# Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

23 Hacker News commenters recommended Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and 31 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended for its big ideas and influence on thinking, though many find the prose slow, long, and badly written.

## Why people recommend it

- Ideas seen as brilliant or important (4 comments): "Atlas Shrugged is a bit of a slog, but the ideas are brilliant." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46355490)) "But it’s ideas seem generally right, the subject matter important, and under discussed." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46098929)) "It has some issues, sure, but it should be mandatory reading." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46346897))

## What people warn about

- Slow, long, and badly written (7 comments): "Atlas Shrugged is a bit of a slog, but the ideas are brilliant." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46355490)) "Atlas Shrugged is definitely not a good novel by any means" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50273959)) "I found AS too long and preferred The Fountainhead" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50276084))
- Romanticizes greed and dangerous ideology (4 comments): "his practically religious belief in Randian ideology led to the most severe global economic downturn since the Great Depression" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48723012)) "1000+ pages to say greed is good, a realization most people make by fifth grade." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46358715)) "the "heroes" of Atlas Shrugged are, in fact, the villains of our modern world." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46099711))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://hackerapproved.com/p/crime-and-punishment.md): 39 recommend
- [The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://hackerapproved.com/p/brothers-karamazov.md): 28 recommend
- [Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace](https://hackerapproved.com/p/infinite-jest.md): 26 recommend
- [The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://hackerapproved.com/p/great-gatsby.md): 24 recommend
- [Moby-Dick by Herman Melville](https://hackerapproved.com/p/moby-dick.md): 22 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0451191145?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780451191144) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand", https://hackerapproved.com/p/atlas-shrugged/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).