For many years, I dragged my books around with me, from apartment to apartment and finally to our house. There are the novels of Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald, plenty of histories, art and photography books. My treasured copy of Walden is still with me. I bought a thick paperback in the early 1980s but never had the courage to actually read it. This book was famous but just too long. When my favorite Boston talk radio host urged listeners to read it, I decided to take it on. And I recommend it to everyone.

Every once in awhile, you come across a book that blows you away, that changes your world view. When I was young, it was Jaws and The Hobbit. Then I read 1984, Brave New World, To Kill a Mockingbird, Fahrenheit 451 and The Grapes of Wrath. Later on, I discovered Sophie’s Choice, Fire in the Lake, The Best and the Brightest and the Communist Manifesto. Atlas Shrugged has joined that exclusive club for me. Ayn Rand is controversial. She is not politically correct. Instead, she joyfully exposes the truths behind the modern American liberal agenda. It’s no wonder Democrats cringe when they see this book.

Who is John Galt? Atlas Shrugged is wonderful and I treasure the few pages I get to read each night. Rand’s classic 1957 novel, about an America caught in an unending national crisis that spirals downward as the government gradually grabs more power and strangles the life out of the private sector, is frightening, exasperating and captivating. It is not a dry economic treatise but a vibrant cry for hope in a dark time.

If you have a job or are unemployed, you should read this book. If you work with your hands, you should read this book. If you pay taxes and wonder why 47 per cent of your fellow Americans do not, you need to read this book. If you pay your mortgage and have a family, you have to read this book. If you worry about the national debt, you will like this book. If you wonder how public unions hold states hostage, you should read this book. If you are tired of poor service at the MBTA and the RMV, you should get to the bookstore. If you are concerned about corruption, powerful lobbyists and patronage on Beacon Hill, this book is for you.

If you wonder why the economy is not doing better, if you are afraid that government is getting too big, you must read this book. If you, like 70 per cent of Americans, think we are on the wrong track, you should buy this book. If you still think Obamacare is a good idea, you have to read this book. If you want to know why Obama’s Green Initiative is hurting the economy, you will find out why in this book. If you’re confused because NASA is Not About Space Anymore, go to the bookstore. If you wonder why Democrats encourage class warfare and entitlements, the answers are in Atlas Shrugged. If you are angry at the price of gasoline, you can find some answers here. If you want to understand why the Tea Party movement is so popular nationwide, you can find out in this book. If you care about the future of the country, you should grab this book and run to your favorite chair. Her other masterpiece, The Fountainhead, is a must-read too.

Ayn Rand was born in Russia and fled the country after surviving the Revolution, arriving in New York city in 1925. She died in 1982 but her work remains relevant, especially during our Great Recession. This summer, instead of reading that trashy novel or People magazine, treat yourself to a great book. With the 2012 campaign already underway, you should dive right into this bestseller. You’ll thank me no matter how you vote.

Peter Robb lives in Holliston and Oak Bluffs.