Atlas Shrugged: Imperfectly Perfect

Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand, is easily the most complete treatise in support of capitalism written during the twentieth century. This novel explores a world in which the high ideals of society eventually trump the high profits of the entrepreneur. Rand demonstrates how the high-minded or power-hungry few can stop the motor of the world simply by stifling personal innovation. Society halts, millions starve, and all technical knowledge disappears from the world. Left to rule the broken masses is a tyrannical few who depend more on the favor bank than on the monetary bank.

While Ayn Rand creates a powerful argument, I believe it has one fatal flaw. One realizes that the real perpetrators of the backroom maneuvering and political back-scratching are not the socialist academia, but rather the competing capitalists. From the first unjust law, to the final dying gasps of free society, the driving motivation is always the consolidation of power through the consolidation of markets. Those capitalists who can afford the political might are able to muscle out their competition. This argument shows not that which is wrong with socialism, but rather that which one should guard against in capitalism (or any economic model, for that matter). Whenever the strong few turn the muscle of military against the unprotected many, totalitarianism must follow. History has shown this to be true on the political left (Communism) as well as the political right (Fascism).

Atlas Shrugged presents many points that the attentive reader should consider correct and fair. Personal innovation should lead to personal profit, the freeloaders cannot harvest the fruits of the mind from the barrel of a gun, and the idea that no man should ever live for, or by, the sake of any other man. With all these points, I agree. It is because I find so much in this novel with which to both agree and disagree that I highly recommend it. Ayn Rand has created a masterpiece, one that is sure to arouse blessed debate with every reader.

--Lance Rulau

Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand

Rating: (9) Perfect

Caught in a Joseph Heller Catch-22

Experts often hail Catch-22, by Joseph Heller, as one of the preeminent anti-war novels of the twentieth century. While I will concede the fact that Heller has great command of the language, I have to admit that I have never been able to finish this book.

Catch-22 is easily the most satirical black comedy to emerge from post-war America; however, every time I attempted to read Heller's masterpiece (four attempts) I found myself feeling as if the author was continuously putting different characters in similar situations. Perhaps this was Heller's intention. One could surmise that Joseph Heller was trying to convey the war's sense of senselessness. He may have been speaking to the futility of war and the underlying motivations of battle-time courage. Whatever Heller's intentions, I missed the boat.

This novel always started as hilariously funny, insanely provocative, and full of cheeky sarcasm. Ultimately, however, the feeling of the mundane would set in. I would be reading a scene and instantly know the plot. It was as if each character had to follow a given checklist of to-do items. Step 1) Rail against superiors via backwards regulations, Step 2) Whine about the mundane life while having limitless freedom of movement, Step 3) Dodge death in a stark In-Your-Face battle…Rinse, Repeat. Granted, most of the scenes were full of humor, but it was never enough to hold my attention through the entire novel. This aspect always bothered me. I posited that I must have not been giving the novel proper attention. I tried a second read…, a third…, and a fourth. Each time I made it further, but alas…no ending. This brings up a main point of reoccurrence. If a novel does not hold my attention, it must not be good FOR ME. This is not to say another reader will dislike it. On the contrary, most other readers adore this novel; however, I cannot recommend Catch-22 to anyone.

--Lance Rulau

Catch-22, Joseph Heller

Rating: (3) Not Good

How I Rate A Book

The scale that I use to rate my books has been revised steadily through the years. I have finally settled on the following scale, which was adapted from the fantastic website http://www.iblist.com/ Please feel free to take me to task over any of my ratings/reviews. I relish the discussion!

10, Best Books I Have Ever Read

9, Perfect

8, Near Perfect

7, Great

6, Good

5, Average

4, Alright

3, Not Good

2, Didn't Like

1, Really Bad

10

(10) 1984, George Orwell

(10) Animal Farm, George Orwell

(10) Moby-Dick or The Whale, Herman Melville

9

(9) I, Claudius, Robert Graves

(9) To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

(9) The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck

(9) Lord of the Flies, William Golding

(9) The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger

(9) Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury

(9) The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

(9) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey

(9) Brave New World, Aldous Huxley

(9) Foundation, Isaac Asimov

(9) Dune, Frank Herbert

(9) The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert A. Heinlein

(9) Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand

(9) Earth Abides, George R. Stewart

(9) Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov

8

(8) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams

(8) I, Robot, Isaac Asimov

(8) The Stand, Stephen King

(8) Ringworld, Larry Niven

(8) The Prince, Nicolo Machiavelli

(8) Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad

(8) Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck

(8) Darkness at Noon, Arthur Koestler

(8) The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway

(8) Dune Messiah, Frank Herbert

(8) The Forever War, Joe Haldeman

(8) American Gods, Neil Gaiman

7

(7) Foundation and Empire, Isaac Asimov

(7) Second Foundation, Isaac Asimov

(7) Claudius the God, Robert Graves

(7) Frankenstein, Mary Shelley

(7) Hyperion, Dan Simmons

(7) Prelude to Foundation, Isaac Asimov

(7) The Lord of the Rings, Book One: The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien

(7) The Lord of the Rings, Book Two: The Two Towers, J.R.R. Tolkien

(7) The Lord of the Rings, Book Three: The Return of the King, J.R.R. Tolkien

(7) Legends of Dune: The Butlerian Jihad, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

(7) Legends of Dune: The Machine Crusade, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

(7) Legends of Dune: The Battle of Corrin, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

(7) Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson

6

(6) Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card

(6) The Maltese Falcon, Dashiell Hammett

(6) The Wheel of Time Book One: The Eye of the World, Robert Jordan

(6) Rendezvous With Rama, Arthur C. Clarke

(6) Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson

(6) Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clark

(6) The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

5

(5) Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer

4

(4) Out of the Silent Planet, C.S. Lewis

3

(3) Catch-22, Joseph Heller

(3) All the King's Men, Robert Penn Warren

(3) Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick

2

1

1984, by George Orwell: The Greatest Novel Ever Written?

Every time I read a review that proclaims a novel as the greatest novel of the twentieth century, I have to roll my eyes and smirk. Opinions are so diverse; I do not understand why I even attempt to gather book lists from the Inter-webs. However, most readers that I consult agree that George Orwell’s 1984 definitely has a place in the topmost echelon of fiction novels.

Written during a time of great distress, Orwell constructed a masterpiece that has become prophetic in its descriptions of, and synonymous with, government intrusion of individual civil liberties. From the ever-present telescreens to the paranoia-inducing thought police, George Orwell allows the reader a glimpse into a world where children denounce their families, a person can become an unperson, and only the Party matters. Winston Smith, the hopelessly doomed hero of the narrative, is a thinking member of the Outer-Party, a political body that discourages members from having any thought. The only thoughts that a Party Member (Inner or Outer) should have are thoughts of and for the Party.

The allusions to Josef Stalin’s regime are the most obvious surface associations; however, if one reads outside the obvious narrative it will become plain that Orwell is railing against all totalitarian societies. The world in which Winston Smith endures could easily be any of the industrialized societies, including the post-9/11 American society of the Patriot Act. It is this ability to remain relative in the modern day that allows 1984 to continue its haunting march through time.

With that in mind, I want to refocus your attention to the original question: Is 1984 the greatest novel ever written? Short answer, yes. “How can you make such a claim?!”, you may ask. To that I say, “Reading is a completely personal experience.” Sure, I enjoy the discussions about books, the trading of ideas, and the general companionship of a fellow reader, but mostly I just love reading. When I read, I consume the story like a meal. It nourishes my mind, it excites certain tastes, and it has a unique relationship with my personal experiences. I could never hope to experience 1984 from another’s viewpoint, but neither would I want to. This book changed me; it had profound effects on my life. Does this happen with every person that reads Orwell’s masterpiece? Surely not! Nevertheless, it happened to me and for that, I will be eternally grateful.

--Lance Rulau

1984,George Orwell

Rating: (10) Best Book I Have Ever Read