Atlas Shrugged facts for kids
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First edition
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| Author | Ayn Rand |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Philosophical fiction Science fiction< Mystery fiction Romance novel |
| Published | 1957 |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Pages | 1168 (first edition) |
| OCLC | 412355486 |
Atlas Shrugged is a famous book written by Ayn Rand, a Russian-American writer and thinker. It was first published in the United States in 1957. This was Rand's longest book and her last story before she started writing non-fiction books. She considered it her most important fictional work.
What the Story is About
The main character in Atlas Shrugged is a woman named Dagny Taggart. She manages a very large railroad company. This company controls the main train lines across the United States. The story happens in the USA when trains were the most important way to travel and move goods.
Dagny starts to notice something strange. Many of the country's smartest and most talented people are disappearing. These are the leaders of industries and the best scientists. They are all quitting their jobs and vanishing. No one knows where they are going. Dagny begins to search for someone she calls "the Destroyer." She believes this person is making these important people stop working.
While Dagny searches, the country and the world get worse. Without these skilled leaders, many industries stop working. The economy, which is how money and goods move around, starts to fail. This causes many problems for everyone in society.
Finally, Dagny finds "the Destroyer." His real name is John Galt. She soon realizes that she was wrong about him. John is not a bad person. Instead, he is a man with strong beliefs and a lot of honesty. He thinks that the world has been taking the hard work of leaders and scientists without giving them enough respect or fair payment.
John Galt believes that the only way to make the world better is to make sure that smart and hardworking people are treated well. He has convinced these leaders and scientists to go on a "strike." This means they have stopped working and are hiding in a secret valley in the mountains.
John Galt also convinces Dagny that his ideas are right. She decides to join him in his hidden valley. They start a relationship. Their goal is to help change society. They want to create a new society where hard work, intelligence, and honesty are truly valued and respected.
Images for kids
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Rand studied operations of the New York Central Railroad as research for the story.
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Ouray, Colorado was the basis for Rand's descriptions of Galt's Gulch.
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Ayn Rand in 1943
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Rand used interviews with scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer for the character Robert Stadler.
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Random House CEO Bennett Cerf oversaw the novel's publication in 1957.
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The novel was named after the mythological Atlas.
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John Aglialoro optioned the film rights in 1992.
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Taylor Schilling played Dagny Taggart in Atlas Shrugged: Part I.
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See also
In Spanish: La rebelión de Atlas para niños
