Calumet "K"

I have read all of Ayn Rand's novels and I was happy to discover Calumet K. The characters have the spirit of Dagny Taggart, Hank Reardon, Ellis Wyatt, and the other industrious heroes of Atlas Shrugged. It is a light and quick read. This was the first ebook I have read; I read it on my phone while on BART. The iPhone Kindle app is great for accessing books on the run. I am now a fan of Calumet K and digital books!

The main character is the archetype hero and get things done guy that Ayn modeled many of her man as hero characters in Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. This book was originally published in 1901 and is more, I think, a character study than a plot driven novel. That's why I only give it four stars. Ayn said about the story herself, "It's style is staightforward and competent, but undistinguished. It lacks the most important ingredient of good fiction, a plot structure. But it has one element that I have never found in any other novel: the portrait of an efficacious man." Praise like that I think explains why Ayn didn't get a lot of requests for "blurbs" from other writers but hey that's Ayn and that's why we love her. I like the book because the hero, Charlie Bannon, is tasked to build a grain elvator and every time he runs across a problem that would make anybody else quit or drive them off the project he doesn't get upset or snivvel he just sticks to it and gets the job done. Read the book to find out what crap he has to put up with and how he solves things. It is inspiring whenever you have to get a gargantual task done and start to second guess yourself.

Calumet "K" is not great literature; it is simply light popular fiction from 1901. But it is well worth reading nevertheless. Calumet "K" tells the story of how Charlie Bannon, the story's hero, attempts to complete construction of a Chicago grain elevator in the face of a series of hurdles that threaten to scuttle the project. How Bannon deals with these challenges will fill you with delight and admiration. But this story has a deeper significance. Bannon is presented as a hero because he is superbly competent. He is a man who can get things done in the face of unexpected challenges. He is also a man who loves his work. To Bannon, work is not just a job; it is a sacred calling. This exalted view of work is very rare in fiction -- the only other authors I know of who have captured it are Ayn Rand and, in some of his stories, Rudyard Kipling. Calumet "K" is worth reading for another reason: it gives a glimpse of the American sense of life of a century ago: the sense that the world is a benevolent place open to individual achievement, where competence is practical and is rewarded, and where men are free to achieve great things through their work. All of this is merely implicit; this is not a story of ideas. But the ideas it embodies are great.

Calumet K is one of many books that I classify as "hero novels", books that could be termed Hortio ALger for adults. This short book is the story of one man's adventure in building one of the largest grain elevator's in the world. If you are an engineer or interested in the history of structures in the US this is a must read. Put this on your shelf next to "Banker and Bear", "Cash McCall", and "The Fountainhead".-RS

This novel reminds me of the John Wayne film, "Red River" which celebrates the kind of stubborn, fighting spirit that really won the west. This book is MUST reading for readers who are disgusted by the wimpy, wet noodle specimens of humanity that you encounter on the street every day. Don't let the crude writing technique put you off. This book is an oasis of sanity and would be a bargain at twice the price!