"There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs."
The typical flippant dismissal of Atlas Shrugged kept me from reading it until well into my 40's.
I'm not a huge fan of the book, but for me it was a viewpoint often missing now days. For some people it's a good wake up call. If one want to trade in some of our sicker tendencies in this society for better virtues then perhaps it may be appropriate.
A related quote I'm reminded of: It's no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society" (quote attributed to Jiddu Krishnamurti).
Im not sure if JR made the comments about Atlas Shrugged, suggesting it to be a negative influence.
I read it while starting a company, and it was exactly what I needed to suffer that process.