

It turns out Galt has been leading the country’s top businessmen and innovators in a strike against their socialist government. There, she meets bachelor number three: the handsome, brilliant inventor John Galt. Dagny sets out to find the inventor, and a series of detours and clues eventually lead her through a “ray screen” to a secret valley called Atlantis. Although it’s risky, Dagny goes ahead with Rearden Steel-then sets out on a sexy cross-country road trip with its unhappily married inventor.ĭagny and Rearden stumble upon a sweet energy-converting motor that could change the world and rescue the economy. Hank Rearden, the developer of Rearden Steel, a new metal that would be great for the company’s new rails.

Her former lover, Francisco d’Anconia, the heir to the copper industry who appears to be recklessly destroying his family’s fortune. There are some interesting men in Dagny’s life:ġ. Unfortunately her brother James, president of the railroad, is a total wuss. She’s smart, headstrong, and intent on saving her family’s company from the collectivist policies that are strangling the economy. Who: Our narrator and heroine is Dagny Taggart, Vice President of the Taggart Transcontinental Railroad. For reasons unknown, a mysterious question is spreading among the hopeless masses: “Who is John Galt?” It’s in a bad economic depression, and to make matters worse, the country’s best and brightest business leaders keep disappearing. Where: A dystopian United States sometime in an unspecified but relatively low-tech future. Derided by critics as “a homage to greed” praised by fans as one of the most valuable novels ever written.

What: Ayn Rand’s final novel, published in 1957, and a source of controversy ever since. No time to read Atlas Shrugged? No problem! Let’s dive right in. Don't miss out on the fun-check out this TL DR video and bring your own opinion to the table. Love it or hate it, Atlas Shrugged is likely to remain a staple of dinner party conversation for years to come. Particularly in the wake of Paul Ryan's now-famous endorsement, it seems like everyone has something to say about this controversial manifesto.
