Have You Read Atlas Shrugged?

I read an article this morning in the NYTimes called Ayn Rand’s Literature of Capitalism. It discusses various business leaders who have been influenced by Ayn Rand’s philosophy of individualism, excellence, and her thesis that a small number of high-powered thinkers keep the engine of the world running.

I read Ayn Rand’s Fountainhead first when I was 16, and Atlas Shrugged soon after. While today it seems less than complete, at the time, her themes struck me as the single most powerful unifying philosophy that both rationalized and fueled the fire that was burning inside my adolescent head.

I left India soon after.

In fact, as far as I can remember, my college application essays had a distinctly Rand flavor to them!

This morning’s article made me wonder how many of my readers have read the books, at what age, and what thoughts have they evoked. Would you care to share?