn Rand
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Abridged
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The Fountainhead studies the conflict between artistic genius and social convention, a theme Ayn Rand later developed into the idealistic philosophy knows as Objectivism. Rand's hero is Howard Roark, a brilliant young architect who won't compromise his integrity, especially in the unconventional buildings he designs.
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Perfect narration
- By Writer, Reader, Shopper on 2019-06-07
Written by: Ayn Rand
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The Mandibles
- A Family, 2029-2047
- Written by: Lionel Shriver
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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The year is 2029, and nothing is as it should be. The very essence of American life, the dollar, is under attack. In a coordinated move by the rest of the world's governments, the dollar loses all its value. The American president declares that the States will default on all its loans; prices skyrocket, currency becomes essentially worthless, and we watch one family struggle to survive through it all. The Mandibles can count on their inheritance no longer, and each member must come to terms with this in their own way.
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A Conservative’s Oryx and Cfake
- By Anonymous User on 2023-01-03
Written by: Lionel Shriver
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After Steve
- How Apple Became a Trillion-Dollar Company and Lost its Soul
- Written by: Tripp Mickle
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 14 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Steve Jobs called Jony Ive his “spiritual partner at Apple.” The London-born genius was the second-most powerful person at Apple and the creative force who most embodies Jobs’s spirit, the man who designed the products adopted by hundreds of millions the world over: the iPod, iPad, MacBook Air, the iMac G3, and the iPhone. In the wake of his close collaborator’s death, the chief designer wrestled with grief and initially threw himself into his work designing the new Apple headquarters and the Watch before losing his motivation.
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Intersting, but a lot of suposition
- By Kyle on 2022-10-09
Written by: Tripp Mickle
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Soul in the Game
- The Art of a Meaningful Life
- Written by: Vitaliy Katsenelson
- Narrated by: Elliott Butt
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Soul in the Game is a book of inspiring stories and hard-won lessons on how to live a meaningful life, crafted by investor and writer Vitaliy Katsenelson. Drawing from the lives of classical composers, ancient Stoics, and contemporary thinkers, Katsenelson weaves together a tapestry of practical wisdom that has helped him overcome his greatest challenges: in work, family, identity, health—and in dealing with success, failure, and more.
Written by: Vitaliy Katsenelson
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When Money Dies
- The Nightmare of Deficit Spending, Devaluation, and Hyperinflation in Weimar, Germany
- Written by: Adam Fergusson
- Narrated by: Antony Ferguson
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
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When Money Dies is the classic history of what happens when a nations currency depreciates beyond recovery. In 1923, with its currency effectively worthless (the exchange rate in December of that year was one dollar to 4,200,000,000,000 marks), the German republic was all but reduced to a barter economy. Expensive cigars, artworks, and jewels were routinely exchanged for staples such as bread; a cinema ticket could be bought for a lump of coal; and a bottle of paraffin for a silk shirt....
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Too long not as interesting as it could have been
- By Brad Mills on 2021-07-02
Written by: Adam Fergusson
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One Second After
- Written by: William R. Forstchen
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Already cited on the floor of Congress and discussed in the corridors of the Pentagon as a book all Americans should read, One Second After is the story of a war scenario that could become all too terrifyingly real. Based upon a real weapon - the Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) - which may already be in the hands of our enemies, it is a truly realistic look at the awesome power of a weapon that can destroy the entire United States.
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Narration is terrible
- By Amazon Customer on 2020-04-08
Written by: William R. Forstchen
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Critical Path
- Written by: R. Buckminster Fuller, Kiyoshi Kuromiya
- Narrated by: Alister Austin
- Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Critical Path is Fuller's master work - the summing up of a lifetime's thought and concern - as urgent and relevant as it was upon its first publication in 1981. Critical Path details how humanity found itself in its current situation - at the limits of the planet's natural resources and facing political, economic, environmental, and ethical crises.
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Absolutely Brutal
- By Sithlord on 2022-12-07
Written by: R. Buckminster Fuller, and others
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Atlas Shrugged
- Written by: Ayn Rand
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Abridged
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As passionate as it is profound, Atlas Shrugged is one of the most influential novels of our time. In it, Rand dramatizes the main tenets of objectivism, her philosophy of rational selfishness. She explores the ramifications of her radical thinking in a world that penalizes human intelligence and integrity.
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Uplifting
- By Raymond on 2018-08-06
Written by: Ayn Rand
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Human Action
- A Treatise on Economics
- Written by: Ludwig von Mises
- Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach
- Length: 47 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Human Action is the most important book on political economy you will ever own. It was (and remains) the most comprehensive, systematic, forthright, and powerful defense of the economics of liberty ever written. This is the Scholar's Edition: accept no substitute. You will treasure this volume. The Scholar's Edition is the original, unaltered treatise (originally published in 1949) that shaped a generation of Austrians and made possible the intellectual movement that is leading the global charge for free markets.
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A masterpiece.
- By Big Gucci Kony on 2019-11-20
Written by: Ludwig von Mises
Publisher's Summary
Atlas Shrugged is the "second most influential book for Americans today" after the Bible, according to a joint survey conducted by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club.
This is the story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world - and did. Is he a destroyer or a liberator? Why does he fight his hardest battle not against his enemies, but against the woman he loves?
Tremendous in scope, breathtaking in its suspense, Atlas Shrugged is Ayn Rand's magnum opus and launched an ideology and a movement. With the publication of this work in 1957, Rand gained an instant following and became a phenomenon. Atlas Shrugged emerged as a premier moral apologia for capitalism, a defense that had an electrifying effect on millions of readers (and now listeners) who had never heard capitalism defended in other than technical terms.
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What listeners love about Atlas Shrugged
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jaedy
- 2018-04-11
brilliantly written, so brilliantly misguided.
she try so hard to write an ironclad argument in favor of an unsupportable View. had she turned to either history or to a modicum of anthropology she would have seen where her error fell. it's not to say there aren't many worthy ideas to be found under the Avalanche of narrative, it's just that the very fate of our planet and it's imminent destruction through climate change Etc was brought about buy the one factor she ignores, greed. she glorifies it and yet it's real world impact is undeniable. I'm glad I read this book, but I will not be reading it ever again. it is passionately delusional while trying to be rigorously realistic. buy her own claims, this is the essence of folly.
5 people found this helpful
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- Denise
- 2021-01-15
very relevant
This classic is very appropriate for the time we are living in. It's the best dystopic novel because it plants the seed of hope.
4 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2019-01-21
Strange Audio
This is one of my favourite stories. This version has some weird audio clips happening throughout.
4 people found this helpful
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- Mleoppky
- 2021-12-12
I promised a friend I’d read it
I was criticizing Rand’s work without having read it. A friend encouraged me to at least read it. I have now read it and can criticize Rand’s work after having read it. :)
Ok, it wasn’t as bad as I expected but it was so much worse than what I had hoped. This work is so characterized it’s laughable in most circumstances ( although there’s more than one moment in this book that is downright chilling).
About half way through reading Atlas, it occurred to me that if Rand were writing today, it would likely be for the Babylon Bee.
Was it all bad, no but there are far more effective and efficient ways to get a lesson on personal accountability and work ethic.
2 people found this helpful
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- Jessa
- 2021-12-07
don't appreciate the narrator
really should have paid more attention to the narrator. this is a fantastic story, but I can't focus with this narrators voice.
2 people found this helpful
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- Jod Cadieux
- 2021-05-12
audio issues midway through
the story is eerily prescient, you will find the similarities with today, written in 1957 being spoken aloud.
2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2021-04-14
Runaway Train
I didn't know what to expect from the book. The beginning is slow, but as you continue to read and follow the characters your swept away as your beliefs and doctrine are challenged over every mile of track. A must read for the youth of today, a glimpse into a world that could very well come to life!
2 people found this helpful
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- RobKYEG
- 2021-03-25
A enjoyable novel but with some deep low points.
Firstly, this is an enormously long novel. The print copy is 1168 pages (usually put into 3 volumes), and this audiobook is 52 hours long. It is almost comical to say that I mostly enjoyed the first 40-some hours. 52 hours is like 6 seasons of television and most tv series are in obvious decline by the 6th season, so what are the chances that any person would write such an immense novel that doesn't wane in parts? Let's have reasonable expectations and accept some natural human variance, nobody can keep up a pace for this long.
Atlas Shrugged is an interesting 1957 period piece and American dystopian novel in which Ayn Rand paints a picture of American declinism from her own laissez-faire, classic liberalist, objectivist perspective. I don't think a reader needs to sympathize too much with Rand's beliefs to enjoy this exploration, but late in the story Rand sets down a soap box and goes on a speel takes the relatable themes that had been established over so many chapters and distills them all into a narrow, yet convoluted and strawmanning diatribe that lasts 2 hours. I found the novel to be a cheesy slog from the climax onward, it's like the story's facade fell away, leaving bare the thin caricatures Rand wrote as characters to populate a laborious and drawn out conclusion.
I wouldn't say that Rand totally spoiled her novel by launching into her sermon on rational and ethical egoism at a critical narrative moment but it is a low point, but the last leg of the marathon that is Atlas Shrugged is by far the weakest part of the novel. Where she could have used her cleverness and aptitude, Rand undermined her novel with self indulgent philosophical preachiness, static characters, and tacky action sequences.
Still, it is quite a story. Rand writes from an interesting angle, she supplies a compelling protagonist (a young and prodigiously industrius woman), a healthy amount of mystery, and well captured settings. The romance is not quite salacious but there is an emphasis on sexuality and desire that some readers may rather do without.
I would say that I am glad to have read, or rather listened, to Atlas Shrugged; it was a thought provoking and mostly enjoyable read ... until the end. Like many books, I will enjoy having read it more than I enjoyed actually reading it.
The narrator does an excellent job, and plays the characters rather distinct from one another.
2 people found this helpful
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- Mark
- 2022-04-04
Pivotal Read for Me!
This book was one of the catalysts that helped me understand the world we are living in much better. It left me feeling much less confused as to why everything has unfolded the way that it had recently.
1 person found this helpful
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- Utilisateur anonyme
- 2021-10-29
Essential reading
What an amazing piece of fiction.
A real adventure, somewhere between Indian Jones and 1984. I like this title due to its backbone of industrial dialogue and diagrams. Inventors and hero’s, who’s unmatched energetic prowess shape /change landscape and culture all while being arbitrarily marginalized by the marginal.
A must read for anyone wondering where socialist ideology terminates.
1 person found this helpful
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- Rich
- 2008-02-04
Epic in Scope, Simplistic Characters
Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged both come with a lot of baggage. Some people love it, others loathe it.
Bottom line, this story is epic in scope. I've read the book before, and now my wife and I are listening to it together every chance we get. We discuss the ideas, talk about the characters, and often laugh at the two-dimensional characters.
Yes, it's true. This book's plot is amazing, and thoroughly enjoyable on a lot of levels. It truly is a classic. However, a lot of the writing makes us laugh out loud. Especially in discussing sex and relationships.
Selfish business people are held up as heroes. They have no faults. Sensitive, empathic business owners and gov't types are all portrayed as sniveling losers. Everything is black and white; none of the characters are complex, although many are fascinating. I find myself wanting to chat with Hank Reardon or Dagny Taggart, or bounce business ideas off them.
If you've got the patience, this book is worth the listen. Even if you consider yourself to be liberal and fear big business more than big government, this book is a fascinating read.
Although I don't believe in the absolutes that Rand puts out there, it did "rewire" my brain, and allowed me to view current events through an additional point of view. It challenged me to defend some of my deep-seated beliefs, and even discard a couple.
And isn't that the kind of challenge that's worth your time?
183 people found this helpful
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- Jay M.
- 2008-01-23
Excellent Book, minor issue
This is an excellent book, with a very good narrator. My only issue with it is that it appears there was poor sound insulation between the studio this book was recorded in, and another studio. I would often hear quiet murmurings from (I assume) another audiobook reading. It was a bit distracting at times. However, I reiterate the quality of the material and the narration. I often found myself sitting in a parking lot for an additional 10-15 minutes, not willing to turn the book off and get out of the car.
96 people found this helpful
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- Robert
- 2008-04-19
Over before you know it
Clocking in at 50+ hours, some might think the length of this audiobook is prohibitive. Believe it or not, I can honestly say that it is such a riveting and compelling novel and philosophical discussion that it truly is over before you know it.
Highly, highly recommend this book to all readers. Also, if you're wondering which Ayn Rand to start with, start here. Her philosophy is best summarized in Atlas Shrugged.
77 people found this helpful
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- Kuldeep
- 2009-01-19
Outstanding book, outstanding narrator
The narrator, Christopher Hurt, does as much for this audio book as the book itself. Being such a tome containing sophisticated and complex ideas, it would have been a disaster if the narrator was weak. He is simply outstanding. Never falters once in a book of 645,000 words. Yes, it's that big. Uses intonation to anticipate 2 sentences ahead, and does a marvelous job of using different voices without crossing the line to being cheesy. I recommend this book highly.
68 people found this helpful
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- Dan Connors
- 2007-09-24
Stop and smell the roses
When I read this book 40-some years ago, I rushed through the long-winded speeches. One benefit of having it read to you is that you cannot. I was surprised to discover how much Ayn Rand's philosophy seemed to develop during the book. I really enjoyed looking for things that dated the book--like driving 200 miles to find a long-distance phone! It is a wonderful story, albeit with a pretty heavy message. If you've not read Ayn before, start here!
64 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 2009-03-19
Atlas Shrugged - Christopher Hurt
Atlas Shrugged is in and of itself an amazing work. Christopher Hurt's vocal interpretative reading brings Rand's work to life. Hurt is head and shoulders above other readers available on audible.com. His subtle vocal charecterizations of the various roles is excellent.
63 people found this helpful
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- Zed
- 2008-10-26
Didn't know what I expected, but wow...
I normally read sci-fi, fantasy, etc. Something to escape the day to day. This book had been on my 'to read' list for a long time, but I was always put off by it's length (1200 pages), and that it was old (1950s). I mean, how good could that be? Woah was I wrong. I so wish I would of read this book earlier! Incredible page turner with some of the most amazing writing I have ever read. Without question the story will cause you to look at the world differently. Truly a MUST READ/LISTEN. I just finished listening to it, and now I have the book and I'm going to read it again as well. Simply an amazingly engaging, suspenseful, and moving book.
As for the audio-book: This book was wonderfully read/performed. There is a bit of background 'noise' at a few points... but nothing serious.
58 people found this helpful
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- Jeff G.
- 2009-05-08
Painfully overdone
Rand's "magnum opus" audible book is a great concept, a good story, a wonderful narrator... and stretched from a tidy 6 hours of material into a 52-hour marathon. I had heard this was a landmark book and downloaded the unabridged version because I didn't want to miss out on what the author had to say. In retrospect, the abridged version would have been much smarter.
I did enjoy the storyline, albeit contrived and quite unrealistic at times (it IS fiction, after all,) but was put off by Rand's "agenda," which reflects her early years in Russia before emigrating to America.
The manifesto that the protagonist delivers in part seven is over three hours long, and makes the point in the first 15 minutes.
I realize I am in the minority among many glowing reviews, but this opinion needs to be here as well.
47 people found this helpful
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Overall

- Andrew Raymond
- 2008-07-08
A Classic Well Told
At first blush, the length of this work, combined with how dry it can be in print made it daunting.
However, this reading made a very viable presentation of the material. Mr. Hurt has good pacing and intonation. He makes reasonable character voicings, and does a really superb job of keeping the long monologues and introspections interesting.
The reading was also very well paced. I was particularly impressed that the length of the summary speech near the end of the work matches almost exactly the times in the text which reference it.
Overall, this is a very accessible and insightful presentation of subject matter which could under other circumstances be particularly onerous.
40 people found this helpful
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Overall

- Michael
- 2007-04-23
Worse than Bad
I have not encountered a book or audio book that I so strongly disliked. The technical quality of this title is beyond awful. One can faintly hear talking in the background and it is quite distracting. I wanted to return this material but feared that I couldn't. As far as the content goes, the internal conversations of the men in the text are not that of any man I have known read about or even imagined. I can appreciate the broader socio-political context that the author was reaching for but this is never realized. The result is pure dreck. I held on hoping it would emerge as a powerful text if given a chance. It did not. This is a waste of disk space time and energy. I wish I could give it a negative rating if only for its technical flaws.
33 people found this helpful