Some of you young folks may not be familiar with Ayn Rand, the author of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead, but if you're going to read one work of fiction in your lifetime, it ought to be one of these--if nothing else, it will challenge your beliefs like never before, and your beliefs need to be challenged.

USA Today just posted an interesting article about how relevant Rand's work is today:
http://www.usatoday.com/m...rand_x.htm

Atlas Shrugged saved my life, seriously...The closest I've ever come to a "religious experience."

I don't know her or her work but I first saw her name in the dedication of matt ruff's novel "sewer, gas & electric. the public works trilogy" (1997). "For Ayn Rand" it says plus a character in the book is called so, too.