Ayn Rand Atlas Shrugged

Ayn Rand - Atlas Shrugged - iTunes AudioBook iTunes file, but will play on all players that playback MP4 files. These files have artwork, chapters, and will remember where they were played last. The maximum for an iTunes audio file is 12 hours, so there are 5 files here. YES, the book is THAT long! It is 53 and 1/4 hours... Enjoy... and leave comments please, it's nice to know others appreciate your efforts. Click on my username to check out other important works related to freedom and liberty. Review from Amazon: An earlier reviewer struck an important vein when mentioning that academia and media have left this novel largely untouched, while it has continued to be read via word-of-mouth recommendations. Why? Rand is provocative; the novel engenders both deep respect and vitriolic opposition. Why? To begin with, this is not an ordinarily structured novel; it is an overt statement of a philosophy. The plot, like many of those employed by Shakespeare, is not wholly original. (See an older book entitled "Secret of the League"). In any event, Rand uses the complex plot allegorically as a vehicle for describing her own unique philosophy and its consequences. Rand's philosophy, and it is clear enough upon reading, is a synthesis of Aristotelianism with more modern "humanistic" concerns, in the greatest and original sense of the term. Rand ties Aristotle's basic conceptions of logic to the workings of egoism and capitalism. She rejects Nietzschean irrationalism, Kantian ethics, and the kind of Pragmatism championed by Dewey. Her suggested replacement for these constructs is a body of thought which recognizes and responds to human needs and values, economic conditions, political necessities, and logical imperatives, even if incompletely at times. Oddly, her critics continue to tout her as little more than a "pop-philosopher". On to her book. Atlas Shrugged is a fountainhead of skilled dialogue and monologue. Francisco's speech on "money" is insightful, and honest. Some prosaic passages, like Galt's enormous speech near the novel's end, could have used some editing. Nonetheless, such passages are meant to (and succeed in) conveying a rather thorough philosophy. Also adept at employing dialogue, Rand leaves cutting snippets and short verbal gems throughout the book. She distinguishes perceptively between 'what people commonly say' and 'what those words often covertly are intended to mean.' This making-bare is done through the frankness of her protagonists, some of which mere foils to reveal more probing insights. Those who would call her characters "shallow" may be correct if judging by contemporary literary standards which praise personal texture and ambiguity. Rand seems more interested in the kind of moral tale woven by the great Greek dramatists, in which characters are primarily vehicles of ideas. It was once said that the purpose of philosophy is to start with something that everyone takes for granted, and to end with that which noone will believe. Rand uses Atlas Shrugged to achieve this kind of ideational journey. No shallow fanatic, her novel is a work is also a great psychological study of the motives of several common ideas, values, and ethical standards. She constructs in Atlas Shrugged a powerful critique of collectivism, that thought which says "We are our brother's keepers." I suppose one reason for the novel's continued popularity is that most readers are far too intelligent to be comforted by other kinds of books whose authors want them to think they are profound because they are difficult to grasp. Zservedah once called "clear prose the conceptual tool of conservativism." Readers are probably tired of being asked to find beauty in the Emperor's clothes, in works of art which are ugly, and in books which are pessimistic. Atlas Shrugged is unabashedly lucid and candid; it is refreshing to find such confident and clear writing in this age of self-doubt, relativism, and academic obscurity. You will be a richer person for having read it. Are some of Rand's adherents sycophantic? Certainly. Yet if her philosophy were the kind of "cheap trash" critics claim it to be, why the vehemence of her opposition?

udp://tracker.openbittorrent.com:80
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udp://tracker.coppersurfer.tk:6969
udp://exodus.desync.com:6969

enbart69 (2009-06-06)

Perfect! Thank you so much! Really lookig forward to listening and will then move on to the other books!

tyydyy (2009-06-11)

This is probably one of the most intellectually bankrupt 'novels' I have ever encountered. Save your brain and read something of value.

Frankbmaster (2009-06-25)

"intellectually bankrupt" wow sounds like someone is getting their opinions off of the DNC talking points. I wonder if you listened to the whole thing..

Sprite0 (2009-07-10)

Just ignore the inevitable trolls like tyydyy here. Their ignorance is punishment in of itself.

lionruler (2009-07-18)

Thanks!

hyuncheol (2009-07-26)

Thanks! I got a copy of the book for my birthday last year but I was never able to pick it up because it looked so daunting.

shackmon (2009-08-29)

Good book, I'm listening to it. The ends of the files don't match the beginning of the next. I'm not iTunes and converted each file to mp3, maybe some data got lost, but I've had no problems in the past. I hate missing parts, but it's so long that I eventually overlook it. Thank you.

 big_dad_e (2009-09-25)

Thanks m8!

Ardeet (2009-10-31)

Fantastic. Thanks for this.

DgtlSmuri (2010-01-21)

Hi and thank you for this great UL. Might you have, or know where to acquire the Ayn Rand Book, "Money Speech?" Thank you. DS

Takaaco (2010-02-16)

i love this book, have read it twice.

Phobos2005 (2010-04-13)

Ayn Rand is a fascist cunt. This has nothing to do with freedom or liberty. Fuck off and die Libertarians.

cylent (2010-04-25)

The Irony is, I downloaded it from another BT site and listened. Now, I realize, I'm a moocher. Moral Conundrum time.

waleyejim (2010-06-09)

Thank you 4lib3rty and all those who appreciate freedom and understand what the loss would mean...

djankobear (2010-06-20)

@Phobos2005 at 2010-04-13 03:33
Ayn Rand is a f****** c***. This .... 'snipped trolling rubbish'
Do you realise how stupid you look making such confused and contradictory comments ?
Didn't think so, back to grade school for you.
Troll fail -1

vulcan_27 (2010-07-02)

Thank-you for uploading this book 4lib3rty!
I have it on 38 Audio Cassettes.
For those interested: 'The Fountain Head' is a good start with Ayn Rand, bit of a foundation before this novel.
Every time i listen to it, i get more and more out of it. Somethings are a little out of date because of the era and life in which it was written, and other things i find to be truer than ever.
Either way- it makes me think (for myself), which is the goal of it all.

kenjamen (2010-09-23)

It's still a great book whether or not you take the philosophy and run with it. There are some very good things to take from this book such as the lifelines of a capitalist society that are often overlooked in places like America that relies so much on capitalism.
I personally don't look at this as my mantra or anything but think there are some very good values to take away from it, like the bible. And it's still entertaining.
**Anyways it would be nice to get this in a different format. Fuck apple's proprietary bullshit and fuck ipods.

hexonyxx (2010-11-06)

“This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.”
- Dorothy Parker

Mercer-6 (2010-12-15)

I appreciate this torrent. I own an iPod and if you if you ever tried to listen to a bootleg version of a audio book, you know it's a pain. As for the content, and more specifically the people getting so upset over it, SUCK IT UP YOU FUCKING PANSIES. This book is a philosophical exercise, nothing more or less. If we, people living in any given corner of the world, were to forsake a book for simple fact that we disagree with it, we would still be walking into battlefield in straight lines like target practice and building houses out of clay. Or even worse, we might end up as brainwashed as the the people in the book Fahrenheit 451, living simply to die. I personally don't agree with certain parts of this book, particularly the bits about rationalism (I believe some things, like love, can't be explained and it's probably better just to take it as it is) but that's the wonderful part about philosophy- IT'S YOUR OPINION, no one else. I sorry I ranted for so long, but some of the comments on this page are rather disturbing to me.

Mercer-6 (2010-12-15)

Ow, one more thing. I don't see where she's a fascist. She doesn't seem to believe in social classes, or even forcing ideas on people. She does seem to denounce certain peoples intelligence, and this page has helped me see why...

sleepydario (2010-12-24)

Did anyone else notice the voices in the background? I hear people talking if I turn it up loud, especially on Part 1. Either than or I'm suddenly a schizophrenic lol. Nevertheless, thanks.

strabes (2011-03-17)

I'm on the fifth audio file, and for some reason on chapter 3 of 4 it ends Chapter 9 before the book actually does, so it's missing a little bit. Luckily I was following along in the actual book and I noticed this. The audiobook's chapter 9 ends on the lines "So long, slug." "So long, Frisco." But the actual book (ePub) has 24 more pages after that. Just thought I'd let you guys know so you can grab the ePub version of this to read the whole thing. Perhaps this omission is why the last audio file is shorter than the other four?
I didn't catch any other missing parts though. Can anyone else (who has the ePub or paper copy) confirm this?

strabes (2011-03-18)

In reference to my previous comment, the scenes that are missing are (trying not to give anything away): Dagny hearing about the Taggart Bridge being destroyed, the John Galt torture scene, and Jim's vision/transformation. It ends chapter 9 at 6:30:18 and goes straight to chapter 10 without these scenes.

strabes (2011-03-20)

One more thing: iTunes won't remember your position in these files unless you change their extension to m4b before importing them.

Mercer-6 (2011-03-22)

at the leninist statenlist guy, true that capitalism kills people, but i think you fall to see the time frame in which either fascism or communism (Statlin's version) killed millions openly. It only stopped due to outside intervention. If it had continued, capitalism couldn't hold a candle to the death toll...

kiwi33 (2011-04-06)

Thanks very much for this. Had no idea it would be so long!! Many hours of listening.
For those who are interested, a movie is coming out (or may already be out, by the time you are reading this... release date is April 15th).
See here: http://www.atlasshruggedpart1.com/
Looks like it's coming out in parts. Makes sense... considering the audio book is 55+ hours!!

traffic (2011-04-30)

Ayn Rand only matters if you're 14 and under and still stuck in that idiotic phase of "I don't want to share my toys with the other kids".
The rest of us adults have more important things to do.

jaydeejj (2011-05-17)

@traffic You, ironically (because I'm sure you're a warm blooded American) sound like a communist complaining because people don't have to share what they earned.
Anyway, great torrent. Like another commenter said, change m4a to m4b so that your Ipod and Itunes will remember your spot when you stop.
Also, theres a weird very faint echo of the readers voice. (I'm only on the first part so I don't know how long this lasts.)

2b2o (2011-08-01)

Not commenting on the torrent but the book itself: It sucked.....boring and way too long. Too much of anything is not good- same thing with Ayn Rand's view the world.

ODBC (2011-11-27)

"Ayn Rand only matters if you're 14 and under and still stuck in that idiotic phase of "I don't want to share my toys with the other kids".
The rest of us adults have more important things to do. "
Such as making idiotic comments on a torrent site, I guess.

Barkingspyder (2011-11-30)

Traffic said: Ayn Rand only matters if you're 14 and under and still stuck in that idiotic phase of "I don't want to share my toys with the other kids".
The rest of us adults have more important things to do.
Nothing in the Objectivist Philosophy says it's wrong to share, only that being forced to do so is wrong. Typical misstatement of Rand's writing. What do you have to do that is more important? Figure out new ways to rob those who produce so you can give it to those who don't?

harry_tuttle101 (2012-02-15)

It's so funny to watch nerds fight about a WORK OF FICTION. Sure alot of what Rand writes about has, is, or will happen, but not in exactly the same ways. Still, it's fiction. It's not historical, it's not political press, it's make believe.
Might as well fight about Jedi being conservatives or liberals, it's STUPID! Totally stupid.

lol9765 (2012-05-01)

The book is a TERRIBLE work of fiction. It, truly, is one of the worst things I've ever had the misfortune of reading!

WilliamTR (2012-11-05)

Awesome book, Awesome Torrent, Folks that disagree, well they wont even give you a legit reason why except childish assumptions and insults.

elvisomar (2013-08-18)

Barkingspyder says: "Nothing in the Objectivist Philosophy says it's wrong to share, only that being forced to do so is wrong."
So, like, sharing this torrent against the will of the publisher... that's okay then? Maybe I'm confused.

pedavas (2014-03-09)

Very good and interesting book. If you don't like it, you most likely don't get it or simply disagree with the philosophy. Sure, it's a work of fiction, but there's some cool philosophical ideas - Objectivism! Simply - to each his own. I don't understand one thing though, if you hated the book or found it boring, what on earth made you read/listen it all through to the end and then take the time to leave a negative comment? I'm guessing it left an impact on you, otherwise you would just close the book and forget about it. IMHO.
Oh, BTW, thanks to the uploader. :)

Chaos_Seer (2014-06-20)

I'm currently downloading this (not this exact torrent, but Atlas Shrugged). I'm looking forward to listening to it. I enjoyed The Fountainhead and I find Ayn Rand to be a fairly rational philosopher.
Though I don't agree with all her opinions, I believe elements in objectivism are well reasoned and self-empowering. Though I think living in a human system is more complicated than "There are the great producers, and not", "The poor/disabled are so because of their nature," "Private individuals in a free market will always make rational decisions," "Public science is a sham", etc... there are a lot of great points along the lines of "Communism gives the tribe the right to take your life and livelihood", or "Form your own opinions, don't just take opinions from other people" or "It is better to do something because you've reasoned you should then that you're pressured to do so from some outside source." or "a great man is someone who seeks to do something excellently," or "Value yourself and your work highly," or "It is vain to pursue power before productive worth," or "Judge and regard your own actions before you judge or regard the actions or aims of others."
Like her or hate her, you cannot form a good opinion on her and her philosophy until you've taken the time to study it well, as with any other philosophy. If you naturally despise her philosophy simply because it contradicts your own, you're doing it wrong. You're letting your biases control you. If you cannot articulate her arguments the way SHE articulates them, you do not know her and you do not criticize her. You paraphrase her views by your own bias, and instead express only your limited view and leave it undeveloped and unchallenged. You cannot criticize Plato if you do not know Plato. You cannot criticize the Sun Tzu if you do not know the Sun Tzu. You cannot criticize the bible unless you know the bible. You cannot criticize Ayn Rand unless you know Ayn Rand.
And on the topic of fiction: this is an excellent medium to explore concepts. All good fiction attempts to push the agenda of the writer. To say you cannot find meaning in fiction, nor should, nor should discuss meaning in fiction, because some fiction is pure flash and thus all fiction must be flash is outright foolishness. "Make-believe" is sometimes also a very rational simulation. All simulations designed this way are not made equal; and only through a rational process do we determine if the ideas in the fiction have any real-world merit. If Ayn Rand's ideas had no merit, they would not manifest in guiding any people to success; where they have little merit, we could see the errors they produce in society. We see both, in our society; both the successes of her view applied, and the failures of her views applied - and those so too of counter opinions.
I've taken wisdom from every work of fiction I've read, because I'm willing to uplift myself in every effort rather than be a flat and meaningless entity of flat and meaningless experiences.
And of course, I'm willing to express myself in every public forum, for it is in communication that we engage each other and modify each other and improve each other.

r3dac73d (2015-02-27)

lol
Uploader is "4lib3rty", but endorses embarrassingly specious belief systems that absolutely guarantee a predatory world in which the strong eat the weak. Yay for the "liberty" of feudalism, I guess. You're 'free' to be a slave. Gosh, what a visionary!!
Ayn Rand is one of the most infamously bad writers in modern literary history. Her fans are teenage boys attracted to the simplicity of 'only look out for yourself', and stupid people. Greenspan was one of her most famous acolytes (hint: trickle-down economics have been proven - with DECADES of data - to be exactly what their detractors have always said... Great for the aristocracy, absolutely catastrophic for the vast majority of the country).
I believe absolutely in the autonomy of the individual. I believe individuals should be free of government intrusion in their private lives. I believe all laws seeking to punish consensual "crimes" should be abolished (such as drug use, prostitution, limits on gun ownership, etc)
These beliefs do not necessitate that one subscribe to the plainly suicidal and transparently stupid economic/organizational policies of libertarians or ayn-fucking-rand. IF you fuckers were actually able to follow concepts to their logical result - or even study real history (as opposed to - you might be dangerous (to old people...kids...people that get sick...people that are physically small...unarmed people....etc.)
Oh, and - just for the record - she was a raging hypocrite to boot. Despite the piles of cash she made selling a laughably weak justification for selfishness to those assholes that needed one, she ended her life on medicare.... Using a separate legal identity to protect her 'winning' reputation. Her reasoning? [paraphrased only slightly] "If I had to pay these exorbitant medical bills I'd be ruined!!"
Yeah... No shit, Ayn. Maybe that's why other people are similarly inclined? Y'think? Oh, but you're 'special.... I forgot.
Anyway.... Carry on.... Would hate to interrupt angry teenage boy's enjoyment of Rand's notorious sophistry. Gotta love ineffectual frustration, huh?