I finished Atlas Shrugged  last year and I'm currently about 3/4 through The Fountainhead.  I'm really impressed with her writing style and philosophy.  I'm not an overtly religious person and her agnostic views are my only critisism.  Her books were origionally published over 50 years ago yet read like they could have been written today.  Timeless I guess you could say.  Anyway, I'm planning reading Anthem next.

Anyone else like her?  Any critisism?

It's on my to-do list, after I read my 26 text books for school this term. I read excerpts and they look awesome. I know SteryAUG is a fan.

Now there is a writer in serious need of an editor!

My recollection may be cloudy on this but I believe in my paperback version of Atlas Shrugged, John Galt's monologue explanation of his philosophy went on for like 100 pages. Give me a break!

It was a decent enough book and an interesting point of view but WAY too long.

Read them in college (at my now wife's request no less). My review: Wordy but worthwhile.

A hearty thumbs up.

I picked this up on a web site devoted to her philosophy:  Apparently The Fountainhead was made into a movie in 1949.  Anyone see it?


1869 Father, Zinovy Zacharovich Rosenbaum, born in Breslitovsk, Russia (November 18)
1880 Mother, Anna Borisovna Kaplan, born in St. Petersburg (October 15)
1904 Parents married (May 3)
1905 Born in St. Petersburg (February 2, i.e. January 20 on the Julian calendar)
1911 Teaches self to read
1912 Family moves to an apartment on Nevsky Prospekt at Znamenskaya Square
1913 Attends first motion picture exhibition in St. Petersburg
1914 Reads first romantic fiction, The Mysterious Valley; decides to become a writer
1917 Witnesses first shots of February revolution
1918 Discovers writings of Victor Hugo
To escape civil war, family moves to Ukraine (Fall) and then Yevpatoria, Crimea (Spring)
1920 Discovers Aristotle’s works in high school
1921 Graduates from Yevpatoria High School #4 (June 30)
Family returns to Petrograd
Enrolls in Petrograd State University (circa August 24)
Discovers the works of Nietzsche (1921-22)
1924 Discovers Viennese operettas
Graduates from Leningrad State University (October 13)
Enrolls in State Technicum for Screen Arts (October 15)
1925 "Pola Negri" pamphlet published in Moscow and Leningrad
Receives permission to leave USSR (October 29)
1926 "Hollywood: American Movie City" pamphlet published in Moscow and Leningrad
Departs Leningrad (January17)
Sails from Le Havre, France for America on the De Grasse (February 10)
Arrives in Manhattan (February 19)
Resides in Chicago with relatives (February-August)
Arrives in Hollywood (September3)
Hired as movie extra by Cecil B.DeMille (September)
Meets Frank O'Connor on set ofThe King of Kings (September)
1927 Hired by DeMille as junior screen writer (circa June 11)
1929 Marries Frank O'Connor (April 15)
Hired by RKO wardrobe department
1931 Becomes U.S. citizen (March 13)
1932 Sells "Red Pawn" to Universal Pictures (September 2)
1934 Makes first entry in philosophic journal (April 9)
Writes “Ideal”
First play, Woman on Trial, opens in Hollywood (October 2)
Moves to New York City (November)
1935 Night of January 16th (formerly Woman on Trial) opens on Broadway (September 16)
Makes first notes for The Fountainhead (December 4)
1936 We the Living published (April 18)
1938 Anthem published, in England (circa May 7)
1939 Receives last communication from parents in USSR (circa January)
1940 Works for the Wendell Willkie presidential campaign
The Unconquered (We the Living adaptation) opens on Broadway (February 13)
1942 Delivers The Fountainhead manuscript to Bobbs-Merrill (December 31)
1943 The Fountainhead published (May 8)
Begins writing "The Moral Basis of Individualism" (August 18)
Moves to California to write The Fountainhead screenplay (November 25)
1944 Moves into Von Sternberg house designed by Richard Neutra (July)
Writes screenplay for Love Letters (September)
1945 Makes first notes for Atlas Shrugged (January 1)
The Fountainhead reaches #6 on New York Times best-seller list (August 26)
Guest of Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin East (February 3-4)
First installment of "illustrated" Fountainhead begins in Hearst newspapers nationwide (December 24)
1946 First U.S. edition of Anthem published (circa July)
1949 The Fountainhead film opens (June 23)
1951 Moves back to New York City (October 23)
1955 Finishes writing "Galt's Speech" (October 13)
1957 Finishes writing Atlas Shrugged (March 20)
Atlas Shrugged published (October 10)
1958 Begins teaching fiction writing class (January 18)
Presents first campus talk, at Queens College (March 6)
1960 Delivers first major campus talk, "Faith and Force: Destroyers of the Modern World," at Yale University (February 17)
1961 For the New Intellectual published (March 24)
Presents first Ford Hall Forum talk, “Intellectual Bankruptcy of Our Age” (March 26)
1962 First issue of The Objectivist Newsletter published (January)
Nathaniel Branden Institute opens (January)
Weekly column begins in the Los Angeles Times (June 17)
1963 Receives honorary doctorate from Lewis and Clark University (October 2)
1964 The Virtue of Selfishness published (December)
1966 First installment of "Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology" published in The Objectivist (July)
1967 Makes first appearance on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (August 16)
1968 Nathaniel Branden Institute closes (May)
1969 Begins teaching non-fiction writing course (March 8)
Witnesses launch of Apollo 11 (July 16)
Presents first epistemology workshop (October 11)
1974 Presents "Philosophy: Who Needs It" talk at West Point (March 6)
Nora Drobysheva (Ayn Rand's sister) arrives for visit from USSR (April 14)
Attends White House dinner for Alan Greenspan swearing-in (September 4)
1976 Publishes last article in The Ayn Rand Letter (January-February)
Attends White House dinner honoring Malcolm Fraser (July 27)
1977 Ford Hall Forum holds luncheon in her honor (April 10)
Outlines screenplay for Atlas Shrugged television miniseries (September)
1979 Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology published by New American Library (April)
Frank O'Connor dies (November 9)
1981 Delivers last Ford Hall Forum lecture, "The Age of Mediocrity" (April 26)
Delivers last public lecture, "The Sanction of the Victims," in New Orleans (November 21)
1982 Writes her last page on "Atlas Shrugged" teleplay (January 1)
Dies in New York City (March 6)

Apparently The Fountainhead was made into a movie in 1949. Anyone see it?

Yeah it's not bad, it stars Gary Cooper.  Of course it's a way cut-down version of the book.  Remember the acting is from the '40s so it can be a bit dramatic.  You can get it at a good vid store or netflix.

FWIW, the Libertarian party was inspired by Ayn Rand's writings.

I read "Anthem" years back --  It was good, you will enjoy it -- it sorta smacks of 1984 / Animal Farm / Fahrenheit 451 regarding communism / totalitarianism

Atlas Shrugged changed my life.  The parallels to the current political atmosphere is scary.  It totally changed how I view the world.  Producers vs Looters.  Meat eaters vs Grass eaters.

Fountainhead is a good set up read for Atlas Shrugged.  Neither are "light" reads.

BTW it took Rand 3 years to write that one speach in AS.

She knew a few things about totalitarian governments coming from Russia at the turn of the century.

Mayo

Quoted: Did you mean to post this in SD&F?

well, you could get a workout by lifting copies of 'atlas shrugged'.

Yes, I have read Atlas Shrugged and the Fountainhead. Very good reads, and both, especially Atlas Shrugged, very long. Good ideas and philosophy in both of these. The film version of the Fountainhead is not too bad. Roarke's speech in court comes through much better than the print version,IMHO> Just my .02.

My only major criticism of her writing is that she does not seem to regard child rearing as something that an 'enlightened' person would do. In all of Atlas Shrugged, she spend less than 1/2 page on the subject!

any comments?