Book Description

Previous Praise for Nathaniel Branden"Relentlessly revealing. . . the myth of Ayn Rand gives way to a full-sized portrait in contrasting colors, appealing and appalling, potent and paradoxical. . . . it takes a special kind of nerve to write such a book."--Norman Cousins, author of Head First and The Healing Heart

Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged is one of the most influential books of the twentieth century-its popular impact ranked second only to the Bible in a major poll. Millions know Rand as one of this century's great thinkers, writers, and philosophers, yet much about the private Ayn Rand remains shrouded in mystery.

Who was Ayn Rand?

My Years with Ayn Rand charts the course of the clandestine, tempestuous relationship between the enigmatic author of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead and Nathaniel Branden-her young disciple and future pioneer of the self-esteem movement. In this book, discover the real Ayn Rand through the eyes of the man who became her soul mate and shared her passions and philosophical ideals.

Their tragic and tumultuous love story began with a letter written by Branden as an admiring teenage fan and Anded, more than twenty years later, with accusations of betrayal and bitter recriminations. My Years with Ayn Rand paints an unforgettable portrait of Ayn Rand-whose ideas, even today, can generate a maelstrom of controversy. ... Read more

Reviews (32)

Riveting autobiograpy/socio-intellectual history.
Persons who know the facts of the Objectivist movement's history (facts primarily ignored by the Michael Paxton film) will know that it was Nathaniel Branden who was the prime architect of the movement. Through courses offered by Nathaniel Branden Lectures, later Nathaniel Branden Institute, the philosophy of Objectivism qua philosophy was first taught to the world.

Those familiar with the basic outlines of Nathaniel Branden's eventful life will also know: that he and Ayn Rand met and became friends when he was going on 20 and she was 45; that some years later they began an affair with the consent of their respective spouses; that the dramatic end of their personal and professional relationship in 1968 had explosive effects for the entire Objectivist community.

Branden has previously told the story of his life and relationship with Ayn Rand in the controversial memoir *Judgment Day* (1989). The present memoir is an extensively revised and updated version of the earlier book. Even readers who have read (and reread) *Judgment Day* will be fascinated by the new insights to be gleaned. *My Years with Ayn Rand* is as spellbindingly written as the previous work but it presents a richer, more complete account.

This is a not-to-be-missed by anyone interested in Objectivism -- or simply interested in the engrossing story of some remarkable people.

Where it all began!!
Right now, there is an Ayn Rand explosion. Not only is Rand slowly gaining steam amongst academic thinkers, she is all over popular culture. There has been two successful fims ('The Passion of Ayn Rand' based on Barbara Branden's biography and the Oscar noiminated 'Ayn Rand: a Sense of Life.') Both the Ayn Rand Institute and the Objectivist Center- think-tanks devoted to Ayn Rand's objectivism- are experiencing huge popularity. Heck, today- Aug. 26, 02- C-SPAN will re-air the Ayn Rand episode of their American Writers series. The viewer request was through the roof. So why, with all her idiosyncratic views, can't we seem to get enough?

This biography goes a long way in answering that question. Nathaniel Branden, Rand's first 'intellectual heir', takes us on his journey with this enigmatic figure, Rand. From when they first met- he as a college student, she as the successful author of the Fountainhead- to thier intellectual partership and ultimately thier misguided affair. The most interesting part of the book, I feel, is the cacophonic break between Branden and Rand, forcing Branden to reevaluate his life and principles.

It would've been easy for Branden, now a successful psychologist, to handle this book badly. It could've wound up being a bitter memoir about what some have called a 'cult'. Or, it could've centered on a philosophical diatribe of Randian thought. Fortunately, it does neither. It is written almost as fiction. The players, even those Branden clearly doesn't like, are treated with respect and empathy. He also writes with remarkable honesty- clearly a sign of a man who's given much time to self-reflection. Yes, there are spots where Branden does get down on Rand. Her philosophy is also touched on, in part. None of this, however, is induldged in to a fault. What we get is the story of a man in a unique, magnanimous, and ultimately life-defining situation. This is one of the few books I've read that I found perfectly enjoyable- emotionally and intelectually- from beginning to end. Also read 'Confessions of a Philosopher" by Bryan Mcgee.

Well-written and interesting
Despite the controversy throughout the Objectivist movement regarding Nathaniel Branden, this book is a must-read for those interested in the rise of Objectivism. While giving Ms. Rand high praise where it is due, Branden is also critical of Rand's behavior in some circumstances. However, as a Rand fan myself, I found his criticisms to be matter-of-fact and without loaded words or innuendos.

This book should be read by the open-minded thinker who can accept that to be a brilliant philosopher is not to be without flaws. I began reading this book as a great admirer of Rand's, and I am still one to this day. But now I have a greater understanding of who she was as a person in addition to an understanding of her wonderful ideas. This book (as well as Barbara Branden's biography of Ms. Rand), should not be missed by any Objectivist.

Insincerity Reigns Supreme
This book is painful to read, not because of what it says about Rand, but because of the obvious dishonesty on every page. This is a pack of lies from a professional liar. Thoroughly refuted by scholars like James Valliant, this book will go the way of the dodo.

Bad Fiction
There is no "mystery" to Rand's life. She has written volumes about all her ideas and her character. Branden has very little intellectual capacity left and does not even embrace Objectivism, but tries to undermine reason, virtue and value in the name of "Objectivism".
This book is one of the worst works of fiction I have ever read. If you want to know about Rand's life read Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead, or for non-fiction; Capitalism The Unknown Ideal, The Romantic Manifesto, The Virtue of Selfishness or Objectivism:The Philosophy of Ayn Rand. For more reading pick up any of her articles written for the New York Times.
It is frightening that a person that has been removed from Rand's life because she discovered him to be without virtue and a liar can then claim to "know" her better than anyone and that others would want to read his book and take it as Truth. ... Read more

Book Description

Ayn Rand made a profound impact as both a philosopher who founded a school of social thought, Objectivism, and as a novelist of penetrating insight and vision. Her works are founded on heroic ideals, demonstrating the maxim that, "man’s ego is the fountainhead of human progress."

The photos and illustrations in this volume have been hand-selected from the Ayn Rand Archives, and most have never been published. They include personal mementos of a Petersburg childhood, her family and their home on Nevsky Prospect; photos from her early years in America; personal papers, including her list of the twelve publishers who passed on The Fountainhead; original newspaper articles, film posters, notes, drawings, and much more.

In a recent poll conducted by the Library of Congress and the Book-of-the-Month Club, Rand’s Atlas Shrugged was voted the novel most influential to American readers. This latest volume of the acclaimed Overlook Illustrated Lives series gives her legions of fans an unprecedented chance to better understand the author they adore. ... Read more

Book Description

Mary Ann and Charles Sures were longtime personal friends of Ayn Rand--Mary Ann for twenty-eight years, Charles for almost twenty. Their recollections in this delightful memoir make vividly real the Ayn Rand they knew so well. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Extremely disappointing
I was going to write a review to warn readers (listeners) away from this book, but, after reading the review of Mr. A entitled "THEY PLUMP WHEN YOU COOK THEM", I decided that he had expressed my thoughts exactly, and probably better than I could have put them. I agree with Mr. A's review completely.

I listened to this as an audiobook, and I would add that I did not enjoy the reading of the book, either. It would certainly have benefited by a male and female voice to read the parts of Ms. Rand and Mr. O'Connor, so that the narrator would not have to endlessly repeat their names, which was extremely annoying.

Overall, don't waste your time reading or listening to this book.

Bright and sincere but very cautiously edited
Judged against most oral histories or memoirs by friends of the famous, this is an above-average work.Mary Ann Sures wrote about art for Ayn Rand's publication, The Objectivist, back in the 1960s.In between anecdotes about stamp collecting or watching "The African Queen" in Ms. Rand's living room, both Charles and Mary Ann Sures discuss the reasons for their lifelong intellectual engagement with Rand and her philosophy.

Where the book disappoints is in its excessively careful avoidance of controversy and negatives.

The Sures both refer to insightful remarks Ms. Rand made about their individual values or character, that had an enormous positive personal impact on them.I see this as the main theme of the book, in fact: it is a personal memoir of how she enriched their lives.I know many readers of Ayn Rand who have had a similar experience just from reading her, myself included.To read Ayn Rand is, for many people, to feel engaged and understood on a very deep level.That is why when surveys ask, "What book has most influenced your life?", Atlas Shrugged routinely ranks second only to the Bible.(For example, when the Library of Congress did such a survey in 1991, about two percent of all respondents picked Atlas Shrugged or The Fountainhead -- while about 20 percent chose the Bible. Atlas Shrugged outpolled its nearest competitor by about 3 to 1, suggesting it has a unique place in American culture.)

However, throughout the book and particularly in the chapter entitled "On Negatives" -- discussing Ayn Rand's tendency to public fits of temper, in which she sometimes responded harshly to questions from students -- the Sures seem to engage in special pleading.In effect, if Ms. Rand boosted their confidence with an insightful bit of praise, that was a measure of her genius.But if she denounced some student she had just met as evasive, irrational, or anti-life, based on the way a question was put, all the same she was "not angry at anyone personally," she was just being polemical.This distinction was lost on the people being shouted at, some of whom were devastated to be denounced in front of friends and family by their hero.The Objectivist movement went through years of denunciations and purges, and remains divided even today between orthodox loyalists and more tolerant dissidents.Where the movement wound up was at least in part a consequence of Rand's own harshly confrontational public persona.

The Sures say early in the book that their goal is to preserve Ms. Rand's "larger than life" reputation.The problem is that by failing to acknowledge the more difficult and less praiseworthy facets of Ayn Rand when they come up, the book hurts its own credibility.Too much of her life and the movement she inspired necessarily goes unmentioned as a result.

Perhaps this is inevitable in such a memoir, by friends who loved her. She was a genius, and the positive side of her story is admittedly far more interesting and important than the negatives. However, it would have been much better if the Sures or their editor could have acknowledged a little more ungrudgingly, as other writers have done, that personal involvement with Ayn Rand occasionally led to pain.A memoir that managed to capture the impact of her brilliance on the Sures, AND deal honestly with life in her circle in the 1960s, would deserve five stars.This book, though well-intentioned, does not.

Note: I previously reviewed this book for The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies, Volume 5, Number 1.

"Must" reading for her many admirers
Facets Of Ayn Rand is an impressive and informative memoir that collects 48 hours of interviews from two people who remember Ayn Rand as their friend and as a person who was totally unafraid to voice her convictions, no matter how unpopular or controversial they were at the time. Facets Of Ayn Rand offers moving testimony filled with personal touches, rendering a closer and more intimate understanding of the life and thought of a truly great and influential woman. Facets Of Ayn Rand is "must" reading for her many admirers and students of her work.

See what Ayn Rand was really like
Facets of Ayn Rand is an enjoyable behind-the-scenes look at Ayn Rand, the person.For those familiar with Ayn Rand's philosophy (which holds integrity as one of seven virtues), it will come as no surprise that her personal life was consistent with her philosophy.Reading this book is probably as close as one can get to actually spending time with Ayn Rand these days.

A Delightful Read
This memoir brings the novelist-philosopher back to life in the form of a delightful interview full of her benevolent metaphysics. It is told not with anger or mocking cynicism, but with the fond admiration that Miss Rand deserves. Whether you just want to know more about Ayn Rand the person, or whether you want to feel the joy of Ayn Rand's presence, this is your book. ... Read more

Book Description

A half-century after the publication of THE FOUNTAINHEAD, Ayn Rand's ideas remain both highly controversial and extremely influential. In THE AYN RAND CULT, Jeff Walker exposes the woman behind the ideas, questioning whether they are as original as her followers claimed. He looks at the devoted following she attracted in the 1940s and 1950s, how it was shaped by her volatile and domineering personality, and what remains of it today. Ultimately, Walker argues, her Objectivist movement came to practice the opposite of the principles it espoused-individualism and objectivity-evolving into a dictatorial cult in which members suffered arranged marriages, took new names in homage to Rand, and were tried and excommunicated for expressing opinions different from Rand's. ... Read more

Reviews (55)

Controversial but not easily dismissed.
Is this book a personal attack on many of Rand's close associates? Yes. Are they attacks by Jeff Walker? No: he quotes from numerous other critics and even from past members of this strangest of cults.

Is the topic of Walker's book the "philosophy of Ayn Rand?" No. Is it meant as a rigorous academic evaluation of "Objectivism." No. His topic is "the movement," the absolutist, moralistic attitudes consistently displayed by adherents of her philosophy. These people who have adopted Rand's terminology, the Randian "spin" on words in common, everyday usage.

Are cultists likely to admit that they are members of a cult? Of course not. Do they recognize their ideas as strange, even bizarre? Are their denials vehement? Always. Do they follow their leader's edicts? Try asking followers of Jim Jones.

Walker's book could indeed stand editing. It needs better indexing. Parts of it are unevenly written when compared to others. Does that invalidate his thesis? The reader must decide for himself. But _The Ayn Rand Cult_ DOES merit a close reading, even to checking out the references to popular fiction of the 1920s. Why? To learn if Rand was herself a "first" or "a second-hander." And to evaluate those same qualities in her admirers.

Who is Jeff Walker?
I have very mixed feelings about this book. On the positive side, the book contains a tremendous amount of interesting historical information about Ayn Rand and the Objectivist movement. The author quite successfully makes his point that Objectivism was/is a cult; though this is hardly an original claim, it has never been so thoroughly supported as it is here. However, the book is so negative and biased that it undercuts the arguments Walker is trying to make. Walker doesn't even try to be objective; I challenge you to find a single positive thing said about Rand or the Objectivist movement in the book's 300+ pages. I think Satan comes across better in the Bible than Rand does here. Most of the evidence given is through quotes, generally from former Objectivists. That's fine, but there is also a tremendous amount of unsupported (and nasty) editorializing, e.g. "By all accounts, the young Alissa [Rand] was not a particularly lovable child." Also, Walker often goes to great lengths to discredit certain people (notably Nathaniel Branden), and then uses quotes from them to support later arguments. If they aren't credible, why should we give their opinions any credence? Also, Walker accuses Branden of being responsible for his second wife's death and subtly implies that Leonard Peikoff is a homosexual. I could go on and on, but the point I'm trying to make is that Walker has a tremendous axe to grind, and much of the book appears to be a smear campaign for its own sake. Furthermore, Walker never makes it clear exactly why he hates Rand and Objectivism so much, aside from the fact that Peikoff threatened to sue him once regarding a radio program on Rand that Walker wrote. The last section of the last chapter is telling: it's about "the Ayn Rand that might have been", wherein Walker re-writes history to show how Ayn Rand, if she had had fewer psychological problems, might have actually attained some degree of respectability. This leads me to think that Walker is a disillusioned ex-Objectivist who was personally burned by the movement. "The Ayn Rand Cult", although well worth reading, would have been a much better book if Walker had made his own biases clear right from the start. As it is, I look forward to a more objective book on the Rand/Objectivist saga.

Ad Hominem 101
Walker succeeds in making his point in spite of himself. That his only goal in writing this book was to show that Objectivism has become a cult is a little hard to believe given that most of the book consists of personal attacks on the people involved. He might as well have drawn some horns on the photo of Rand on the cover. However, I do believe the case has been clearly made, here and elsewhere, that it is a cult. Probably this has a lot to do with the fact that to almost all but the true believers the cultish quality of Objectivism is painfully obvious. Walker's viciousness throughout only works to destroy his credibility. His use of quotes from ex-objectivists, neo-objectivists, and current objectivists to support his claim, while at the same time using them against each other to question the credibility of all involved doesn't exactly make for a strong case either. A large group of liars spreading gossip about each other doesn't usually qualify as hard evidence. I found myself wondering quite a bit about Walker's history and possible connections to the movement. Who put the bee in his bonnett? Nevertheless, the book makes for a fascinating look at the Objectivist movement and the personalities involved, albeit a very biased look. If you hate Rand, you'll love it. If you're somewhat indifferent, as I am, you'll be entertained. If you're a true-believer...well, you've probably already been alerted to avoid this one.

Useful
If you would like to know why you should probably read *about* Ayn Rand and her pop philosophy, Objectivism, from a safe distance rather than joining it, you can hardly go wrong with this book. It provides extensive and evidently correct information on why Objectivism fits perfectly into the definition of 'cult,' and why Ayn Rand can fairly be called an intellectual bully and tyrant. Based on the picture of Objectivist leaders' behavior, I can easily imagine current Ayn Rand Institute director Leonard Peikoff stridently condemning this book as irrational! irrational! irrational! (Probably without having read it first; the author notes cases of Rand and her students bashing philosophers and/or books that they have little or no firsthand knowledge of.)
However, it is too bad that for some reason there aren't that many anti-Rand books out there (that I know of), because I would rather have gotten this critical information on Rand/Objectivism from a different author. What most of the other reviews say is true: he is dreadfully abrasive. He is described as an investigative journalist, but his analysis is not conducted with a semblance of detachment or professionalism. Rather, he very much gives the impression of having a personal axe to grind with the Objectivist movement. The back of the book states that some of the publications he has worked for are Free Inquiry, Skeptical Enquirer and Liberty. I am wondering if he might be a libertarian, in which case his tone would be understandable, because according to him, Rand and her Objectivists hated (still hate) libertarians for not wholly accepting Objectivist philosophy. Or possibly Walker is a former Objectivist student who suffered 'excommunication' for developing incorrect ideas. (The Objectivist leaders' standard procedure in this matter is ugly.) Still, the book is the truth, and should be read.

Chained to the Ego
There are two good reasons for reading this book: 1) Jeff Walker has managed to interview many people who were close to Ayn Rand and early Objectivism. It is thus an invaluable historical record. 2) In view of the chronic stand-off between the various factions of Objectivism, only a non-Objectivist could have written this book. It is thus an invaluable historical record.
Does Walker despise Ayn Rand? Quite a lot. But there's no obligation to revere Ayn Rand, and Walker clearly doesn't.
Is he fair on Ayn Rand? Possibly not. There must have been times when she was genial and pleasant and prepared to discuss opposing points of view in a civilised atmosphere. We do not find those instances here.
But that's not the point. Walker is trying to make a case that Rand was a cult figure, in a context of the more committed Randians' refusal to entertain the possibility that Rand's personality and behaviour was the fuel to that cult.
And not just her personality and behaviour, but also her ideas. Central to her thought was her notion of ethical egoism, where the autonomous ego decided what was right and wrong. But what was missing from this equation was the notion of the ego's obligation to the well-being of others. Thus, she could embark on an affair with Nathaniel Branden, assuming that her husband Frank - the Eddie Willers of Objectivism -- could not be affected by their actions.
But as Barbara Branden discovered, therein lay the rotten core of Objectivism, the deceit that had to be practiced at Rand's instigation. This deceit consumed more and more of their lives until the central character imploded under the strain of her own self-deceit.
And this was the woman who claimed to know the rational source of her every emotion.
The enormous tragedy of Ayn Rand was not just that she fabricated a lie, but that she drew so many others into that lie. This rotten core is even now consuming the Objectivist movement.
B ... Read more

Book Description

This brief text assists students in understanding Ayn Rand's philosophy and thinking so that they can more fully engage in useful, intelligent class dialogue and improve their understanding of course content. Part of the "Wadsworth Philosophers Series," (which will eventually consist of approximately 100 titles, each focusing on a single "thinker" from ancient times to the present), ON AYN RAND is written by a philosopher deeply versed in the philosophy of this key thinker. Like other books in the series, this concise book offers sufficient insight into the thinking of a notable philosopher better enabling students to engage the reading and to discuss the material in class and on paper. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

BEST SHORT BOOK ON AYN RAND EVER WRITTEN
A plus. It doesn't get any better than this. In 100 pages, Dr. Gotthelf draws on everything known about Ayn Rand, from her novels, books, articles, journals, even spoken lectures and interviews, and gives the correct essentials. The emphasis is on her underlying philosophy, Objectivism, 'the philosophy for living on earth.' The politics of capitalism are only briefly sketched in. He clearly explains Ayn Rand's most complex innovation, her theory of concepts. Under ethics, he covers the 6 most important virtues. He opens and closes with Ayn Rand's benevolent universe premise and heroic view of mankind. He concludes with a passage from John Galt's speech in Atlas Shrugged.'Fight for the value of your person. Fight for the virtue of your pride.... Fight with the radiant certainty and absolute of knowing that yours is the Morality of Life and that yours is the battle for any achievement, any value, any grandeur, any goodness, any joy that has ever existed on this earth.'

A clearly written introduction to Objectivism and Ayn Rand
Allan Gotthelf succeeds at condensing Ayn Rand's entire integrated philosophy of Objectivism into a short (97 pp.), easy to read introductory book. Most of the book is devoted to presenting the core of the philosophical system -- metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics -- but there is a glance at politics and esthetics, and two chapters are devoted to a biography of Ayn Rand.

Gotthelf argues that philosophy is not an esoteric game, but a practical tool none of us can do without. He shows how one's ability to make decisions and one's ethical and political views stem from the metaphysical and epistemological premises one accepts. Ultimately philosophy moves the world. *On Ayn Rand* argues that Objectivism is practical: a guide to living one's life, which, when correctly understood and acted upon, will enable its practitioner to achieve happiness.

*On Ayn Rand* introduces all the main ideas of Objectivism in a clear manner, easy for the beginner to grasp. For example, Gotthelf explains that three metaphysical axioms, which are perceptually self-evident, underlie all our thinking and are properly the starting point of philosophy: that something exists, that the act of grasping this implies that one is conscious, and that everything that exists has an identity. Using simple examples he shows how even if one tries to deny these axioms one affirms them.

*On Ayn Rand* is not written in a detached manner, so common to textbooks. Its author had been a student of Ayn Rand and knows his subject. His presentation is both factual and passionate. Convinced of the practicality of ideas and of their power to change the world, Allan Gotthelf has written a clear and enjoyable introduction to a revolutionary philosophy.

A good gloss-over of Rand
This book is good for someone who wants to understand Rand but does not yet want to dive into the endless books by and on Rand. It is a good overview of her philosophy and life, but certainly not complete.

Those liking this book will also like "Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand" by Leonard Piekoff

A good short summary of Rand's errors
Allan Gotthelf has written a decent little book here. Aside from a couple of annoying verbal habits (e.g. always writing out Ayn Rand's full name every time he refers to her) and a couple of unpleasantnesses (e.g. some nasty remarks about the Brandens and the existing secondary literature on Objectivism), this is actually a pretty well-written and well-organized brief overview of Rand's thought. (Of course -- heh heh! -- you shouldn't expect to understand it all _right away_. It takes _many, many years of serious study_ to learn that Rand was absolutely correct in every single particular.)

The presentation is orderly, if occasionally skimpy. Gotthelf devotes a couple of short, fawning chapters (well, all the chapters are short -- and fawning, too, come to think of it) to Rand's sinless life and then proceeds to take the reader on a guided tour through the main features of her thought in metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Political theory gets short shrift, but that's okay; while it was undoubtedly the strongest (or at any rate the least vulnerable) portion of Rand's philosophy, it was also by far the least original (which, actually, is _why_ it was the least vulnerable). Aesthetics doesn't get much attention either, which is sort of too bad, but maybe Gotthelf doesn't want to give away too many of Rand's propaganda techniques.

I especially enjoyed the tour; it's always a pleasure to encounter a book that one has completely refuted before it was even published. The reviewer from Austin is right: Rand _wasn't_ really a very good philosopher. And Gotthelf's accurate-but-uncritical summary of Rand has been a tremendous help to me in rewriting, for publication, my critique of Rand's epistemology (still available in an earlier draft form on my website); he confirms and recommits every error I pick on her for, and may even introduce one or two new ones of his own. (For example, at one point he seems to imply that the "primacy of existence" premise commits him to materialism.)

You may well imagine that critics of Objectivism (of whom I am obviously one) receive lots of silly e-mails telling them they've gotten this or that point entirely wrong (usually from people who don't seem to be able to read all that well themselves). So I'm happy to say that at numerous points I have been able to use Gotthelf's handy little text to confirm (yet again) that I was reading Rand correctly after all, and that she was just as wrong as I said she was. Now that I've taken account of his work in rewriting my own, the result is a much clearer critique. (Which just goes to show, I suppose, that Objectivists and libertarians _can_ cooperate in a good cause.)

And I'm not kidding about the quality of Gotthelf's work; this _is_ a fairly well-executed introduction, although it will probably be a bit hard to read for anyone completely unfamiliar with Rand's work. For the most part (but not entirely!) this little book reads like a precis of Leonard Peikoff's _Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand_ (which is, by the way, one of the few items of "secondary Objectivist literature" about which Gotthelf has anything good to say). As such it will make a helpful companion to that volume, whether Peikoff likes it or not. (And as I hinted, if you read carefully you'll find a few points at which Gotthelf disagrees with Peikoff and the ARI mainstream. For example, did Rand think her ethic was founded on an "axiom"? Compare Gotthelf's remarks with David Harriman's in the _Journals of Ayn Rand_.)

It will also be helpful to anyone -- Randie or otherwise -- who wants a quick and dirty summary of what Objectivism is all about. Love it or hate it, here it is.

All of Rand's Sins, None of Her Virtues
Gotthelf's book is probably the worst introduction to Rand yet written.

The book is clear to a reader only if that reader is already highly familiar with the idiosyncratic semi-technical vocabulary of Objectivism. Indeed, not only does Gotthelf express Rand's thoughts in Rand's rather obscure way of speaking, he typically lets her speak for herself - literally. Most of the main ideas are introduced by way of quoting Rand, at length. This might be okay were Gotthelf to then elucidate Rand's strange formulations, but he takes it for granted that the quotations are clear.But, when cut from context, the quotations lose most of their original flavor. This means that Gotthelf has managed to replicate all of the problems with Rand's unclear and inconsistent language without replicating any of her energy and lively style.

Gotthelf has a skewed approach to the question of how much of the book to use on a given subject. He devotes quite a bit of it to deeply a adoring account of Rand's biography, without citing the unauthorized memoir and biography by Rand's closest companions or even the authorized biography written by Barbara Branden in the early 1960's. He does cite Leonard Peikoff's biographical essay on Rand. It is appropriate that Gotthelf, who fails to display much concern with the truth about Rand's life, should cite Peikoff: Peikoff concludes that essay by explaining that our wishes determine what kind of a person Rand was.

One could tolerate hagiography if it at least included some relevant information about the development of Rand's philosophy. But this one does not. The well-articulated and strongly defended theory that Rand's philosophical development was much influenced by her immersion, in the Russia of her youth and education, in the dialectical methodology characteristic to the approach of virtually all academics in virtually all subjects on virtually all sides of virtually all questions. That is, Gotthelf manages to spend about a third of the book celebrating Rand, without mentioning the one and only fact about her personal history that is at all interesting from a philosophical point of view: that she may have taken elements of her philosophical methodology from the educational system in which she studied.

Gotthelf's skewed sense for what is worth including is displayed elsewhere, in his decision to spend about 40% of the book on Rand's metaphysics; primarily her theory of concepts. This leads him to shortchange Rand's politics, dealing with Rand's most well-known theory on a single page.

But, since Gotthelf spends so much of the book on Rand's metaphysics, and uses quotations from Rand to do most of his explaining, we must ask whether this book is a more efficient introduction to Rand's metaphysics than just reading Rand. Rand's work on metaphysics is about 100 pages long; more if you count the appendices, which help to elucidate but add little that's really essential. So now we're wading through 35 pages of hagiography and 40 pages of metaphysics to get not just the same old explanations but quotations that one could have found in Rand in a book that's only about 25 pages longer.

The discussion of ethics is similarly problematic. Rand's meta-ethical argument is deeply obscure. One cannot, by reading her essay on the subject, discover what are its premises, what are its conclusions, and how one infers the conclusions from the premises. All of the various interpretations of this argument that have been offered have been subjected to serious criticism. Gotthelf neither explains the argument (more quotations) nor even tries to show how it can deal with the criticisms that have been offered.

Rand was not a really very good philosopher; her programmatic, mostly methodological, insights require a total reworking from the bottom up. One wonders whether she'll ever acquire a scholarly following capable of doing this, or if the poor woman will be forever cursed with unconstructive, admiring sycophants on the scale of Gotthelf. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

The only good biography of Ayn Rand in print
This book is an excellent celebration of Ayn Rand as a writer and a person. The author understands the kind of spirit Ayn Rand needed to write such phenomenal novels and to develop a new philosophical system. It is the trend these days to produce "debunking" biographies that sneer at genius and achievement. Lincoln is an opportunist, Columbus is a bad navigator, Jefferson is racist, Edison is an exploiter, yada yada. Those envious of great geniuses such as Rand will always resort to smear tactics, because their envy would rather believe such cynical nonsense. The author Michael Paxton didn't stoop to the cynicism and bitterness found in the tracts of Rand's enemies (whose criticisms of Rand waited until she died, if that gives you an idea of their underhandedness). Paxton gave an open, honest, and consequently admiring treatment of Ayn Rand's life and work. It was the kind of treatment that got the documentary (upon which the book was based) nominated for an Academy Award (for best documentary). Let's see the cynicism factory do that! I am a big fan of Ayn Rand's stuff, so I know what I'm talking about. If people can't get enough of her biographical details, I recommend "Letters of Ayn Rand" as a good source for what her thought and spirit were like, straight from the genius's mouth. And you're in luck, because it's available from .... Amazon Books! (unsolicited plug). I believe another biography is coming out soon, based on Rand's personal journal-writing, so we may soon have a second biography worth praising.

Byoo-tee-full! A real pick me up!
A gorgeous little book! Nice pictures, nice admiring tone for an eminently admirable person. Made me want to see the movie.

Should it be criticized for its ignoring or giving only a mere mention of Rand's faults and/or the worst moments of her life? Well, read the introduction. Paxton says right out that his purpose is not to tell all but "to express the summation of who Ayn Rand was as a person," as demonstrated by benevolent, joyful, heroic sense of life. So he has selectively focused on certain aspects of Rand's life but not others. Is this nonobjective of him? No, because every biographer must include some facts and omit others. Which facts are included depends on the author's purpose. In Paxton's case, he's wrong only if his view of the essence of Rand's life is wrong. If certain facts of Rand's life don't contribute to an understanding and appreciation of her sense of life, then, in Paxton's case, they are justifiably omitted. (It goes without saying, of course, that Paxton rejects the unbacked-by-evidence claims of Rand's ghoulishness by the Brandens, et al.)

Some people probably find fault with Paxton's purpose, but I don't know what to say to them other than that the purpose of MY life is enjoyment. I don't and shouldn't want to focus on the sad and disgusting little details when I don't have to.

New Discovery
I had never heard of Ayn Rand till I spotted the DVD "A Sense of Life" in the local library the other day!!! I am a fan of documentary bios.,so wanted to take a look...film opened a new world to me...I had seen "The Fountainhead" with Cooper in the past..kind of a "soaper"...but this DVD brought a whole new perspective to me about a very interesting woman!!! I produce an access TV show where I live....I'm into film productions...found this a delight!!!

An inspiring look at a philosophic genius.
This book is a fascinating portrait of Ayn Rand. It shows in engrossing detail the depth of her thinking and brilliance of her philosophy, Objectivism.

As a companion to the Oscar-nominated movie this book is a great coffee table reminder of one of the greatest accomplishments of the 20th century; Ayn Rand's creation of a fully integrated, non-contradictory code of morality.

The story of a woman who said she would stop the motor of the world - and didn't. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Ayn Rand and Dialectics
I must admit, I thoroughly enjoyed this book; however, I did not agree with Sciabarra's thesis. What I enjoyed was the historical survey of Ayn Rand and the Objectivist movement. This much was superb, and makes the book worth reading.

Here is Sciabarra's description of what he argues dialectics is (from his website, not the book):

"First, I do not believe that dialectics is a synthesis of opposites. That is a view of dialectic that was put forth by Fichte, and is sometimes attributed (with some distortion) to Hegel. The dialectic is not a triad of thesis-antithesis-synthesis. It is a method that goes back to Aristotle and that is an orientation toward contextual analysis of dynamic, structured totalities. Because we are incapable of understanding an object from a god-like perspective, we are required to engage in an abstraction of vantage point. And by shifting our vantage point, over time, we may become aware of the fact that things which appear to be in opposition, are actually quite complementary. Dialectics, however, is not anti-dualism any more than it is anti-monism. It is pro-context. And because it cautions against context-dropping, it is in keeping with Rand's own contextual epistemology."

Sciabarra constantly refers to dialectics as the art of context keeping. Well, as the critics he cites in the above link point out, you could put a helluva lot of thinkers under that definition. But let us assume that it is a proper definition. He also argues that the historicism of Hegel and ilk is undialectic. So his charge seems to be that Aristotle had the proper definition and understanding of the dialectic process, making Rand and some other "libertarians" the true dialecticians, while Fichte, Hegel, and Marx are fake dialecticians. This really all seems to be an argument over semantics, then. I've been taught both in high school and college that "dialectics" is the thesis-antithesis-synthesis method of Hegel. Dialectics as a method, near as I can tell, is always attached to Hegel and Marx. It seems like Sciabarra's entire battle here boils down to this: Everyone is using the word "dialectic" wrong; Aristotle and Rand are the true dialecticians based on the original definition. So, my question is, assuming that he is right and the current understanding of "dialectics" is wrong, then isn't he really just fighting to get that word back from the likes of Hegel and Marx? So my ultimate question, assuming all of this, is: Is "dialectics" really a word we (Objectivists and pseudo-Objectivists) need to be fighting to keep?

A much needed book
It is refreshing to see at last a critical review of the philosophical thought of Ayn Rand, since her philosophy is sometimes described as "naive", and, perhaps just as troubling, as the greatest philosophy ever to appear in print. The author of this book has given the reader an honest and in-depth analysis of one of the most controversial figures in twentieth-century philosophical thought. Rand was not an academic philosopher, and this, coupled with her frequent vitriolic attacks against many philosophical schools of thought, induced many to speak out against her, and they typically did so with a degree of vituperation unmatched as yet in public debate. Fortunately the shouting and name-calling typically accompanying discussion of Randian philosophy is not included in this book. Also not included is any blind, uncritical allegiance to Randian philosophy, for this can also accompany discussions of it. Rand has made some interesting contributions to philosophical thought, and her theory of ethics is I believe unequaled, and one can find a very thorough discussion of just how she arrived at this theory throughout this book. However Rand, like every other philosopher, cannot remove herself from history and cultural influences, and view the world from a detached, apodictic point of view, for that is the nature of human learning. One builds on what has been done before, and with careful thought and unique insight, some original ideas can then be developed, which will hopefully extend what has been done before, and nontrivially. The author of this book clearly shows the historical origins of Randian thought, those origins have their place in the Russian university that Rand attended.

The author sees the problem for Randian scholarship as predominantly arising from her public persona, and thus scholars need to differentiate Rand's personality from her philosophy. Her intransigence, intolerance, and general mean-spiritedness must be ignored if one is not to collapse into psychologism, argues the author. Scholars must also he argues, attempt to find out what actually defines her philosophy and makes it distinctive. This has been a source of contention in recent years, with different "schools of thought" established, each claiming to represent exclusively her philosophy.

Another virtue of this book is the author's insistence on using a hermeneutical approach when analyzing Randian philosophy.The information content of an idea, he argues, includes myriads of unforeseeable non-trivial statements, this being similar to what happens in mathematics. It is well known to those who practice mathematics that a large number of problems and concepts can be generated from a particular area of it. These problems can go way beyond the intent of the mathematicians who created this particular area. Many advocates of Randian philosophy, as the author points out, like to think of her philosophy as a "closed system". Without actually defining it, one can only make educated guesses as to what this really means. If it means a deductive system where each statement can be derived from others within the system, and no further development is necessary, then this is problematic. The example of mathematics again shows that a deductive system can be extended greatly depending on the ingenuity of the researcher.

Rand herself was a poor scholar, only infrequently quoting works of philosophy that she deemed worthy of inclusion. Considering her confidence in the originality of her ideas this is not surprising. However every claim about another scholar's ideas should be given textual support. Indeed, Rand's criticism of Immanuel Kant is unrelenting, but her analysis of his philosophy lacks the depth needed to judge his philosophy from her vantage point. Luckily the author assists the reader in the understanding of just why Rand objected to Kant so vociferously.

Hopefully this book will be the first in many that will put Rand in the historical context of twentieth century philosophy. Rand is a fairly good example of what can be produced outside the academy if one has the cognitive discipline and the large amounts of time needed to develop systematic philosophical systems. The information age has brought publishing strategies that Rand did not have when she was alive. The doors are thus open for most anyone to express their ideas and have them accessible to a world-wide audience. Critical works of philosophy can thus be produced both inside and outside the academy.

A useful and serious interpretation
I found this book a very pleasant surprise, a serious and largely successful attempt to separate the philosophical system of Ayn Rand from her personality and from the cultishness often accurately attributed to many of her proponents.Sciabarra finds some depth to Objectivism as a serious defense of "libertarian" ideals, worthy of more consideration than has typically been afforded the popular novellist and political theorist.

Sciabarra has to work hard to accomplish this task, and in the process resorts self-consciously to describing Rand's work in terms very different than she or most of her proponents would use.The author clearly recognizes that this will quite predictably alienate Rand fans.The book isn't neccessarily written, or most useful, for them.

By opening up the terminology a bit, and finding reasonably hypothesized general influences on Rand's life and thought, Sciabarra is able to reveal aspects of Objectivist reasoning and assumptions that those more familiar with other philosophers can now appreciate.This is not a small matter, because the ideas are potentially very profound.

With Sciabarra's efforts, Objectivist ideas may begin to be placed more realistically in an intellectual and historical context, rather than being treated as an isolated phenomenon that began and ended with Ayn Rand.Her work can be appreciated for its good ideas, as well as criticized for its potential mistakes.

This book is most fascinating for its unique and accessible description of the currents of often difficult Russian philosophy, its exposition of dialectic method, and its potential to translate Rand's own idiom into a form that can be compared with other philosophers in a clarifying way.It is also, as far as I can tell, quite true to what I have always felt was the "spirit" of Objectivist thinking, the passionate and broadly inclusive defense of the individual mind.

At the same time, Sciabarra almost manages the extraordinarily difficult task of separating out Objectivism from the foundationalist tendency it instills in its most passionate adherents to certify itself as infallibly true.Without that aura of insufferably dogmatic adherence, the ideas take on a new life.

One of the things that has traditionally left Rand scholarship out in the cold has been its isolationism from academic philosophy, an attitude that seems to be mutual.Sciabarra makes a serious effort to bring Rand scholarship into academic respectability, and to me he does a very credible job.

This book has three sections dealing with (1) historical context in Russian and European philosophy showing what aspects of her Russian heritage she absorbed and what she vehemently rejected and giving some possible insight into why, (2) the structure and content of Objectivism in terms of realism, individualism, and libertarianism combined with a radical dialectical method, and (3) Rand's approach to social criticism, Rand as a "Russian radical for capitalism."

I think it could easily be argued by both Rand critics and Rand proponents that this book is reading far more into Objectivism than it actually contains, but to me that is what made it so interesting.It deals with the implications of the ideas themselves rather than the individuals involved and their own personal interpretations, and that is what makes for lasting philosophical significance.

I'd characterize this book as a thorough non-critical analysis by someone not specifically part of Objectivist thinking but interested in its potential value.It serves as a very good translation guide to understanding Rand's ideas and their implications, but in many places it does not examine them quite as critically as I personally would have preferred.

This book is Meta-Rand. It is applied Objectivism.
First let me say that this book is a difficult read. Having said that, it is a must read for any serious student of Ayn Rand's "project."

Chris Sciabarra makes a strong case for the dialectical nature of Rand's philosophy. He looks at how her work might have been informed by her Russian roots and the early experiences of her life and how she developed a philosophy that attempted to integrate all aspects of Objective Reality. Objective Reality as Rand saw it is not inherently fragmented. A philosophy based on Objective Reality would of necessity integrate all aspects into a cohesive whole.

Apparently, some who regard Rand as a mystical goddess, take offense at the sharp focus that Sciabarra puts on her work. This seems odd, given that this book demonstrates a profound respect for her intellectual accomplishments.

Rand often said in her own writing that each person had a right to act in his own rational self-interest, and with that right came a moral obligation to actively seek the truth (Objective Reality) as a prerequisite of rational choice. In essense, Sciabarra has used Rand's most fundamental principles to attempt an objective analysis of her analysis. This makes his effort a moral one. Yet to some he has committed the original sin by eating from the tree of knowledge and must be cast out of the Garden of Eden for it.

My only criticism was that this book does not critique her failures or attempt to explain her tyranny toward those closest to her. But that subject has been covered in other books by those who knew her personally and is well beyond the scope of this book.

Sciabarra's thoroughly researched RUSSIAN RADICAL will remain an important contribution to Rand scholarship for many years to come.

Major Virtue Overlooked
In my opinion, the other reviewers have neglected to mention the chief virtue of this work: its recontextualization of Rand's thought. I use this word, "recontextualization," not as a synonym for any of the species of vicious post-structuralist truth-twisting, but in its literal sense. Sciabarra shows that Rand should not be understood - historically, at least - as the woman who came to fix the systems of Locke and Bacon, the woman who came to answer Hume and Kant. Instead, she should be understood as a thinker at the intersection of two traditions: Russian literary-philosophy as practiced in the 'kruzhoks' of the late 19th Century, and American (emigre) libertarian thought of the early 20th Century. The method and content of Rand's philosophical work has much more in common with Tolstoy and Chernychevskij, Nock and Paterson, than it does with the various Greek and enlightenment thinkers who she so admired. I recommend this book to anyone interested in cultural history, Russian Studies, or the formal features of Rand's own system of philosophical analysis. ... Read more

Book Description

The bestselling biography of one of the 20th century's most remarkable and controversial writers.Author Barbara Branden, who knew Rand for nineteen years, provides a matchless portrait of this fiercely private and complex woman. ... Read more

Reviews (35)

Ayn Rand: Genius and Tragedy
Despite some reviewers' claims of this book's unreliability, I found it to be extremely believable. I have read most of Rand's books, including her posthumously-published journals, and the kinds of contradictions I detected appear to arise from point of view rather than dishonesty. Barbara Branden does not attempt to hide the fact that she is writing from her own point of view, and of course the reader should take this into account.

This book is not about destroying Rand, as some reviewers seem to think. Quite to the contrary, it celebrates her genius and her achievements. But it also shows the pitfalls of a philosophy that forces a man (or woman) to put himself on a pedestal and does not permit fallibility.

As Branden points out, Rand failed to look inward. Perhaps she was afraid of what she would find, or perhaps in her fervor to avoid subjective thinking she went too far into stubbornness. Whatever the reason, Branden's telling of this story reveals how she apparently shunned the introspection that is essential in order to live one's life objectively.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys Rand's work. Those who truly understand not only Rand's philosophy, but also her personality (as revealed in the characters of Howard Roark and Dagny Taggart), will empathize with her in her struggle to be understood, and will feel sorrow at her failure to live up to her own high standards. Perceptive readers will come away with a clearer understanding of who she was and how to apply her ideas to their lives in a productive way.

Ayn Rand from the inner circle...
For years I had heard of ATLAS SHRUGGED and Ayn Rand without knowing anything about the book or its controversial author. In college I had the opportunity to take a course in biography and this was one of the books we were required to read. It started a fascination with Rand that continues today.

It is amazing that Barbara Branden could provide such an objective look at Ayn Rand, considering the circumstances and history of their friendship and professional association. Regardless of Branden's endorsement of the Objectivist movement, her personal history with Rand was certainly not one filled with enjoyable moments, especially toward the latter stages of Rand's association with Branden's husband Nathaniel.

Be that as it may, Branden provides a look at Ayn Rand from the inside circle, as it were. Branden provides an investigation of the author struggling to publish and then struggling even more to parlay literary success into a philosophical revolution the likes of which have not been seen since Nietzche. The story is well written, and Branden's personal involvement with Rand is neither edited nor 'touched up,' at least from this observer's perspective.

Those who have heard of Rand's work but are unsure regarding its meaning and scope might want to try this biography as an introduction. Knowing the person behind the story will shed lightsome of the 20th century's most controversial literature.

Read the book - forget the movie
I had read several of Rand's works and interestingly enough began with the non-fiction ones. I saw the movie on TV and thought it failed completely in presenting her revolutionary ideas. The movie centered (of course) on the odd affair between Rand and her first disciple, Nathaniel Brandon with both his wife's and Rand's husband knowledge and acceptance.

The book, though, goes into detail that the movie could not. It explains ideas and thoughts and though processess that no film could ever portray. We read about a young refugee from Soviet Russia escaping to the one country that offered unlimited freedom. There has always been disagreement over whether our attitudes are born with us or developed by life experiences. In Rand's case, it appears she was born this way, displaying an odd, rampant individualism from an early age.

We see her struggles, her marriage to Frank, her first failures as an author before the one great break - THE FOUNTAINHEAD which is still, in my opinion, the best. (The portrayal of Gail is simply unsurpassable.) We meet Nathaniel and the growing group of worshipers. Unlike others, I do not entirely blame Rand for this reaction - she accepted what others offered, a very human emotion.

At some point she decided that she wanted the young follower so they had an affair which degraded everyone involved. During this time she wrote THE book, ATLAS SHRUGGED, and reveled in its success. Surprisingly, despite her accent, appearance, domineering personality and rejection by the intellecutal left she became a much coveted speaker, particularly for theoretical subjects. Above all, she was a woman of ideas whose first concern was promulgating those ideas.

She has been attacked because she was demanding, for an affair, for a discrepancy between her public ideas and her private life. All are true but her popularity rests on her so-called philosophy which is, in its essence, the slogan of REASON magazine..."Free markets, free minds." She espoused freedom and attacked collectivism in all its many variants - Naziism, Communism, Socialism, tribalism and religion. It was her espousal of capitalism and individualism that set her at odds with the "progressive" artistic world and, simultaneously, made her such a hit with "ordinary" people. A remarkable book for an even more remarkable life.

A fascinating view from an insider
There are only a few people in the literature who have expressed the optimism and passion for living as Ayn Rand. There are many of course who are unknown and possess the same optimism, as the latter is a natural state of humankind. When these individuals are exposed to the literature of Rand, they identify enthusiastically with her characters and philosophy. It is for this reason that the literature of Rand should be classified more as realism than romanticism: it is an accurate statistical sampling of the predominant attitude in human history. Rand's characters are not larger than life but rather completely lifelike. One can meet them on a daily basis.

The author of this book is one of these individuals, and she gives a detailed biography of Rand that gives touching insight into her character and humanity. From Alice Rosenbaum in Soviet Russia through the Fountainhead, to Atlas Shrugged and the formulation of the Objectivist movement, and finally to her death in 1982, the reader gets an inside view of what it was like to interact with Rand on a regular basis. It should be of no surprise to the reader to hear of Rand's mistakes and her faults. Her brilliance, along with her flaws, are part of being human. Indeed, the making of mistakes is an essential part of the cognitive process.

It is the author's emphasis on the humanity of Rand that makes this book such a pleasure to read. There are many interesting anecdotes and commentary that give the reader special knowledge on the psychology of ethics and the contention that accompanies political or philosophical movements. It is not surprising to hear of the difficult emotional experiences that the author and her former husband had when interacting with Rand and her inner circle. Whenever the human intellect is as focused as it was in these individuals, the resulting roller coaster ride of confidence and insecurity is an immediate corollary.

The author still expresses affection and admiration for Rand at the end of the book. Spending a great part of her life close to Rand gave the author a unique view of Rand's idiosyncracies and intellectual and emotional conflicts. When talking about Rand's captivating eyes, the author remarks that she never observed her looking inward, with the goal of sorting out her inner feelings. This is totally believable, for Rand did not have to engage in too much introspection: the characters in her novels expressed these inner feelings, and with a vengeance.

A Dusturbing Book About a Very Disturbed Woman
The author of this book is the sister of Ayn Rand's heir and mouthpiece, Leonard Peikoff. He hasn't spoken to her since she wrote this book. It's all about the sordid love affair between Ayn Rand and Barbara Branden's husband, Nathaniel Branden. He's no prize himself, but Ayn Rand was one of the most bizarre characters ever to surround herself with a quasi-religious cult.

This book might help steer some youngsters away from "Objectivism." (Ayn Rand is still, perhaps surprisingly, popular among college undergraduates.) Of course, the trashy love affair might just make them curious for more. ... Read more

Book Description

Rand celebrated business, especially the heavy industries that dominated America in her lifetime, and the entrepreneurs who founded and built them.Ayn Rand and Business interprets the fiction and philosophy of this self-proclaimed "radical-for-capitalism" for today's business reader. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Useful but slanted
This book does a decent job of showing how application of Ayn Rand's philosophy can improve your performance at work and your company's performance, but the authors have some incorrect notions of the scope of Ayn Rand's philosophy and it's proponents. The book can best be enjoyed by skipping the first section of the book which doesn't really pertain to the subject of the book. For the essence of her philosophy, I'd recommend Ayn Rand's "For the New Intellectual".

Excellent Intro to Rand
This book is an excellent introduction to Rand's philosophy examined from the point of view of its applications in business. Not a how-to, really, but a good launching point for further study and consideration. Well-written and very readable.

Insightful!
Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism celebrates the underlying principles of capitalism: reason, independence and just plain selfishness. Donna Greiner and Theodore Kinni lay out the fundamentals of Objectivism and attempt to describe how you can integrate its beliefs into your life and your business. The book is written in the spirit of Rand's own outlook: It is anchored in practicality, well organized and goal-oriented. Even so, some executives might lose patience with the philosophic nature of the work. We advise such readers to move on. However, we from getAbstract recommend this book to intellectually curious readers in search of a moral, ethical, or even philosophic foundation for their business life.

APPLIED OBJECTIVISM
When I first scanned "Ayn Rand and Business," I was a little skeptical about where this book was going and where its authors were coming from. But after reading it, I say it is stupendous.

I'd subtitle it "Applied Objectivism," in the same sense that one would speak of applied electronics where principles are applied to create all kinds of devices and equipment run by electricity. "Ayn Rand and Business" applies the principles of Objectivism to the business of marketing, capitalization, management, customer service, etc.

The book presents a brief biography of Ayn Rand covering her years in Russia, her coming to America, her struggles, her triumphs, the Objectivist "movement," that started with NBI (Nathaniel Branden Institute), the 1968 "break" between Branden and Rand and the ensuing excommunications, schisms and rifts that led to the sad decline in the "movement" and the quantity of her writings. 

But, more importantly, the focus of the book is on the application of Objectivist principles to business life. (And to personal life, which comes before but also runs parallel with business life.) The authors take the Objectivist values and virtues, explain them so very clearly and illustrate them with concrete examples how they apply in the business world. They use characters from Ayn Rand's novels as models, but they also use real-life business people who practice these virtues and values.

Their presentation of Objectivist principles is clear and concise. This is not a treatise, but outside of the business focus, the book could be considered an excellent introduction to Objectivism. They deal with all of the heavy philosophical subjects and issues in what we used to refer to as "layman's terms."
 
You don't have to be a philosopher to understand Ayn Rand. Her writing is crystal clear. Nonetheless, jumping into metaphysics and epistemology cold turkey may not be the best way to get an introduction to Objectivism or any other philosophy. When, as a kid, I started to read about relativity and physics, many books that put those ideas in "layman's terms" were invaluable. "Ayn Rand and Business" does this superbly. 

Fans of Ayn Rand and long time readers will find nothing new, philosophically, in the book though they should be impressed by its clarity and thoroughness in explaining Objectivism. I would particularly recommend it to people who show an interest in ideas and who might be prime candidates to become Objectivists. And because it is focused on Objectivism in business, I would highly recommend it for such prime candidates in the business world. 

It's not clear where the authors discovered Ayn Rand. The biographical information is silent on this subject. But it is obvious from the sources they cite and the bibliography that they know their subject. They quote from virtually every book, article and newsletter Ayn Rand ever wrote. They appear to have read every book by or about her and Objectivism.

The only flaws I see in the book are in editing. In several instances, needed words are missing or the wrong words are used. Additionally, there are a couple of instances where the wording of a sentence initially gives the opposite impression than that intended. And it is incorrectly stated that "The Objectivist" preceded "The Objectivist Newsletter." But the errors, except for the last one, are obvious to any reader and do nothing to detract from the content.

Overall, the book gets my highest rating. For a book written so clearly and favorably about Objectivism, by two people apparently unknown in the Ayn Rand "movement," to suddenly appear on the scene is remarkable. It's something to be celebrated and is an indication that, more than anything else I've seen, Objectivism is breaking through to and is reaching the common man who Ayn Rand correctly remarked is not so "common."

Freedom Book of the Month review of _Ayn Rand and Business_
Free-Market.Net's Freedom Book of the Month
--------------------------------------------
Edited by Thomas L. Knapp. (....)

November 2001

Ayn Rand and Business
by Donna Greiner and Theodore Kinni
Texere 2001, hardcover, 209 pp.

One thing that separated Ayn Rand from many other philosophers was her insistence on that morality and practicality are not mutually excusive. Where other schools of thought dismiss commercial enterprise as either a necessary evil to be tolerated, or an unnecessary evil to be dispensed with, Objectivism celebrates trade as one of man's highest virtues.

_Ayn Rand and Business_ turns its sights to this unique aspect of Objectivism, and in so doing functions as an excellent guide for those interested both in the root principles of business ethics and of Objectivism.

Donna Greiner and Theodore Kinni begin with a short discussion of Ayn Rand and her work, including the movement that she began and which has experienced such tumult and schism. They don't pull any punches, but the view is positive overall.

From there, the book moves into its main body with sections on "Randian Work" and "Randian Management."

The section on work is a tour de force in the application of individualist principles to our everyday endeavors. Subdivided into chapters on key virtues and values including rationality, independence, integrity, honesty, justice, productiveness and pride, the book zooms in on how each of these values fits into our work and lives. It draws examples from real individuals and their real experiences and shows the application of Objectivist ideas to real situations.

By contrast, the section on management is more general, concentrating on three topic areas: "Winning Through Innovation," "Managing People to Their Ultimate Potential," and "Leading With Purpose."

"If there is one book that we'd like to see on the packed shelves of bookstores," the authors write, " it is _The Objectivist Manager_ by Ayn Rand. Unfortunately, Rand never wrote that book."

While it might go a bit far to proclaim that _Ayn Rand and Business_ is such an animal, the book will be of immense value to businesspeople interested in the principles of Objectivism, and to Objectivists or those interested in Ayn Rand's philosophy who have long sought to understand the real application of Rand's ideas to the world of enterprise.

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Please forward and copy freely, and include the following:

The Freedom Book of the Month is a feature of Free-Market.Net
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Reviews (5)

Comprehensive, But Not Deep
In recent years, we have witnessed what has aptly been called a "Renaissance" in Ayn Rand scholarship. In 1995, Chris Sciabarra came out with AYN RAND: THE RUSSIAN RADICAL which (although controversial) placed Ayn Rand in the context of the history of philosophy and filled in a few gaps in her biography as well. After that work, the Ayn Rand Institute published lengthy collections of her diaries and letters (although I'd like to see the originals). In 1999, the Journal of Ayn Rand Studies began publishing, which gives Rand's ideas serious attention. Finally, we recently saw the publication of Scott Ryan's critical OBJECTIVISM AND THE CORRUPTION OF RATIONALITY, which surpasses all previous criticism of Rand.

In light of this high quality work and the increase in primary sources available, one might expect that a scholar would come out with a concise 150-200 page book providing a solid and up-to-date overview of Rand's work, dealing with all the major areas of her thought. Unfortunately, such a book is lacking.

The above digression brings me to Ron Merrill's THE IDEAS OF AYN RAND, published in 1991 and therefore before the "Renaissance." There are some good things about this work. First, it is comprehensive. Mr. Merrill provides the reader with an overview of Rand's life, the plots of her novels, an introduction to her philosophy, and her place within the conservative and libertarian traditions. Second, there are a few interesting observations about the influence of Nietzsche on Rand and also some Jewish imagery in Rand's novels. Third, Mr. Merrill appreciates Rand and lets the reader understand why many people are so absorbed by her ideas. Fourth, the discussion of the novels is extensive. Fifth, the work includes a discussion of the Objectivist "movement."

On the other hand, as a guide to Rand's philosophy it leaves a lot to be desired. As an example, the discussion of axioms (so central to Rand) is given 4 lines. However, the "analytic-synthetic dichotomy" is given over a page. And it is presented exclusively in the context of Peikoff's misleading article of the same name. In any event, I don't see how Mr. Merrill's pointing out that W. V. O. ("I espouse a more thorough pragmatism") Quine also objected to the "analytic-synthetic dichotomy" helps his case that this concept is flawed [p. 170, n. 8]. (For a defense of how - contrary to Peikoff - a priori knowledge provides knowledge of "facts of experience," see Brand Blanshard, REASON & ANALYSIS, pp. 249-307, esp. pp. 303-04.) While I'm in the midst of another digression, how can Objectivists reject this dichotomy when - as Mr. Merrill perceptively notes - they have not provided a criterion to determine what is "certain" versus what is "tentative"? [p. 92.] (Actually, in the same year that THE IDEAS OF AYN RAND came out, Leonard Peikoff published "OPAR" and did discuss that issue. Whether Peikoff's pragmatic "contextual certainty" is the same as "certainty" I leave to others to decide.)

The best introduction to Ayn Rand remains Tibor Machan's work, AYN RAND (1999). Although the quality of the work is higher, it is somewhat uneven in the space given to topics (too much on ethics and politics; not enough on epistemology and metaphysics; aesthetics is mostly ignored). In any event, that work should be supplemented the above-mentioned works by Scott Ryan and Chris Sciabarra.

An excellent compact overview of Rand's views
Long before she died, Ayn Rand was praised as a goddess, and damned as a devil. In all the fuss, her actual ideas and views were generally shoved to one side, to the point where she said in her _Playboy_ interview that she could sympathize with Karl Marx(!) toward the end of his life, when he said that he was not a Marxist. The rather abrupt end of the organized Objectivist movement in 1968 was also the end of a great deal of her influence, and she became a figure more of legend than history long before her death. With this book, Merrill gives us a view of Ayn Rand's actual beliefs, as opposed to those attributed to her by the Usual Suspects, and some background as to how she came to the conclusions she did. It's disappointingly short, but Rand scholarship is evolving constantly.

Objective Book of Objectivism's founder
Free of the subjective rehashing that tainted the summations offered by Leonard Peikoff and the Brandens, this book is a fair, albeit much too brief, representation of Ayn Rand's history, ideas, and continuing legacy. Merril, a true student of Objectivism, is fair and balanced in his book. It is a mistake to rely solely on the admittedly worthy and remarkable works of Peikoff and/or the Brandens without using this book to reconcile the arguments put forth by the three of them in their own accounts. Read this work and make up your own mind.

Nice book
This is a nice work in independent commentary and interpretation, something Peikovians cannot stand. And yes, the book has useful commentary.

Disappointingly superficial.
Given the publisher of this book, I had hoped to find a systematic presentation and evaluation of Ayn Rand's ideas. Unfortunately, both the presentation and evaluation were superficial. The author failed to motivate Rand's ideas by a central theme, and his evalutions were ad hoc and disintegrated.

The book's strongest potential virtue was to delineate Nietzsche's influence on Rand's philosophy. Yet while the author claims that Rand's writings were influenced by Nietzsche, he provides little documentation for any early influence and no evidence for any lasting influence. His claim that Rand derived her critique of Kant from Nietzsche, for example, was never documented. A substantial revision of this section of the book, particularly in light of recent publications, would be warranted--without such a revision, the book has little to recommend it.

Finally, the author's narration of recent scholarly interest in Rand--both inside and outside academia--was also disappo! intingly superficial. His treatment was marred by his conflation of these intellectual developments with much non-scholarly (and uninformative) interest in her personal life and the lives of her self-proclaimed admirers.

With the publication of "Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand," "Letters of Ayn Rand," and "Journals of Ayn Rand," the current volume has been entirely superceded. Save your money. ... Read more

Book Description

Rarely has a writer and thinker of the stature of Ayn Rand afforded us access to her most intimate thoughts and feelings. From Journals of Ayn Rand, we gain an invaluable new understanding and appreciation of the woman, the artist, and the philosopher, and of the enduring legacy she has left us.

Rand comes vibrantly to life as an untried screenwriter in Hollywood, creating stories that reflect her youthful vision of the world. We see her painful memories of communist Russia and her struggles to conveyy them in We the Living. Most fascinating is the intricate, step-by-step process through which she created the plots and characters of her two masterworks, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, and the years of painstaking research that imbued the novels with their powerful authenticity.

Complete with reflections on her legendary screenplay concerning the making of the atomic bomb and tantalizing descriptions of projects cut short by her death, Journals of Ayn Rand illuminates the mind and heart of an extraordinary woman as no biography or memoir ever could. On these vivid pages, Ayn Rand lives. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

An Excellent Companion to the Letters
The JOURNALS OF AYN RAND is an important addition to the large body of work by and about Ayn Rand. This work is put out by Rand's Estate, which worked with scholars associated with the Ayn Rand Institute (ARI). JOURNALS contains an introduction and notes by editor David Harriman which are, for the most part, helpful. There is a forward by Leonard Peikoff which is pretty much what you would expect.

Rand wrote out her notes in complete sentences, so there is a good deal of lengthy philosophical and other matters contained in this book. One of the best parts her notes for a work Rand started after THE FOUNTAINHEAD, called THE MORAL BASIS OF INDIVIDUALISM. It's over 60 pages long. Particularly revealing are the notes for an early story called "The Little Street" which is highly Nietzschian in tone, as even the editor had to admit. (Peikoff's forward attempts to downplay the influence of Nietzsche on Rand's thought.)

One thing I found interesting is that most of the journal entries are before 1955. However, Rand didn't start writing philosophical essays until after that. JOURNALS includes some notes for the articles that make up INTRODUCTION TO OBJECTIVIST EPISTEMOLOGY, but that's about it. Editor Harriman tells us that Rand made only brief outlines for her philosophical essays, and felt that publishing them wouldn't add much. I would like to take Harriman's word for it. But was there no benefit to publishing these outlines? This might be a minor point, but for the fact that there are reasons to question the accuracy of the JOURNALS. Prior to this book, some small portions of Rand's journals were published by ARI-associated scholars. In an entry dated January 20, 1947, the previously published version contains a reference to Albert J. Nock, which is left out in the version published in JOURNALS. There are other changes as well, such as the removal of "duty" in a passage on ethics. [Sciabarra,"Bowlderizing Ayn Rand", Liberty, Sept. 1998.] This isn't a big deal to fans and casual students, but to scholars attempting to sort out the influence of other thinkers on Rand's thought, it is a big problem.

Interesting background material but her novels are better
I was initially disappointed. The early pages are difficult to read and mostly seem to restate stuff that shows up in more polished form later. However, you can see the transition from quasi-Nietzschean ideals to a more mature Objectivism, and in particular the transition of the primary virtue being independence (The Fountainhead) to rationality (Atlas Shrugged). Interesting elements: Rand's notes for a movie about the invention of the atomic bomb, including what she was trying to convey and what she learned from her interviews. Her notes on books about architecture, her response to what she considers silliness, and her adaptation of what is said to characters in the book.

Most of the notes from Atlas Shrugged deal with analyzing the psychology of the "parasite." This goes on for pages and seems rather tedious since it comes across as largely speculation-no evidence is cited. More interesting are the notes from the interviews she conducted about how to depict a steel mill and other settings that occur in the book.

Also noted that she wants to believe in the existence of a soul (i.e., the element of a human being that thinks and is not part of conventional matter). That was rather striking!

I am inordinately proud of myself for finishing it in one day, though I wonder at the same time how much I missed. Can't see myself rereading it anytime soon, though. If I reread anything, it will probably be Atlas Shrugged or possibly The Fountainhead.

An essential take on the evolution of Ayn Rand!
I agree with Stephen Cox, who writes on The Daily Objectivist website: "One of its best features is the large amount of plain good writing that one discovers here, much more than one might expect to find in an author's working notes. Rand does very well in the medium of brief and (as she thought) temporary comments. The volume contains many shrewd observations, vital expressions of personality, and spirited confrontations with intellectual problems." A great insight into a great mind!

Dear Diary
Interested in Ayn Rand's personal life as well as her philosophy? "Journals" offers an interesting look at the famous author.

Thoughtful
There are very few people who believe nowadays that it is a worthwhile activity to discover how to think. This book is for such people. You will see diagrams that show relationships between events in Atlas Shrugged t