(The full article is on my page at blogspot.com. You can view it by clicking on this link. Do check it out if the snippet below interests you!)

Books of Ayn Rand are something of a hand-me-down in my family. When I told my uncle that I had just finished reading the Fountainhead, he gave me a knowing smile and asked me how I felt about it. After listening to my enthusiastic response, his smile widenend and he said that I was now ready to take on her next book, Atlas Shrugged. He not only said this, but also gave me his much dog-eared copy of Atlas Shrugged, the same copy that has been read by many of my cousins, over and over again. It was a matter of great pride for me to receive it. It was a sort of coming of age ritual. I was now no more just a kid, but an adult, who had an independent reasoning mind, one that could assimilate the profound thoughts of Ayn Rand.