Rand was born in Russia in 1905, and saw her family driven to the brink of starvation by the Soviet revolution. The experience left her with a deeply felt scepticism for socialism and the notion of altruism. With her arrival in America, a land famous for its pioneering spirit and celebration of the single-minded genius, she was inspired to formulate a new way of thinking about work and achievement. Filled with admiration for entrepreneurs such as Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla, Rand began work on her magnum opus, through which she would champion competition, creativity and the role of the mind in mans existence.

The heroic characters who rise to the top in Atlas Shrugged espouse Rands philosophy of objectivism: the determined pursuit of personal happiness and the development of unfettered capitalism. Her philosophy would, she was certain, make America and therefore the world great again. Atlas Shrugged remains a controversial text, both for its ideas about economics and industry, and for its popularity among libertarian movements around the world. Whichever side of the fence one is on and no one remains sitting on it for long after reading this novel one cannot deny the sheer scale of Rands ambition: she pulls at the roots of mans existence and derives radical, original solutions.

The book saw a huge surge of popularity during the recent financial crisis, selling hundreds of thousands of copies in the first few months of 2009 alone. Never far from discussions of economics and industry, the events of Atlas Shrugged seemed strangely prescient, and it has again become a vital text as people seek to question the role of government, and how a new financial future can be built outside of subsidies and handouts. Often called the most influential book in America after the Bible, Rands epic still regularly tops the polls when readers are asked to vote for the best novel of the 20th century.

Excerpt from:

Atlas Shrugged | Folio Society