This book explores Ayn Rand’s monumental work, Atlas Shrugged, which presents a revolutionary new philosophical system in the form of an inspiring novel. Edward W. Younkins explains how Rand’s masterwork is one of the most influential books ever published, impacting a variety of disciplines including philosophy, literature, economics, business, and political science, among others. Exploring Atlas Shrugged analyzes the novel’s integrating elements of theme, plot, and characterization from many perspectives and on many levels of meaning. The chapters in this book are accessible and rewarding, offering fresh insights to both new readers and to scholars who have studied Rand’s masterpiece over many years. It is also a valuable resource for teachers and students who use Atlas Shrugged in their classes. Such a rich and complex novel warrants and rewards additional study and critical analysis. The author explains how Atlas Shrugged expounds a radical philosophy, presenting a view of man and man’s relationship to existence and manifesting the essentials of an entire philosophical system of metaphysics, epistemology, politics, and economics.
Edward W. Younkins is Professor of Accountancy and Business at Wheeling University, Executive Director of its Institute for the Study of Capitalism and Mortality, and the founder of the university's undergraduate major in Political and Economic Philosophy.
He is also the founding director of the school's Master in Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Science in Accountancy (MSA) programs. He earned in Ph.D. in Accountancy from the University of Mississippi and earned state and national hours on the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Management Accountant (CMA) exams, respectively. Dr. Younkins also received the Outstanding Educator Award for 1997 from the West Virginia Society of CPAs.
He is on the editorial board of Reason Papers and Libertarian Papers, the advisory board of The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies (JARS), the board of trustees of The Savvy Street, and is series editor of Capitalist Thought: Studies in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics for Lexington Books. The author of numerous articles in accounting and business journals, he has also published in many free-market-oriented journals.
He has authored or edited a dozen books including his trilogy of books on freedom and flourishing: Capitalism and Commerce, Champions of a Free Society, and Flourishing and Happiness in a Free Society.
