I defy anyone to place that in either a right or a left corner

so, given this apparent neutral philosophy, why is it that mostly conservatives/libertarians have latched onto it?

because of its emphasis on individual responsibility, on the irreducibility of each individual's prime imperative of taking care of him/herself

"I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another..."

Yes, Virginia -- it's safe to assume Galt was single and never had any children.

feh.

In part, I judge the book by how many assholes I've known who have worshipped it.


(heh.)

Shark: As one who has children, I can assure you that they ARE one's life, while children, and so come under the umbrella of the first clause. As for he second, do you intend to ask your children to live their lives for the sake of yours?

Re: your last point, well, I cannot saw anything about the quality of your acquaintances.

Thanks, Eric! Perhaps those who eschew the book see themselves in Galt's enemies. That might explain why the message is perceived as right-leaning.

i eschew (swear t gawd, that's the first time i've ever typed that word...so i guess i eschew eschew) the book because i've mostly seen the message put to use as a rationalization for acting with extreme selfishness.

plus, she really, really needed an editor.

So did James Joyce, but Ulysses is lauded as a classic. Despite that, I doubt his novel is read outside of school assignments, and it doesn't make a list of influential works, except perhaps for librarians [grin].

(And isn't "eschew" a great word now that you've lost your virginity?)

So take the challenge. What book is current today that will have the same influence and impact as the four I mentioned?

this is really a tough question, partly since books & reading how nowhere near the impact on our society that they did years ago.

Okay, if books do not have the impact, what -specific- singular piece does?

I can quote those often-quoted lines from Catch 22 and grok with those who read Stranger in a Strange Land. Dune continues to spawn books and movies.

So what has replaced these works? What will show up so high on the list of influential items 50 years from today, as Atlas Shrugged does now?

Atlas Shrugged is an interesting case: a novel that, in part, helped to begin a political movement or, at least, is cited as a political influence (for good or ill).

But roll the dial back a notch, and Atlas Shrugged is a story, and a pretty good one at that. As a 15-year-old eager to dig his mind into a thick, epic novel, AS works in many ways. It's creepy slightly dystopian retro-future, it's story of the triumph of the individual in a maniac falling apart world, are very appealing. Sure, the last couple hundred pages devolve into treatise, but overall, it's a good story.

In fact, any book, film, or song talked about in any way for over 50 years qualifies, on some level, as successful.

Eric Berlin
Dumpster Bust: Miracles from Mind Trash

I know it's 20 years old, now, but what about William Gibson's Neuromancer?

More the technological aspects than the social/political ones; this is the novel that gave us the word "cyberspace". And it caught the imagination of an lot of Internet developers, who did change the world.

I'd like to apologize for my grammar in my last comment: two of my it's should be its (sloppy me).

Tim, being 20 years old does not disqualify it. Neuromancer is a good candidate, maybe because it's still in the core library for a LOT of the new publishers (online).

Anyone else up to the challenge?

Perhaps those who eschew the book see themselves in Galt's enemies.

That seems unlikely. If they don't read the book, how can they see themselves in any of its characters?

surely the Harry Potter series is the most read and at least indirectly influential literature of our time

Dr: "...do you intend to ask your children to live their lives for the sake of yours?"

zzzzzzzzz...

Look, Doc, if I were to pick literary words to live by, I can think of a lot that are more worthy and profound than those of Ayn Rand. She's got some great mantras for Fanatical Capitalist Pigs -- but not so helpful for us compassionate, pinko socialists.

Either way, it's hard to meet yer 'challenge', Dr. Pat, when we live in a world of increasing illiteracy.

Besides, it's a post-post modern world, and we don't need no stinkin' "impact." The eras of 'isms' is way past. Get with the program.

BTW: I suggest that the number of people who purchase Rand vs the number of people who actually wade all the way through her is close to the same numbers for Joyce.

Eric, what, if anything, will be the lasting impact of Harry Potter in 30 or 40 years time?

some of the terminology, a la A Clockwork Orange, the culturally pervasive notion that a world of wizards and witches exists parallel to, and intersecting with, ours

Shark - Your suggestion is spot-on... and true of this literary corporal!

~ Eric B.

I expect we'll end up seeing words like muggles used by IT nerds to describe the computer-illiterate.

Perhaps we already have?

John Galt and the others who "shrug" are creators, thinkers, swimmers against the collectivist, censoring, small-minded stream. It does not take too narrow a squint to see them recast as the bloggers of their day.

Most bloggers I find are collectivist, censoring, small-minded - present company excepted, of course

I propose the LOTR as it still resonates strongly with readers, no thanks to the films.

For more recent, seminal fare, I propose "Midnight's Children" (Rushdie), "The Art Of Computer Programming" (Knuth) and the printed out "Humane Genome Project" in book form.

Don't IT nerds have enough terms at their disposal off the strength of Monty Python and the Holy Grail alone?

~ Eric B., Monty Python admirer and non-IT nerd

I would say with the rise of the Internet, literacy, as in use of the written word, is up markedly from the preceding TV era. That does not address a probable decline in the readign and appreciation of literature, however.

I sure a company I once worked for wasn't the only one in the world to name all the servers after Holy Grail characters. There was even one called "I'm not dead".

Yes, Eric, Harry Potter has a parallel world of witches intersecting with our own. However, Bewitched pretty well established that point 40 years ago.

Possible candidates? Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow, (if it's not already) and maybe something by Neal Stephenson.

Hmmm... I think you may be right, Nick. Cryptonomicon is pretty convolute, presents some interesting parallels with reality and has the gravitas to be a candidate.

I still haven't read Gracity's Rainbow, so I am clueless on that one.

Harry Potter may be more influential in 20 years than you give it credit for, Tim. Not so much in itself, perhaps, as in kick-starting a generation of video- and TV-watchers to appreciate the joys of reading.

So the saddle-kids who came after the media revolution, but grew up before Rowling may be the second "Lost Generation".

Offhand, I'd say the book talked about down the road is DaVinci Code.

Neuromancer is a novel of our time, but it doesn't have the philosophical content of a taco.

Scary though the thought is, the equivalent for our times might be the wretched novels of Tim LaHaye with their WalMart version of the apocalypse.

Hey wait. How about the Turner Diaries. I'm sure that will ring some bells with the camo-clad portion of the audience. I know I keep a copy in my bunker.

But on a more serious note, the closest novelist I can think of who is writing today and fits in the general category of Ayn Rand or Robert Heinlein would be F. Paul Wilson and he's soft-pedaled and commercialized his message a lot in recent years, with corresponding enhancement of sales.

Dave

Nope, nope. The question, as I understand it, was what books will influence readers decades from now. Harry Potter will be remembered for its commercial success but is hardly spawning any deep social or critical movements, and Cryptonomicon doesn't present a clear message and is too rooted in its time. And if we're talking about current books, some of the examples cited here -- Gravity's Rainbow and Lord of the Rings -- are disqualified for being decades old already.

I strongly suspect The Da Vinci Code's a blip, but if I'm wrong about that then it may be the best candidate mentioned yet, along with the Left Behind books. (Hey, you did make clear that they didn't have to be good books.)

I realize all this naysaying puts me on the spot for a positive example. Unfortunately I've got no ideal ones. Matt Ruff's Sewer, Gas & Electric certainly influenced me personally -- it's in many ways a direct deconstruction of Atlas Shrugged, but funnier -- but as most people haven't heard of it today, I don't have high hopes that it'll be known thirty years from now. And Stephenson might do something in the next few years that's truly socially influential, even if Cryptonomicon and the Baroque Cycle aren't it. (You might say he already succeeded with Snow Crash, which continues to shape many CS people's perspectives on virtual reality and online society.)

If I was cocky, of course, I'd say "The stuff I'm writing right now." >8-> But I must admit the odds really aren't that great.

I hadn't thought of the "Left Behind" genre. There were some earlier examples of the Biblical Apocalyptic novel that had a brief flirt with the ages, but then disappeared. (Also some science fiction has explored the consequences of a Biblical Rapture disappearance.)

I suspect that Atlas Shrugged has the legs it exhibits because its conceptual core is new, not adopting older writings whole (as Left Behind does) so much as extending and explaining or refuting them.

IMHO, Neuromancer and The DaVinci Code have the best claim so far to stick around. Other decades-older books continue to appeal, but do not spark the same discussions and zeal that AS continues to provide.

Maybe we're all too close to the topic to see what might last. The proof of a pudding is in the eating, and lasting power requires time to prove.

How about Calvin & Hobbes? It was probably the only non-political cartoon that strived for more than cheap laughs and yet still touched upon some deeper philosophical issues. And they are collected in books...perhaps they'll eventually ignite some kind of comic rennaissance. Aside from that I can't think of much recent (philosophical) fiction that is worth the paper it's printed on.
--Fox

And Davinci Code is just anti-Catholic propoganda.

The DaVinci Code is recycled ancient heresy - it's not anti-Catholic so much as fiction in the manner of The Name of the Rose. Although I recall some of the same arguments being spouted when Umberto Eco's book first came out...

A fine blend of Atlas Shrugged and Narnia can be found at Hitherby Dragons - Aslan Shrugged

Peter, Edmund, Lucy, and Susan travel to a hidden valley. They stay at the home of Professor Galt.

"Professor Galt is perfect in every respect," sighs Lucy.

"I guess he'd make a fine engine," says Edmund. "But men like him should stick to their engines and leave the politics to higher minds."

"Edmund!" snaps Peter. "That's a rotter of a thing to say."

"I just don't see why we have to leave the world to fend for itself," says Edmund. "I want to build railroads."

"My cosmetics are too good for them," says Susan. She's only 12, but already her cosmetics empire rivals Avon. "They want me to live as a slave so that they can be beautiful. Edmund, John Galt is right."