by Rand, Ayn

Published in 1957 by Random House, Inc., New York
Edition: First edition, First printing
Binding: Hardback
Condition: Very good
Comments: Ayn Rand considered “Atlas Shrugged,” her last novel, to be her magnum opus. At 1,168 pages of small type, it’s easy to be glib and say it is obvious why, but what she meant was that this was the work that spelled out the philosophy of Objectivism that she had developed over the years. She spent the rest of her life working in prose, lecturing, and conducting seminars promoting and developing that philosophy. She said “Atlas Shrugged” is concerned with "the role of the mind in man's existence—and, as a corollary, the demonstration of a new moral philosophy: the morality of rational self-interest”. It is difficult to give a brief summary of the book’s plot and characters. It is set in a dystopian America in an ambiguous period that has some of the technology of the time it was written—Rand started it in 1946—but without other things, and with yet other technologies, such as a motor that runs on atmospheric static electricity, that still don’t exist. It centers around industrial magnates abandoning their businesses and going “on strike” to protest against “the looters,” primarily governments, who want to exploit their productivity. It is even difficult to slot it into a particular genre. Rand herself called it a mystery novel, though of a lofty kind, but when a film producer asked if the screenplay could focus on the love story element of the plot, she reportedly said, “That’s all it ever was.” Meanwhile, because of its emphasis on technology and its nebulous timeframe, others consider it a type of science fiction. At the time “Atlas Shrugged” was published in 1957, the book was widely panned by critics across the political spectrum—critics from the “New York Times” and the “Saturday Review” independently used the words “hatred” and “hate” in describing its tone, and Whittaker Chambers called it “silly” in the “National Review”—but it immediately became a best seller. It has always been influential, but never more so than in the 21st century. Conservative politicians and commentators, especially, cite its influence on them even now. As of 2022, it has sold ten million copies.

Our copy is a first printing of the first edition. It is in very good condition but missing the dust jacket. The binding is in dark green buckram with Rand’s initials, surrounded by a border, stamped in gold-colored foil on the front cover. The title and Rand’s name are similarly stamped in gold-colored foil on a black label on the upper portion of the spine, with the publisher’s name, Random House, stamped in the same foil directly on the bottom portion of the spine. That spine is the only place where any flaws to the binding appear: it is a bit bumped and soiled and slightly concave, but still strong and not cracked. The fore edge of the text block is beveled, and the top edge is stained in blue. The hinges are firm, both inside and out. The pages are clear, without any flaws such as tears or folds or marks, though there is a bit of the age tanning expected of a book this age. See our photos for details. More photos available on request.

Seller Inventory #: 0000529