Who Is John Galt?
Atlas Shrugged is more relevant than ever now and sales of the novel have increased significantly with recent economic developments around the world. Now Who Is John Galt is more informative than ever with feeds highlighting relevant blog posts and news items from around the world. And you can always find great deals on new and used copies of the book right here. You can also find 1st edition copies for sale on eBay.
Please enjoy, leave a comment, vote in one of the Plexos, tell a friend, there's a lot to do here. I will keep this lens up to date as long as I can - but I may be going away soon!
John Galt ~
"I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."
John Galt at a glance
Destroyer or Savior?
The enigmatic John Galt is the male hero of Atlas Shrugged, and typifies the Randian hero. By trade, he is an engineer, and has developed a revolutionary new motor powered by ambient static electricity that has the potential to change the world. However, in disgust at the collectivization forced upon him at his workplace at the Twentieth Century Motor Company, he goes on strike, depriving the world of his invaluable invention.To increase the impact, he persuades each individual of talent whom he considers to share his own ethical creed, to join him on strike, in a secret and secluded hiding place called Galt's Gulch. Amongst them are Francisco d'Anconia and Ragnar Danneskjöld, with whom he had studied at Patrick Henry University. At first, Dagny Taggart considered Galt to be a destructive force, and grants him the epithet 'the Destroyer'. However, when she is convinced of the futility of her own struggle, and the nobility of Galt's, she falls in love with him.
John Galt's name is enshrined in the question "Who is John Galt?" The phrase is used popularly as an expression of helplessness and despair at the sorry state of the world. The answer is expressed in a range of legends: none of which is entirely true, but all of which reflect an aspect of his achievements and labours.
Wikipedia article for Atlas Shrugged
Best Of John Galt On Twitter
Selected Tweets
Best of:
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- retweet | reply jadamrobertson
- Who is (our) John Galt?
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- retweet | reply FollowHeidi
- @johngalt is following me on twitter; im not sure how to feel about this. ***shrugs*** heh heh heh :)
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- retweet | reply ticklemepinktoo
- http://bit.ly/SzGsx find out who John Galt is #right #atlasshrugged #ballotcattle
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- retweet | reply letsgoduke
- White house to appoint "pay czar" says wsj. And the atlas shrugged-esque situation continues to develop. #johngalt
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- retweet | reply JavierPlumey
- Can I return my GM cars? I suddenly feel like buying a Ford. Pres. Obama is now officially Mr. Wesley Mouch from #atlasshrugged #tcot
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- retweet | reply jeffgentry
- #Maryland state plan to increase income tax on #millionaires backfires as millionaires flee http://tr.im/muWk #johngalt #tax #fail
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- retweet | reply Conserv_Cal
- 6/30-7/8 (Las Vegas #NV) Serious thinkers going Galt at Free Minds '09 Conference. UNLV. Register at http://short.to/7q5d #tlot #tloc #galt
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- retweet | reply CalebJennings
- "An honest man does not desire until he has identified the object of his desire." #AtlasShrugged
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- retweet | reply ashleymatt
- RT [Neal Boortz] @Talkmaster The moochers elected the looters and the producers are raped #atlasshrugged #tcot
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- retweet | reply lancewhite
- Geithner's tax loopholes. From AIG bonuses to IMF taxes. http://is.gd/A6Gv #tcot #teaparty #johngalt
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- retweet | reply LetsBONE
- I prefer to think of David Berkowitz as a modern analogue for John Galt. Discuss. #aynrand #atlasshrugged
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- retweet | reply lancewhite
- W-2 WTF?!?!: Tax Facts to Make Your Head Explode!: http://is.gd/rSlo #TCOT #REASON #TAXES #JOHNGALT
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- retweet | reply ledeagenda
- Take the John Galt Oath http://tinyurl.com/cgu8t6 #aynrand #johngalt #gopliberty #tcot #tpp
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Collectible John Galt
Atlas Shrugged First Editions on Ebay
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John Galt In The Blogosphere
Blog posts about John Galt
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byThree reasons to love John Galt
Among Many Others
2) He said stuff like: "Man's mind is his basic tool of survival. Life is given to him, survival is not. His body is given to him, its sustenance is not. His mind is given to him, its content is not. To remain alive, he must act, and before he can act he must know the nature and purpose of his action."
3) Dagny Taggart was hot for him!
John Galt Gifts
Gifts for Proud Producers Everywhere
Pint Glassware with logos from Reardon Steel, Taggart Transcontinental and more.
T-shirts, Polo & Dickies Style shirts with many different logos.John Galt Gifts also has sweatshirts and hoodies, decals, keychains, license plate frames, ashtrays and more.
John Galt, Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
RSS Feed from The AtlasPhere.com
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A place where Liberty Loving people can exchange information...
Here's a very good blog influenced by the writings and philosophy of Ayn Rand.
This Rand quote is from a recent post - "One of the methods used by statists to destroy capitalism consists in establishing controls that tie a given industry hand and foot, making it unable to solve its problems, then declaring that freedom has failed and stronger controls are necessary."
This is such an accurate description of the conditions we currently find ourselves in. Scary how prescient she was.
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Capitalism Magazine
CapMag.com
Here's an RSS feed from Capitalism Magazine an online magazine providing articles from a pro-capitalist, laissez-faire, pro-individual right perspective.You know John Galt would subscribe to this.
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Build Your Reputation
Start building your reputation and business with Discover Social Networking. Learn the best way to use social sites like Facebook, Twitter, Ning and more.
The Fountainhead on DVD (1949)
Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal, Raymond Massey
The Fountainhead
Amazon Price: $14.99 (as of 07/04/2009)
Until Atlas Shrugged the movie comes out, get this classic Gary Cooper flick. Grant brings Howard Roark to the silver screen. Adapted for the screen by Ayn Rand it is also Patricia Neal's screen debut as the formidable Dominique Francon.
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Blog Post About John Galt
Earth Frisk Blog
It's always good to be mentioned.
Atlas Shrugged Audiobooks
Listen To a Classic
Atlas Shrugged
This is and abridged version on audio CD released 2000.
Amazon Price: $23.07 (as of 07/04/2009)
List Price: $34.95
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Atlas Shrugged (In two parts)
Unabridged version on CD.
Amazon Price: (as of 07/04/2009)
List Price: $69.95
Atlas Shrugged: Library Edition
CD version in an MP3 file.
Amazon Price: (as of 07/04/2009)
List Price: $69.95
The Fair Tax
A Tax Plan John Galt Would Love
I'm pretty sure John Galt would endorse the Fair Tax. (My opinion, of course.) The Fair Tax is based upon consumption not income. It abolishes the IRS and the current tax structure. Take a look at these lenses or the Fair Tax website.-
The Fair Tax Discussion
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Fair Tax The FairTax would be the largest transfer of power from the bureaucrats and elected officials to the people in the history of this country. The FairTax is obviously not flawless. But no system is. Certainly not the system of taxation current...
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Fairtax: The Truth
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Answering The Critics by Neal Boortz, John Linder with Bob Woodall Three years after The FairTax Book, the authors are back to answer the outspoken and misinformed critics of their innovative proposal. FairTax: The Truth debunks the negative myths an...
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The Fair Tax
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by Neal Boortz and Congressman John Linder Saying Goobye to the Income Tax and the IRS Not to mention the Social Security Tax, the Medicare Tax, coporate income taxes, the death tax, the self-employment tax, the alternative minimum tax, the gift tax,...
John Galt Videos
Ayn Rand For Your Kindle Reader
Wireless Downloads
Anthem:
The Classic Novel of Individualism
The New Ayn Rand Companion, Revised and Expanded Edition
Kindle:
Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device
John Galt Study Guides
Cliff Notes, Summaries
Atlas Shrugged Cliff Notes
On Amazon.com0 points
Atlas Shrugged - A Study Guide
"Novels For Students" Series (Downloadab more...0 points
What do you think of John Galt?
A Quick Survey
Squidoo Secrets
Family, Friends and Enemies
The People Who Knew John Galt
- Hugh Akston
- The world-renowned former head of the Department of Philosophy at Patrick Henry University in Cleveland, Dr. Akston taught John Galt, Francisco d'Anconia, and Ragnar Danneskjöld. He is later persuaded by his former students to join their strike, and takes a lowly job flipping hamburgers in a roadside diner in Wyoming. On the trail of "the destroyer," Dagny discovers Akston there-and his answers to her questions reveal that he too is one of the strikers.
- Orren Boyle
- President of Associated Steel, Boyle conspires with James Taggart and the government to destroy his hated competitor, Hank Rearden, and seize the rights to produce Rearden Metal.
- Francisco d'Anconia
- One of the novel's great heroes, along with John Galt and Hank Rearden. The spectacularly able president of d'Anconia Copper and Dagny Taggart's first lover, Francisco is the first man to join Galt's strike-and he gives up Dagny to do so. He adopts the guise of an international playboy as camouflage while he deliberately destroys his industrial empire over a period of years. Francisco is also one of the strike's best recruiters, and his speeches on the moral meaning of money and on sex help to liberate Hank Rearden from guilt. Galt's closest friend, he's also his and Rearden's rival for Dagny's love.
- Quentin Daniels
- A talented young scientist, he chooses to be night watchman rather than serve the government. Dagny hires him to try to rebuild the motor she and Rearden discover at the abandoned Twentieth Century Motor Company. When he's recruited by Galt, Dagny follows their plane to Galt's Gulch.
- Ragnar Danneskjöld
- College friend of Francisco and Galt, and budding young philosopher, Ragnar is the third to go on strike. A man of implacable justice, he becomes a feared pirate who sinks government relief ships. He marries the beautiful actress Kay Ludlow.
- Richard Halley
- A brilliant, unheralded composer who achieves belated recognition after a long, grueling struggle. On his night of triumph, Halley retires and vanishes.
- Owen Kellogg
- The skilled young assistant to the manager of Taggart Terminal, he resigns and vanishes to Galt's Gulch. Dagny later meets him on a train while hunting for "the destroyer," where she realizes that he's now one of "the destroyer's" men.
- Wesley Mouch
- A failure in the private sector, Mouch turns to politics. He is hired as Rearden's Washington lobbyist, whom he betrays in exchange for a top government job with the Bureau of Economic Planning and National Resources. A faceless nobody who constantly pleads for "wider powers," he is regarded as "safe"-and is promoted, step-by-step, as a compromise candidate, until he becomes the nation's economic dictator.
- Fred Kinnan
- The union boss of Amalgamated Labor of America, Kinnan is a corrupt power-seeker-but loyal to his men, and more bluntly honest than the rest of the Washington gang with whom he conspires. He respects Dagny and Galt.
- Paul Larkin
- An old business friend of Rearden and his family, Larkin is a loser and weakling. He betrays Rearden in order to obtain political influence, and later fails to deliver to him iron ore from the very mines that Rearden was forced to sell to him.
- Cuffy Meigs
- Director of Unification and Railroad Unification Plan, Meigs is a superstitious, anti-intellectual thug. When the economy nears collapse, he seizes control of the government's "Project X" weapon to establish himself as a local dictator. Drunk, Meigs accidentally causes an enormous explosion that devastates much of the Midwest, and destroys the vital Taggart Bridge over the Mississippi River.
- Michael ("Midas") Mulligan
- Brash, colorful owner of the Mulligan Bank of Chicago, early investor in Rearden Steel, and the world's richest man. Midas Mulligan goes on strike and vanishes when a court orders him to make a risky loan to Lee Hunsacker to take over the Twentieth Century Motor Company. Mulligan then buys a remote valley in the Colorado Rockies that he secretly develops as "Gult's Gulch."
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Family, Friends and Enemies
Part II
- Henry (Hank) Reardon
- Iron-willed inventor, and founder of the Rearden Steel empire, Hank Rearden is, with Francisco and Galt, one of the novel's three major heroes. Rearden's quest to understand and resolve his moral and emotional conflicts is central to the plot. His revolutionary new alloy, Rearden Metal, makes him a target of predators in government, industry, and his own family. He becomes Dagny's secret lover, and to protect her reputation, surrenders his Metal to the government in a blackmail scheme hatched by his wife. Rearden ultimately is rescued, literally and spiritually, by Francisco d'Anconia.
- Lillian Reardon
- The society woman whom Rearden marries because of her seeming admiration. But she's really devoid of any passion or purpose save the desire to acquire a feeling of power by controlling and manipulating him. A soul mate of James Taggart and a supporter of the Washington gang, she is the source of the secret information that is used as blackmail against Rearden in order to deprive him of Rearden Metal.
- Mrs. Reardon
- Rearden's petulant and parasitical mother, who berates him for the very achievements and virtues that maintain her comfortable lifestyle.
- Phillip Reardon
- Hank's purposeless younger brother criticizes his "materialism" and professes motivations "higher" than money-making; but that doesn't stop him from living off Rearden's wealth-or betraying him.
- Dr. Robert Stadler
- The world's greatest physicist, Stadler was head of the Physics Department at Patrick Henry University. There he vied with Hugh Akston for the loyalties of students Francisco, Ragnar, and John Galt. But believing that force, not reason, is the only practical way to deal with people, Stadler surrenders his independence and becomes a stooge of the government. When Stadler endorses the foundation of the State Science Institute, Galt leaves the school and damns him. Stadler becomes the Institute's titular head, lending his prestige to the organization and focusing on "pure theory," while Floyd Ferris runs the "practical" side, transforming Stadler's theories into deadly weapons for the government. By the end, Stadler's is the loudest voice calling for the murder of John Galt, the student he once loved. In fitting irony, Stadler dies in the "Project X" explosion.
- Dagny Taggart
- The novel's indomitable heroine and main viewpoint character. Dagny is Vice-President in Charge of Operations at Taggart Transcontinental, the railroad established by her ancestor, Nat Taggart. She struggles to protect and save her business from government coercion, and from the irrationality of her brother James, the company president. Against such interference, she builds the John Galt Line from track made of Rearden Metal. At the same time, she struggles to discover the motives and the identities of what seem to be two mysterious men: one, a "destroyer" who is deliberately draining the world of its most capable producers; the other, an inventor who has produced revolutionary motor whose fragments she finds in the ruins of the Twentieth Century Motor Company. She hires Quentin Daniels to try to reconstruct the motor. Then, when the hated "destroyer" recruits him, too, she pursues them by plane and crash-lands in Galt's Gulch. There she discovers that the "destroyer" and the inventor are the same man-John Galt-and soon, she finds herself falling in love with the enemy she swore to kill. She is the last to join the strike, and the novel's plot centers around her struggle to grasp the reasons for it.
- James Taggart
- Dagny's older brother, president of Taggart Transcontinental, and the novel's main villain. A nihilist motivated by an envy of the competent and hatred of the good, James thwarts Dagny's every effort to salvage the railroad-and uses his government connections to destroy his competitors. His power, reputation, wealth, and even survival are maintained only by Dagny's heroic efforts to save their company. He marries an innocent shop girl Cherryl, first attracted by her blind admiration, but becomes enraged when she begins to see through him and eventually drives her to suicide. At the story's end, his psychological destruction comes as he's screaming for Galt's murder, then grasps that this would mean his own destruction as well-but realizes that his death still doesn't matter.
- Tony (Wet Nurse)
- The great 19th century founder of Taggart Transcontinental, revered by Dagny. His statue in the heart of the Taggart Terminal is a kind of spiritual shrine for her, and his courage and vision helps to inspire her desperate desire to save the railroad.
- Eddie Willers
- Dagny's indispensable Special Assistant-a lonely, dutiful man of great integrity but modest ability, loyal to Dagny since childhood. Eddie is befriended by a lowly Taggart employee whom he meets in the cafeteria, and who becomes his private sounding board about Dagny and the railroad's problems. Eddie doesn't discover until too late that he loves Dagny-and that his attentive friend was John Galt.
- Ellis Wyatt
- The hot-tempered young entrepreneur and inventor who founds Wyatt Oil in Colorado, his company is a pillar of the economy. Wyatt becomes a friend of Dagny and Rearden, as an investor in the John Galt Line. But when the government imposes a tax on Colorado that will bleed his business dry, he torches his oilfields in rebellion and joins the strike. One well fire can't be quenched, and becomes a symbol of the strike known as "Wyatt's Torch."
- The Strikers
- People of the mind who go on strike because they do not appreciate being exploited by the Looters and demonized by a society who depends on them for its very existence.
- The Looters
- The Looters consist of men and women who use force to obtain value from those who produce it.
John Galt Gifts
Enjoy Capitalism!
Shout Out For John Galt!
Do You Know Who John Galt Is?
Tell me what you think about John Galt, this lens or related topics.
Amitabh1702 wrote...
I never thought one could create a lens out of John Galt! Guess I was wrong. Ayn Rand, yes; Atlas Shrugged, yes; but John Galt? Guess I was wrong.
5* for Imagination, Information, Entertainment, Design of the lens, and bringing back college days memory when Ayn Rand was the in thing.
Posted May 29, 2009
nightbear wrote...
Great information! More so than a library I think only more compact. I liked meeting Mr Galt. Loved your lens.
Posted May 25, 2009
S. McCoy wrote
I find it astounding that no one has even given lip service to the eerily prophetic parallels between the world of Atlas Shrugged and the world of today, where railroads of fiction are replaced by Wall Street and the mortgage and auto industries of this "bizarro" America we now inhabit. The twist is that this is the really real world and there are no heroes with enough moxie to stand against the onslaught of moral cowards who are "in charge". Who in this country has the stones to make the hard choices? Republican? Democrat? Who is John Galt?
Posted March 04, 2009
drifter0658 wrote...
I have read this book 3 times and plan on reading it again as soon as I am finished with Shelby Foote's The Civil War....this book has a continuing influence over my life...Thanks again.
And thank you on behalf of the community for the volunteer work you do as a guide and mentor in the guise of an Angel.
Posted February 24, 2009
boshemia wrote...
I finally read Atlas Shrugged this summer. Good Stuff, and the strange thing is I discovered it while researching school shootings??? It was banned in the English class at Columbine High School. The teacher said she did not want anyone reading that garbage in her class. It was a great book and I will certainly encourage my children to read it even if their teachers might not!
Posted January 08, 2009
paperfacets wrote...
Angelina Jolie is Perfect! Much better than Fawcett. I want tall and dark for John Galt.
Is the movie going to be a period movie or modern day? I guess I will have to wait and see. How about scifi?
Posted November 15, 2008
Albert Grande wrote
This is a great Lens. I read "Atlas Shrugged" a number of years ago. The truth is still there after all these years. Regulations, red tape and bueracracy kill innovation and progress.
Thanks so much for your thoughts and insights. now we all know who John Galt really is.
Albert Grande
http://albertgrande.com
Posted August 23, 2008
The_Homeopath wrote...
That clip is powerful stuff. I think it resonates even more today.
Posted August 07, 2008
Who Is John Galt?
Find Out Right Here
![The World of Atlas Shrugged: The Essential Companion to Ayn Rand's Masterpiece [UNABRIDGED]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51H087KPNZL._SL75_.jpg)
Atlas Shrugged Movie News
Here's some web sites with updated news on developments about the Atlas Shrugged movie project. If you know of a site with current news that is not in this list, please click on the link below and add it.
Atlas Shrugged Movie - Ayn Rand Meta-Blog
The Atlasphere - Atlas Shrugged Movie Archive1 point
The Atlas Society
Atlas Shrugged Movie - Film Project News1 point
Internet Movie Database
Atlas Shrugged (2008)1 point
Objectivist Living - Movies and Entertainment
Atlas Shrugged movie news and discussions1 point
New York Times - Movies Section
The long, long list of names who have tried to fil more...0 points
John Galt Comes To The Silver Screen
ATLAS SHRUGGED - The MovieAtlas Shrugged has been in "development hell" for over thirty years. From the early seventies when Albert Ruddy, producer of The Godfather, spent years trying to bring Atlas Shrugged to the big screen, attracting the interest of Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway to the late seventies when CBS had plans to make a multi-part TV mini-series starring Ayn Rand's personal pick to star, Farrah Fawcett. Still living at the time, Ayn Rand had script approval rights, which greatly complicated the process. Intervening years have seen fits and starts, periods of languishing with little interest.
Things picked up again in 2003 when the Baldwin Group acquired film rights to the novel. Often envisioned as better suited for a mini-series, Howard Baldwin has even envisioned turning it into two movies. In fact, a two-part script was penned by James V. Hart (Contact), although it's likely to be reworked.
In April 2006 the announcement came that Lionsgate Studios would finance and distribute the film.
Summer of 2006 saw the principals involved confirming that the movie is on "a very aggressive path toward production". They also confirmed that the goal is for a three-part adaptation, like "Lord of the Rings." Only that length, Baldwin said, would give sufficient scope to tell Ayn Rand's long, complex story.
On September 21, 2006, the Atlas Society announced that Angelina Jolie had been officially signed to star as the movie's female lead, Dagny Taggart. Brad Pitt, also a fan of Rand's novels, is said to interested in the male lead character, John Galt.
After a brief rumor of the film being in "turnaraound", Variety announced that Vadim Perelman had been brought on to rewrite and direct, putting the company in a strong position for an early 2008 production start.
The Abridged Atlas Shrugged
1000 Pages Distilled To 1000 Words
"It sure is hard to find good men now-a-days. I wonder what the hell is going on," Dagny smirked to herself as she entered the towering monolith to capitalism that was the headquarters of Taggart Transcontinental. "There are so few men like Hank Rearden, the man who single handedly invented a new greenish tint metal that is far stronger than steel," she said bursting in on her brother. "There are too many like you, Jim," she mocked.
Read more...
Web Sites John Galt Would Visit
Do you know of a site that's not included here? Click on the "Add To This List" button below and let everyone know about it.
JohnGaltGifts.com
Gifts for Proud Producers and Capitalists Everywhe more...4 points
The Ayn Rand Institute
The Center for the Advancement of Objectivism3 points
Ayn Rand Society
A professional society affiliated with the<br / more...2 points
The Atlas Society -- home of The Objectivist Center
The Atlas Society and The Objectivist Center--the more...2 points
Celebrate Capitalism
For the love of freedom! And the glory of human cr more...2 points
Ayn Rand Centenary: Home
The Ayn Rand Centenary: A Legacy of Reason and Ind more...2 points
John Galt Games
John Galt Games is an international gaming conglom more...1 point
The Atlasphere
Member directory (with an online dating service) f more...1 point
The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies
A nonpartisan journal devoted to the study of Ayn more...1 point
The Capitalism Site
The Capitalism Site is a moral, political, and eco more...1 point
Objectivist Living
An online community dedicated to Ayn Dedicated to more...1 point
http://www.johngaltshirts.com
Popular John Galt T-Shirt Quotes!1 point
AtlaShrugged.com
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Lenses John Galt Would Visit
On Squidoo.com
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