Ayn Rand

The provocative title of Ayn Rand's The Virtue of Selfishness introduces an equally provocative thesis about ethics. Traditional ethics has always been suspicious of self-interest, praising acts that are selfless in intent and calling amoral or immoral acts that are motivated by self interest. Ayn Rand's view is exactly the opposite. This collection of nineteen essays is an effective summary of Ayn Rand's philosophy, which holds the value of the individual...

At a time when the Red Scare was a household term, Americans were keenly aware and alert. It's easy to spot Communism when it's being chanted, when a protest sign hovers in the air, or when those who advocate such a system speak openly about it. Dangerous ideas are not always obvious, however. Communism was cleverly finding new ways to infiltrate American culture with its propaganda. For this reason, in 1947, Ayn Rand wrote the screen guide printed...

Anthem is a dystopian fiction novella by Russian-American writer Ayn Rand, written in 1937 and first published in 1938 in the United Kingdom. The story occurs at an unspecified future date when mankind has entered another Dark Age. Technological advancement is now carefully planned, and the concept of individuality has been eliminated. A young man known as Equality 7-2521 rebels by doing secret scientific research. When his activity is discovered,...

Anthem is Ayn Rand's classic tale of a dystopian future of the great "We"-a world that deprives individuals of a name or independence-that anticipates her later masterpieces, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. They existed only to serve the state. They were conceived in controlled Palaces of Mating. They died in the Home of the Useless. From cradle to grave, the crowd was one-the great WE. In all that was left of humanity there was only one man...

Ayn Rand's classic about the dark future of the great "we", where individuals have no names, no independence and no value, is the prelude to her later masterpieces The Origin and Atlas Throws the World off.

Published together for the first time are three of Ayn Rand's compelling stage plays. The courtroom drama Night of January 16th, a 1935 Broadway success famous for leaving the verdict to the audience, is presented here in its definitive, final revised text—a superb dramatization of Rand's vision of human strengths and weaknesses. Also included are two of Rand's unproduced plays: Think Twice, a clever philosophical murder mystery; and Ideal, a bitter...

In The Art of Fiction, Ayn Rand, the legendary author of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, discusses how a writer combines abstract ideas with concrete action and description to achieve a unity of theme, plot, characterization, and style.

In the 1960s and early 70s, the most prominent, vocal cultural movement was the New Left: a movement that condemned America and everything it stood for: individualism, material wealth, science, technology, capitalism. While the New Left achieved limited political success, it brought about vast cultural changes that remain with us to this day. The reason is that while its representatives faced some political opposition, they faced little-to-no fundamental...

One of the most controversial figures on the intellectual scene, Ayn Rand was the proponent of a moral philosophy of rational self-interest that stands in sharp opposition to the ethics of altruism and self-sacrifice. Her unique philosophy, objectivism, has gained a worldwide following. The fundamentals of this morality are here vibrantly set forth by this spokesman for a new class of intellectual. For the New Intellectual is Ayn Rand's challenge...

Author Ayn Rand's novel Ideal, in print for the first time ever-a landmark event for fans of the groundbreaking philosopher. Originally conceived as a novel but then transformed into a play by Ayn Rand, Ideal is the story of beautiful but tormented actress Kay Gonda. Accused of murder, she is on the run and turns for help to six fans who have written letters to her, each telling her that she represents their ideal-a respectable family man, a far-left...