Hocam, Allaha Peygambere Laf Etmek Caiz Midir itibaren Sevan Nişanyan içinde LIT biçim

Tomasz Przyborowski tomaszprzyborowski — Reserving judgment until read... --Hanna

Alessio Falchetti slowstudio — This was the last book in the series I hated to see it end. Loved the stories and all the charactors.

Cricket Blake bclass899a — It seems that many people must have a love or a hate relationship with Ayn Rand's literature. I'm struggling to find many that can objectively discuss objectivism without getting up in arms on one side or the other. First. I enjoyed this book. I did not fall in love with it. In my opinion, it couldn't hold a candle to The Fountainhead. Rand's characters are formed around their beliefs, work ethic, and sense of pride. The snivelling, stealing, crying, almost-men who refuse to make decisions, expect things to be given to them, and proceed to try to loot from the hard working, dedicated, brilliant industrialists are easy to hate. She makes it so. However, it's also easy to relate them to our current government and a good portion of our population. The ones crying about the rich having money and the poor without, but not creating wealth on their own terms with which to help. I thought the reverse Robin Hood theory interesting... Giving back what was stolen. Whether it's to the rich or poor. If it's unearned, it's taken and returned to those from whom it was stolen. If it was earned, and earned honestly. Keep it. There are parts of the book I thought brilliant. Such a simple answer to solve the overall problem...looters drop out...drop income tax...yet the looters refused, wanting everything to be solved in some way that wouldn't change their comforts and control. This concept of squeezing the hardest worker until they are dry can apply to so many facets of life, but I see it the most in middle level workers and our government. Expecting unconditional unearned love, unearned respect, unearned money are all pretty pathetic. If you don't love yourself, respect yourself, and live within your means without feeling envy for those around you, you fit into the category of the looter...With this, I agree. On the other hand, the whole unabashedly anti-community feel of the book made me cringe, although Rand has a way of writing that can pull you into the moment and beg you to continue on. I think these values can apply, and can apply full force, not necessarily only in business and industry...but in life. The people who can truly achieve happiness, truly appreciate life, are those who have a real purpose. That purpose may not be Rearden Steel or Taggart Transcontinental. It may not be coal mining or oil. It might be building yourself a life you enjoy, communing with nature,getting a plot of land and building a yurt, understanding your soul, wandering the earth,studying languages, maybe even devoting yourself wholly to altruism. As long as your purpose is what you feel and know is right based on your and ONLY your values, the positively secure and comfortably happy energy that the "Thinkers" had can be yours. When you look at the looters from this light as well, they are less the lazy, worthless, nonthinking money grubbing gold diggers Rand paints, and more like cancerous tumors metasticizing in your soul, attempting to steal that light energy from you with their negativity and obvious discontent drawn from envy and endless misery. (In less colorful language, the shit talkers, drama starters, and haters.) They are the government stealing your small freedoms bill by bill, tax by tax. They are the ones trying to circle your goals in red tape, making them harder and harder to reach because they can't understand why you'd drive on, but they do know that you'll drive on. When you are doing the right things, there's never a question in life. You feel great, you wake up at peace and aching to experience the same amazing feeling you create with movement. Not necessarily movement of the physical sense, but movement nonetheless. Dagny described this feeling often, waking up with excitement to face another day of challenges. It's when you start trading your integrity to gain things that truly don't matter to you nor should belong to you that you begin to doubt...and become that snivelling looter, envious of those who have more...money, stature, inner peace, whatever it is that makes them richer in your eyes. Applying her views to these other facets of life, I can accept them in part...However, claiming the poor are incapable, needy, beggars that can't think for themselves and shouldn't get any help because they didn't create the wealth themselves...seems pretty anti-altruistic. I'm a firm believer in Karma. A trader WILL get something in return for his or her efforts, it might not be gold...It might be a friendship. It might be a meal worth monetarily much less than was traded, but exact financial and trade values are not a means by which to measure life and willingness to be kind. Another problem I have with this book is...well, probably just a restatement of the last paragraph. Everything is black and white. There is no gray. In life there is gray. I understand the irritation with the fence sitters, but some situation can't be handled with a thick pre-printed never adjusted rule book. Acceptance, patience, and understanding have a lot to do with achieving "success," whatever that may mean. So, I say, read this book. Read it with an open mind and an open heart. Read it and keep in mind it was written by a Russian woman in the 50's. Read it...but read it AFTER you've read The Fountainhead. Long live the Wyatt Torch...as a symbol of the fire in your heart to achieve YOUR dreams, and as a refusal to submit to anybody undeserving of your time and work (which are honestly the same thing). P.S. I'm in love with John Galt, but not even nearly as much as I am with Howard Roark...the sandy hair wins out over the homely ginger, but Roark is the overall winner hands down.