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I have just made it through the second 10th of the book. I figure this is the best way to discuss the book, as it is roughly 1200 pages long. Trying to condense a book into the thoughts of one page certainly is not worthy of the book or my time. Despite Ayn Rands claim as an icon of the Republican Party, I am of no party, and am just reading the book because of the number of people that I have heard reference it over the years.

Atlas Shrugged

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Ayn Rand wrote this book in a time that is much different and much the same as our own. The world in the book Atlas Shrugged is strange in one major way. Society has moved, as a majority, to a point where striving to do ones best is frowned upon. The assertion is that everything must be done for the greater good, and that companies attempting to make money is a bad thing.

To this extent the country passed a bill called the Equalization of Opportunity Act. This phony bill states that a person may not own more than one company. Compare that to today where companies gobble up other companies on an almost daily basis. Also, the companies are not the mega corporations of today. Imagine if Cisco, AT&T, GE, or any of the other huge companies out there was not allowed to own smaller companies, and to be into other markets. That would be such a strange state of affairs. Ayn Rand’s world is one where those that seek progress and gains are beaten down and frowned down upon.

What is interesting, is that in her book, the leaders of the companies, while looking to make a profit, do not seem to be looking to exploit their workers. Ahh, a world where excessive greed does not exist. I think Ayn Rand was an idealist in this sense. The ideal that any single form of government whether it be socialism, capitalism, or some other form of government is a bit naive.

What I find interesting is that compared to the book so far, our world is the opposite of hers. Ours is a world where corporations wield power over the government, and rarely the other way around. Congressmen are far more likely to bend over backwards to appease a corporation that is going to move jobs to other countries, than to help out the little guy that is toiling under the corporate umbrella.

Well let’s see what happens with the John Galt line, now that we know it works. Hopefully we will get a chance to find out who John Galt is. Next time I will also discuss that characters a bit more. I feel that Ayn Rand’s characters are rather two dimensional.

Being of the sort that likes to engage of conversations of a lively sort, at some point or another I tend to end up in discussions of politics and/or political outlooks. It was during such a conversation recently that the book Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand once again popped into the subject matter. I would like to say that I have read Atlas Shrugged, and that I could talk about the points that it makes, but alas that is not so. While I have owned a copy of the book for nigh on 7 years, it has been in my wife’s reading pile for the majority of the time.

Atlas Shrugged

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As a result of this conversation however, I decided that it was high time for me to get another copy of Atlas Shrugged and begin reading this colossus tale. Turns out the person that I was speaking with had his copy at hand, and was more than willing to part ways with it for the time that it would take for me to make my way through it. So I brought it home and began reading.

The first thing that caught my attention was the question that I have heard asked on more than just one occasion, “Who is John Galt?” This is a question whose answer I want to discover. In the story it is used almost more as a statement than that of a question. On this point I am not 100% certain, but that is the initial feeling that is put forth in the book.

Being 50 pages into it there is one parallel that I find massively disturbing. While there are socialistic undertones and capitalistic undertones the concept that bothers me is people not being willing to make decisions and take responsibility for those decisions. I find this disturbing because it is something that I have not only seen in everyday dealings with people, but also in my experiences in the corporate world. I cannot count the number of times I have been in meetings where no one wants to throw out an idea or make a decision for fear of being wrong. How can we continue on like this?

We have achieved a state where people are afraid to be accountable for their actions, and are apathetic when it comes to striving for excellence. Strange that I should see this parallel first, but then again it is a work of fiction and I have many pages yet to read.

More to come.

His Majesty’s Dragon
by Naomi Novik
Published: 26 March 2006
Rating: 8/10

His Majesty’s Dragon (Temeraire, Book 1)

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This is the first book in the Temaraire  series. As indicated by the title, this is a series about dragons. However, this book takes a twist on Dragons and the world in which they exist. Most novels dealing with dragons take place in universes that contain magic or realms that are far different than our own. Naomi Novik takes a different approach. Hers is an alternate history. The time frame is that of Napoleon in France at war with Brittan. In this alternate reality, dragons exist, and are used by the military as fighting beasts.

There are two main characters in this book. The most obvious is the dragon. However, the story is not told from the perspective of the dragon, but instead from the dragon’s master/companion. The dragon’s partner is the other main character of the book, and the story revolves as much around the character dynamics as it does about the dragons.

This is an excellent book that can be read by itself, without having to read the other books to feel satisfied with the novel.

Sorry for the short review.