Urban Arson

In 1966 Truman Capote wrote his quintessential work, In Cold Blood, a non-fiction narrative about the brutal murder of a  wealthy Kansas family, the Clutters. Capote spent 4 years researching the vicious killings before he even wrote a single word. The story is told from an objective perspective, following the killers Richard “Dick” Hickock and Perry Smith before, during, and after their barbaric mass murder. It’s a beautifully dark tale told with the expertise of a master author. Capote held me in a state of suspense the entire time, giving subtle clues to the savage violence that was certain to take place.

It’s vicious and raw, often showing both the lightest and darkest of human emotions within the span of a few sentences. He eventually reveals the soul of each of the characters. Slowly peeling back their varied and layered personalities to reveal the simplistic clockwork which makes them tick. The strangest thing about the book is the mock Stockholm syndrome I experienced; rooting for the killers, understanding them despite their illogical inhumanity. But once you see them for the downtrodden losers they are there isn’t much to admire, respect, or applaud. I simply felt that death was the only answer for them; whether by their own hands or the hands of another. These men had to die for their actions.

This is an incredibly powerful book, deserving of its reverent praise. Truman Capote is one of the great American authors and I look forward to reading and reviewing his other works.

5/5 Stars

Ayn Rand’s magnum opus Atlas Shrugged is the greatest book I could ever hope to read. Published in 1957 Atlas Shrugged highlights the lives of several very successful men and women of industry who attempt to justify logical ideas to the illogical maniacs who have overrun the world. These maniacs are also in high positions of power and enforce socialist laws and regulations which allow mediocrity to hold sway and eventually lead to the destruction of Western Civilization. 

This book is over a thousand pages long with extremely small print. It’s pretty overwhelming when you start but after the first chapter you’ll get sucked in and the pages will quickly melt away until you meet the back cover longing for more. 

I could make the argument that this is the most important book ever written. It preaches the ideal of Objectivism an ideology whose simple creed states:

“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.”

This is the most beautiful ideal that a person could hope to hold. If you constantly strive to better your own life instead of waiting for a handout from others how can you be stopped? Ideals such as this are what push humanity forward, forcing exploration into uncharted areas of our universe, allowing for new discoveries which will make life better for mankind as a whole. The constant nagging restrictions which governments impose on the people who are under their control stagnate creativity. They have tied the hands of millions of dreamers whose hope was to push the human race forward faster than any man who had come before him. But instead they were exiled, jailed, and murdered for their ideas.

In whose hands would you entrust your life? Men such as Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs whose minds have made them wealthy beyond their wildest dreams and advanced the world 1000 fold with the invention of the personal computer. Or a tenured college professor of Philosophy who preaches to his knowledge hungry students that there are no answers and that nothing matters because his evil, cannibalistic mind lacks the capacity to do anything but tear down all things good in the world. If his ability to find fault in everything and inability to provide an answer for anything is being taught to millions of college students a year; how much longer can we last?

Self-made men have built and shaped this world in their own image, competing with one another to be the wealthiest and most influential. Their “selfish” competition is a boon for humanity because of its tendency to create new technologies which make life better. Had I never read this book I would have never understood what made them tick, and now that I have I can never go back. I must strive to be one of them, giving my all and expecting it in return.

After reading this review, pick up the book and read a little every night, or better yet get the audiobook version (which is 60 hours long). Watching these honorable men struggle to break the evil chains of ignorance, mediocrity, and lethargy will enrage you to the point of change. You will want to be better for your own sake first and for the sake of advancement second.

READ THIS BOOK!

Who is John Galt?

5/5 Stars