ABOUT THE BOOKIt's not surprising that one of the of the twentieth century's most enduring and controversial figures, Ayn Rand, produced one of the twentieth century's most enduring and controversial books, Atlas Shrugged. In the novel's fifty-plus years of existence, Atlas Shrugged has been both lauded and vilified, credited with creating a new paradigm of social and political thought by supporters and denounced by detractors as a re-hashed, reactionary appeal to selfishness and greed.Rand, in the course of her life as a writer, intellectual and political theorist, embraced all of these labels, whether from critic or supporter alike. Fittingly, her novel is infused with the same elusive qualities. Whether loved or hated, it is because of this clash of ideas that Atlas Shrugged has endured to take its place with the important novels of the last century.MEET THE AUTHORJason Stewart is San Francisco area public relations/marketing professional with degrees in Political Science and Comparative Religion. He writes two semi-regular blogs at www.criticstudio.com. His short fiction has appeared on-line and in print and his first novel 'The Eyes of the Stars" will be released in late 2012.Follow him on: Twitter: @sabbathsoldierFacebook J. Malcolm Stewartemail [email protected]