2011 Summer Project: Atlas Shrugged

Announcement, you guys: I've got a blogging project here that's going to take a few weeks during the summer.

You've probably heard of a book called ATLAS SHRUGGED. It was written in the 50s by Ayn Rand, and recently it's become a big deal in popular political debate.

I've heard people on the right adore it, and people on the left bash it. I'm interested in finding out why, because I know nothing about the book, other than it deals with a chick who runs a train company.

Then I looked at the actual book: over 1000 pages. Holy crap, I've got no time for this.

So I looked at the audio book: 60 hours. Holy crap, I mean...ugh.

Even the downloadable version from Audible.com is in 8 segments (most books are 1-2.) I could play it at double-speed and it would still take me a crazy amount of time and attention!

Then I realized I could make a blog project out of it. So I am.

Here's the deal: with the book broken into eight segments of 8 hours each (roughly), I could listen to one segment per week over the course of 8 weeks, and finish blogging the book sometime in July. I'll post a Chop of each individual segment, to get a feel for what the whole book is about: characters, philosophy, message, etc.

I want to know what ideas are in this book, why they're such a big deal, and whether or not I really agree with them. I have no real expectations of it, since I don't know why it's so polarizing. I intend to find out, and divulge my findings here.

So check back for updates, starting next week with Part One of the ATLAS SHRUGGED book Chop. 1000 pages = a really big tree...but that's why I chop.