I have found this very useful for locating quotes and references. The interface is a little clunky for reading, but this was not the intention of the product, so that's okay. The magnification feature is useful. I wish it were possible to cut and paste more than a couple of lines at a time when using quotes in my research, but I can understand why they would be worried about large scale copying. Definitely worth the money.

Perhaps noone understands that "time is money" as much as an Objectivist does--and that's why I think this cd-rom has been greeted with such enthusiasm by Ayn Rand fans everywhere. (It is, after all, the ultimate time-saver when it comes to finding that quote of hers you barely remember yet have not entirely forgotten.)

Regarding the contents of the cd, it (obviously) contains Ayn Rand's ideas. Now, if you're reading this at all, Im assuming you already know the power and the importance of those ideas. About these, then, I will say nothing lest I be found guilty of "preaching to the choir."

Nevertheless, I would like to make one observation. Miss Rand was the first to fully and consistently defend the efficacy of man's mind against all attackers. How fitting it is, then, that the power of a computer (itself an obvious example of the efficacy of man's mind) is now being used as a tool to help study her ideas further.

Before this CDROM came along I depended on Binswanger's _Lexicon_ to find the relevant Ayn Rand quote in a hurry. This has so much more. It has just about EVERYTHING -- philosophical, literary, and personal -- Ayn Rand ever wrote and you can find what you want in seconds. I wouldn't want to be without it.

This is a well-edited colection of Ayn Rand's writings. It is quite good in light of the fact that it contains selections from her fiction and non-fiction writings. For those of us who have a hard time getting through her over-blown, ponderous works of literature, having the key philosophical portions excerpted in one book is a good idea. Also, the book contains only stuff by Rand and therfore is not contaminated by her second-hand followers, like some other collections of her works.

One thing about the book is interesting. Editor Gary Hull tells us that "I have, of course, made no changes in AR's own words." That's not accurate. In the selection "Attila and the Witch Doctor" which was originally published in FOR THE NEW INTELLECTUAL, Rand states in a footnote: "I am indebted to Nathaniel Branden for many valuable observations on this subject and for his eloquent designation of the two archetypes . . ." (FNI, 14.) Although the paragraph to which this footnote is keyed is quoted in full in the READER, this footnote is left out.

For those of you who are honestly interested in learning about Ayn Rand, I fully recommend this book as an introduction to her philosophy.

It's very disheartening to see that Ayn Rand detractors have overwhelmed most of the review boards for her books.

If you read this book, please keep in mind several things that its detractors have not:

1. Ayn Rand's philosophy is an integrated system of looking at life and reality. It distorts her view when you grab one of her ideas and take it out of context. Before you pass judgment on Ayn Rand, please know what you are talking about and learn the fundamentals of her philosophy.

2. You have to be honest to learn from Ayn Rand. Reading her books won't dislodge the falsehoods from your mind, nor cram the truth into your brain. She has created a roadmap for learning the ideal philosophy, but YOU have to look at reality and learn it yourself. Because of this, there are people who have distorted her ideas drastically. Please look at what she has written to learn about her, NOT what others interpret her to be.

That's why this book is so important in clearing up the chaos surrounding Ayn Rand. So many people have misinterpreted her. Here you can get the information firsthand. In her own words.

This is an excellent compilation of Miss Rand's writings -- an introduction for beginners and a treasured condensation (of her writings) for her ardent fans.

Although I have (read) all Miss Rand's fiction and non-fiction, the Ayn Rand Reader permits me quick reference to many of my favorite passages and essays.

Miss Rand's writings are my continuing source of spiritual (mind) and moral strength in a world (currently) dominated by collectivism and altruism.

Her writings will, in time, be the foundation of a New (and much needed) Renaissance.

Ayn Rand said that "We the Living" was the closest she would ever come to writing an autobiography. Maybe that's why when I was reading WTL I got the impression that I was witnessing real scenes from Ayn's past life under the Soviet system. The uncompromising and highly principled behavior of the main character, Kira is inspiring and horrible to witness when you realize what she was up against(communist rule).

Kira is not the superhero type Rand would create so well in The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, but she was as close as you could expect to find in Soviet Russia. And unlike Rand's later fiction, WTL has a sad ending... an ending which really drives home the point of how collectivism's ultimate result is death -- death of the mind, death of the individual, and eventually death of everything good in society.

It kept me up nights reading and many more nights pondering what it all meant. A great read!

I thought this was an excellent novel. If you have issues with Rand's political ideology (I certainly tend to disagree with her) there is still much to enjoy about this novel. Don't prejudge the novel and decide not to read it because you dislike Rand. The story is genuinely moving and the characters, particularly the main character, are well drawn. I understood why she felt the way she did, and why she made the choices she did. Rand created some very evocative images in the novel -- I felt like I was there. I got totally pulled into the story. I can't say that the picture of Communist Russia at that time is particularly accurate or not, as I don't have enough knowledge on the subject to comment on that. I read the book because I was interested in the story, and the characters, not the politics. It does, however, raise some good, thought provoking questions about the dangers of totalitarianism. Thus, I can reccommend the book on two levels -- it will satisfy readers who just love a good story, and those who are interested in politcal systems and political ideology. The book might be hard to track down, but it will be worth the effort.

Some people seem to come away a little disappointed from this novel. I would guess that this is because this is one of Rand's lesser known works. The people who read this seem to have already made an acquaintance of Rand through The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Expecting the same tenor of philosophical writing, they are disappointed that this book contains little more than the emotional core of individualism. There is hardly any concrete philosophy, beyond a depiction of collectivism as it really is, in this book.

In truth, this book is Rand's best writing. We the Living is a true-to-life depiction of life under totalitarian rule. It's not philosophical. It's not journalistic writing - it applies to life under totalitarianism anywhere. We the Living shows the essential battle between the individual and the collective.

We the Living has a certain raw, emotional quality (which may be due to the fact that much of it is drawn directly from the author's experience. The closing scene of this novel has a depth of feeling rarely found in any literature.

I would recommend this as the first Rand novel one should read, followed by The Fountainhead. I would particularly recommend these two books to teenagers, as there is a great deal in both that resonates with the spirit of youth. Atlas Shrugged is a more philosophical novel, which is still important, even essential reading, but only after We the Living and The Fountainhead.

I have always enjoyed the novels of the great writers, writes like Tolstoy, Dostojevskij, Hugo, Jane Austen, Hamsun, Ayn Rand. In this book, Ayn Rand explains what to look for in a novel in order to enjoy it more. Her analysis of several well known authors makes reading the great authors even more satisfying.

The book is based upon informal seminars given by Ayn Rand in 1958. Since it is transcribed from recordings of these seminars, one would expect the text to look as if it were "spoken", but the text looks as if it is polished writing; the style of this book is so elegant that it could have been written by Ayn Rand herself. The editor, then, has done a marvellous job.

A surprising exclamation of "Thank You!" was my instant gut reaction, undeniably ordered by my subconscious, right after reading her last word of this remarkable book. Trying to compete with such authority, "Time well spent" my next cognitive thought.

Have you ever felt the type of gratitude towards a professor who achieved to engage you in a lecture full of clarity, energy, wit, objectivity, intellectual stimulation, and who had you mesmerized, to the point of where you forgot the sense of time? A lecture that didn't register as yet another missionary and boring message by somebody only out to convince you that his/her religion is the only valid one, using all sorts of cheap rhetorical tricks or biblical mystery to sway you? Well, you're in for a treat.

Whether, in the end, one agrees or doesn't with Ayn Rand's points she submits in this remarkable analysis of fiction writing is not what you'll end up with if you allow yourself to go beyond simple judgment of her viewpoints. This is not just another debate with an achieved author seeking approbation about her opinion on what is better or best in literature. This is neither a religious manifesto merely destined to justify or reinforce the credo of her fans.

It is way more valuable, for it is a candid sharing of accumulated cognition, a march of intellect of somebody who has the gift of one of the most precious forms of communication of human existence: the imparting of knowledge and understanding of excellence onto others, not in the abstraction or with self-serving generalities, but with enough of a concrete of information that is powerful enough to stimulate the positive creativity in others, whatever form or shape that may take in the end.

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Author: Lee Sandstead Subject: Suffering and tragedy in art

I never had a full justification why I love movies such as "Life is Beautiful," "Braveheart," and "Cyrano de Bergerac." They all present heroes, who die tragic deaths. Ayn Rand, in her new book on fiction writing, gives me the answer.

"The justification for presenting tragic endings in literature is to show, as in "We the Living," that the human spirit can survive even the worst of circumstances--that the worst that the chance events of nature or the evil of other people can do will not defeat the proper human spirit. To quote from Galt's speech in "Atlas Shrugged": "Suffering as such is not a value; only man's fight against suffering, is."

I highly recommend this book to everyone. There is bound to be some piece of information that will come as a revelation; for me, there has been many.

Best, Lee Sandstead Memphis, TN (Soon to be NYC)

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I think the Fountainhead is inspiring and capable of actually changing one's entire attitude towards life. However, it can also be a bit damaging in that it makes unrealistic demands of its "converts." One thing that really bothers me: Ayn Rand seems to believe that repressing all emotion, even the deepest pain, is "heroic" while allowing emotion to show is a sign of "weakness." Howard Roark seems to be completely untouched, emotionally, by the setbacks and attacks he suffers. To me, this seems inhuman, but the message in the book is clear: He's superior to those of us who spinelessly exhibit emotion. In fact, in Atlas Shrugged, one of the good guys is actually physically tortured and barely exhibits discomfort! Does this mean that to be a true "hero" of your life you - almost literally - must not feel pain?

I still think this is one of the greatest books ever and it influenced me deeply in a lot of positive ways. However, be alert for the flaws. Ayn Rand and her philosophy were not quite perfect. I spent a few years after the first time I read her works believing that if I got "too emotional" over a situation, or preferred a folk song to a symphony, that I had serious character defects.

Still and all, I'm glad after all these years people are still reading and being inspired by her works.

Its such a positive book I thoroughly recommend it. The characterisations are brilliant, no muddled mixed grey areas, Rand unashamedly creates extremes to illustrate the book. It made me want to go to America in the 1920's and be an architect! The fresh, forward looking joy of life is genuinely uplifting.

The lead character, Howard Roark, with his abrupt, polite conversation with the various people who attempt to sway him provides amusing, cutting but innocent one liners you'll want to use. His independence, demanding nothing from others, was so refreshing. I particularly love the part when Keating rushes up to Roark and demands to know what he really thinks of him. "I never think of you" Replies Roark, with un-contrived honesty. A more enjoyable read, in many ways, than the broader "Atlas Shrugged" which I would recommend as follow on to this book, after a couple of months rest!

And you'll never meet a more vile man than Ellsworth Tooh! ey, nor a more broken man than Gail Wynand. To detract from the book, saying its nazi-ism or social darwinism is ridiculous, I can see no connection! There is scene of the greatest benevolence involving Roark in the book. The infamous 'rape' scene, that many find objectionable, comes over as a private fantasy of Ayn Rand. Its hardly a shocker, it seems nothing like real accounts of rape. Don't let that cloud you.

The story is rather 'black and white', but I feel that's deliberate. It is a fictional story, Rand was a novelist first, then a philosopher. It may be currently a favourite with younger people, but its a book that gets richer as you get wiser. I think suggestions that the book is naive are a non-criticism by people who cannot consider a constructive criticism, its the "I'm, older and wiser therefore you wont understand, but I'm right" argument. Incidentally, I'm not that young!. Rand did not write it with a specific demographic audience in m! ind!

My advice? Go for it, but only if you're going to ! read it closely and thoroughly, you may as well get as much from the novel as possible.

I feel the purpose of reading is to be challenged: ideologically, philosophically, politically, etc. Either those challenges will cause one to rethink one's beliefs or strengthen one's existing convictions. Either of these outcomes will produce, I believe, a better person - a thinker who is willing to encounter more than one argument, one side to any issue, and still retain opinions of one's own.

I would also like to counter some of the comments that the book is simply a thinly veiled treatise on Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism. If anyone read the introduction written by Rand she answers a fundamental question:

"Was The Fountainhead written for the purpose of presenting my philosophy? ... This is the motive and purpose of my writing; the projection of the ideal man ... My purpose, first cause and prime motive is the portrayal of Howard Roark as an end in himself."

What I understood from Rand's statement is that her ultimate goal is to present her characters - showing, through their actions and inactions, attitudes and convictions - and the good and bad points of their diverse perspectives on life. In interpreting the book, I feel one should focus on how one perceives the characters, not on what the afterward by Leonard Peikoff or any other outside source espouses.

Form your own opinion of the philosophical ideas expressed in the book - do not rely on Piekoff's interpretation or the interpretation of this review or others. Read the book and analyze the characters on your own - pull from them what grabs at you - what relates to any of your life experiences. To me, that is the most effective way to think and read. Think critically and scrutinize closely and you will not fail to learn from most every part of life.

This is how I approached the novel and I was not disappointed.

Business people find themselves under continual assault from government regulations, threats of lawsuits and under-appreciation of their positive role. The media, activists, politicians and even many religious officials cling to the cliché of business people as greedy, selfish or operating at the expense of others. The positive virtues of business people-self-sufficiency, responsibility and investment in the future--often are ignored by those who see business people as exploiters, cash cows for the government, or guinea pigs for government social policies.

Those suffering under the weight of such attacks will find encouragement and articulate arguments on their behalf in Why Businessmen Need Philosophy, a book-collection of essays that champions the free market and individual rights. Published by the Ayn Rand Institute, a free market and individualism advocacy group, the book lays a solid foundation of reasoned argument of how business people in a free economy exemplify the positive principles on which this country was founded.

"Some critics point to the homeless and blame their poverty on greedy private businessmen who exploit the public. Others, such as [economist] John Kenneth Galbraith, say that American are too affluent and too materialistic, and blame greedy private businessmen...," says philosopher and commentator Leonard Peikoff, who forcefully argues against this negative attitude. "Who are the most denounced and vilified men in the country? You are-you, the businessmen."

The book is an exuberant, enthusiastic reaffirmation of the business person as providing the moral and economic foundation to the country. It provides a spirited defense of small and large business, argues the necessity of a foundation of honesty and fair dealing as growing from a free market economy and states the philosophical basis of why no one has a right to take the earnings of another.

The book argues against the welfare state that relies on the false premise that the desire for another's property creates a right to take it. "The (American) system guarantees you the chance to work for what you want-not to be given it without effort by somebody else," Peikoff says. "We are seeing a total abandonment by the intellectuals and the politicians of the moral principles on which the U.S. was founded. The rule now is for politicians to ignore and violate men's actual rights, while arguing about a whole list of rights never dreamed of in this country's founding documents-rights...."

For those weary of overflowing government regulations and laws dictating their professional lives and businesses, and for those working people who need reaffirmation of their vital role in society, this book serves them well.

Or: The moral is the pracitical.

An excellent collection of essays including two glorious diamonds by Ayn Rand (that have been in limited print/availability). Thanks to ARI for making these essays available, and Rand's other unpublished works available--as she wished.

This is an excellent book to use to introduce your business friends to the importance of philosophy--and why businessmen need it. It is the second book you should give them--right after Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. As Atlas Shrugged was ridiculed and misrepresented, so is this book to be despised and smeared by all the lice out there--all the more reason to buy several copies of it!

This book is an excellent collection of essays about very relevant topics. Most people think business and philosophy are two opposite ends of a spectrum. That idea - the false dichotomy between the theoretical and the practical - is one of the most destructive 'ideas' of our time. This book does much to combat that view, but on a case-by-case basis. For wider-ranging analysis, one should read "Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal" by Ayn Rand.

I would give Anthem 3 out of 5 stars. It was a very interesting and powerful book. The main character's name is Equality 7-2521. He is a very intelligent street sweeper wanting to be a scholar in an intellectually repressed society. This book most likely takes place in the future after a worldwide disaster. This man enjoys experimenting (illegally) with lightbulbs which haven't been "invented" yet. After showing the "light box" to the council of scholars, he is heavily repremanded. Equality 7-2521 then escapes into the uncharted forest where he discovers many things with his companion Liberty 5-3000. Their most important discovery is the discovery of the forbidden word ego. This book's theme is human individualality. People in this society do not have any individualality. They are assigned strange names, do not have any family, and are not allowed to talk to the opposite sex. Probably the most strange and confusing part of the book Anthem is its use of the word we. For a large portion of the book we is used instead of I becausre of the society's beliefs. 3 out of 5 stars.

I attended a liberal college in the 70's with the usual groups - radical theology students, Marxist economic teachers, philosphy professors praising the power of drugs, marches. I slipped into the bookstore to avoid a demonstration one day and found this book. I thought then it was a gem but have not read it in 27 years. I picked it up the other day and reread it and found it as fresh and exciting as the first time. Both the language and the spirit of the novel were so refreshingly different from the feel good, amoral, smirky tone prevalent in current bestsellers.

Anthem is almost a work of poetry - absolutely amazing considering it is written in a second language. The book's tone is almost religious, a tribute to the human, not the divine spirit. I suspect those writing the most polemical reviews disagree more with the book's philosophy than the literature. It should be offered in junior high and high school as a classic. For today's youth (I have two) it may be too intellectual, expect too much from the reader. It will be difficult for those with a certain philosophical bent to enjoy this book. It is uncompromisingly relentless in its vision of a collectivistic world. But it also unabashedly rejoices in the indominatable strenth of the individual. Very good read.

This book was very short but combined a lot into a mere 12 chapters. By far the most pleasing book I've been forced to read this year in school, "Anthem" is bizarre and futuristic and thought-provoking. The narrator refers to himself as "we" because his society condems individuality. All men must agree with all other men. The only purpose of men is to serve their brothers. Anything not known to all men does not exist. Concern for oneself is evil. No one knows what they look like. And names do not distinguish one person from another. Until Equality discovers long-lost science and is banished to the Uncharted Forest for wondering...and being different...and thinking about the Unspeakable Word. So he and the Golden One (his girlfriend, even though people are not allowed to be attracted to one another; preference is evil and they must love everyone equally)live alone in the woods, discovering old knowledge and forming a new society again in which everyone is I. It's a very, very interesting book and doesn't take a lot of your time. I read it in about an hour and a half. Good stuff.

"Atlas Shrugged" is an absorbing read. The beginning premise is simple. What would happen if the great economic drivers of society simply dropped out from frustration with those who continually seek to handicap them and help themselves to their wealth through redistribution and regulation?

The great industrialists of America begin vanishing without a trace. All have been visited by a shadowy figure prior to their disappearance. Meanwhile, the female railroad tycoon Dagny Taggert is battling to save her own company and keep as many of her high-achieving peers in the game as she can. The plot is fascinating. The characters gain your interest.

There is only reason why I give this book four stars rather than five. After clipping along for 900 pages, a major climax of the story is reached as a key character reaches for a microphone to broadcast to the nation. Exciting, yes? It is, at least until you realize the same character is going to give a speech that goes on for about 100 pages and delivers Rand's philosophy in excruciating detail. There's no need. She has made these same points very well through the story.

Regardless of Rand's occasional heavy-handedness and failure to trust the reader to learn the lessons she is trying to teach, "Atlas Shrugged" is a major book and should be read.

Every so often the reviews on this book fail to describe the book itself. Too bad, it's a great book whose theme is the role of intelligence in society. What happens when society gets "dumb and dumber," when reason is attacked, and morons take over? Industrial society falls apart. This book anticipates the exact condition of America today. Look at public schools, the Jerry Springer-types, and astroloy. AR's view of selfishness is novel. Unlike most people who have no conception of peaceful selfishness, Ayn Rand showed that this overlooked virtue is the essence of human progress and a peaceful civilization. When people forget that virtue, if they uphold sacrifice, the mind gets sacrificed, and then violent human sacrifice is unleashed. Isn't that the battle at work in the story--and in the world today? The inspiration of this book is that the good wins over the evil, peaceful selfishness wins over violent human sacrifice. Isn't such a victory what we all need to live? Well, that is the battle of capitalism over socialism, of reason over the irrational, the self-destructive, the parasitical. Too bad Bill Gates doesn't care about philosophy; he could use it to his advantage---as John Galt, the story's main protagonist, did to his.

The book caught my eye because of its immense size and interesting cover. I thought to my self this would be a good book to read, knowing nothing about the author, or the contents of the book, going only on the gut feeling I had that this was an intellectually good book.
The readers finds them self in an epic time of industrialization, but towards the end of the process. Trains are still the primary mode of transportation, and industrial titans run the country. Ayn Rand takes license with the environment of the story: it is most like an America in the 1920Õs with the technological innovations of the 50Õs.
The book, philosophical message aside, is an enthralling action adventure story with twists turns after every seeming resolution. The heroÕs and villains are gigantic, towering, representing the extreme of their evil. Rand paints such a vivid picture that as I was reading through the book I found my personality and worldview actually shifting as the book delves deep and deep into the philosophical mean it hopes to permit.
RandÕs philosophy ÒObjectivismÓ seems extreme to critics because one of the main tenants is that selfishness is the ultimate virtue. At first I was critical of the philosophy but I would challenge anyone to read this lengthy (1200 pages) and not at least respect Ayn RandÕs ideas.

Before buying this book, I actually read all of the reader reviews, not a standard practice for me. With a couple of exceptions, I suspected the reviews revolved around what the writers thought of Ayn Rand. If they thought pearls fell from her very lips, they gave it a five; if not, well, they did the opposite. And she isn't even the author, having written only a three page introduction. Dr. Peikoff's premise is that the rise of Nazism was facilitated by the philosophical content of mainstream German culture, and that the basic anti-individualist, anti-reason orientations of this culture are also apparent in modern American culture (hence the "Ominous Parallels"). This basic argument is sound and well-presented, especially the first part of it (dealing with Germany). If he obviously hates Plato and Kant, so do I, and with much the same analysis. (And yes, I have read them, exhaustively). His arguments more than justify the existence of the book. There is much wishful thinking which chooses to regard the Fascist (and I mean Red Fascists as well) experience as an inexplicable abberation. I agree with Dr. Peikoff in arguing that making it inexplicable makes it impossible to prevent the next time. The initial chapters, and those on Weimar politics and the concentration camps are especially powerful. If I have a problem with his analysis, it is that he seems to argue that philosophy is a sufficient cause for Nazism, but his argument only seems to establish that it is a necessary cause. He praises logic, but is sloppy with it. However (a very BIG however) the book has serious flaws. It is poorly footnoted (although, as someone else pointed out, the existence of footnotes makes it better than Rand herself). I find it impossible to verify some statements of fact from source material. It is repetitious, and sometimes tedious. It becomes shrill in parts, and worse than shrill, it becomes irrational. The attack on particle physics is simple cant. Admittedly, there are some very bad attempts out there to establish that modern physics is synonymous with eastern mysticism, but to identify impirical science therefore with mysticism is unreason (since the world is not as his philosophy predicts, it must be wrong). More importantly, since Dr. Peikoff, as his last chapter demonstrates, is of the "pearls from lips" school of Rand criticism, his alternative to collectivism has a mystical flavor to it. His justifiable revulsion at Nazis burning a pile of babies does not square with his equation of "anti-abortion" as totalitarian. Apparently piles of dead babies are relative. (The argument seems to stem from his belief that there is no conscious existence before birth, and therefore no implicit Objectivist rights. This view, however, is contrary to modern pre-natal science.) Definitely read this one, but be careful of it. (For your reference, I define myself philosophically as an individualist, religiously as an atheist, politically as not quite an anarchist. I regard Rand's work as flashes of blinding insight wrapped in sludge.)

In his book, Dr. Peikoff rips away the gauzy veil of contradictory thought in today's America and takes a close look at the FACTS that only a logical, clear thinker such as he can perceive. His premise? Our freedom is slowly slipping into a fetid pool of irrational thought and aimless, altrusitic action, all while the strength of the individual is lost, and our minds are numbed by the wasteland of today's modern rhetoric. He takes two seemingly unrelated subjects (the United States and Weimar Germany) and interweaves them with his fact-based hypothesis, that our country is slowly moving towards a Nazi-like dictatorship while turning its back on our Founding Father's ideals steeped in Aristotlean logic. Dr. Peikoff's analysis follows this hypothesis action by action, from the Enlightenment, to Romanticism to Nazism and all points in between while comparing it with America's timeline from yesterday's founding to today's floundering. If you thought Stephen King was scary, this book will frighten the hell out of you! Read it with an open mind, and a logical point of view, and it can only make sense! Read it now!

If you are an admirer of Ayn Rand's works or interested in the root causes of history, you should enjoy this book. Dr. Peikoff makes Ayn Rand's philosophy, Objectivism, clearly understood by contrasting it to altruism, mysticism and Kantianism, the three philosophies which gave rise to National Socialism and the atrocities committed by the Nazis before and during World War II. Through Dr. Peikoff's clearly written work one can easily see how history was and is caused by philosophy. There is an excellent chapter on the uniqueness of the American Founding Fathers, best characterized by one of them, Elihu Palmer: "At last men have grasped the unlimited power of human reason....Reason which is the glory of our nature." Dr. Peikoff gives us a timely warning of the"Ominous Parallels" between pre-war Germany's intellectual culture and contemporary America's, and that the philosophies which gave rise to both, are the same.

A potentially fascinating book, spoiled by some bad editorial choices. First of all, this is really the selected letters of Ayn Rand, and some of the selections are maddening-the book contains over half a dozen letters to Leonebel Jacobs, a fairly obscure portrait artist Rand knew back in the 1940s, but only a single letter apiece to Nathaniel and Barbara Branden, two of the most central figures in her life.

There are some other questionable omissions as well. A section devoted to Rand's correspondence with philosopher John Hospers contains only Rand's half of the exchange, even though Hospers was apparently willing to allow his own letters to Rand to be published, and even though he expressed concern that "[Rand's] summary of what I said sometimes did not reproduce what I really did say." I for one would like to have seen both sides of the dialogue; it would have been a rare opportunity to observe Rand actually debating her ideas. If the problem was lack of space, I think the smart move would have been to make room for Hospers' letters by cutting out some of Rand's less essential correspondence, like her note thanking Leonebel Jacobs for "the wonderful cheese" he sent her in 1948.

Oh well. Maybe sometime in the future, after the current controllers of her estate have gone on to that great Dead Letter Office in the sky, a more complete version of Rand's correspondence will become available. Until then, the anemic "Letters of Ayn Rand" will have to do.

Ayn Rand's personal life has been a mystery to her fans, excepting some hatchet-job memoirs. Finally, we get the REAL Ayn Rand, as she was to her friends, family, colleagues and fans. This book shows how Rand was passionate in all the areas of her life from her husband, to her publishers, to philosophical discussions with the like of John Hospers. **This book really gives one the feeling that one knows Ayn Rand privately, which is the best aim a book of private correspondence can serve.

As one who knew Ayn Rand quite well at the end of her life, I was still amazed by this book: the unique combination of passionate valuing and ruthless logic that characterized her later years shone throughout her life--but with fascinating variations in form. Through these letters, you follow her life from age 21, when she writes back home to Russia, to Leo (the model for the hero of her first novel), to her long and brilliant philosophic correspondence with Prof. John Hospers after the publication of _Atlas Shrugged_. Also letters to H. L. Mencken, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mickey Spillaine, Barry Goldwater, Cecil B. DeMille, Bennett Cerf, Walt Disney, Alexander Kerensky, Ginger Rogers, Robert Stack, Isabel Paterson, as well as her responses to ordinary fan-letters. An intimate chronicle of the soul from which sprang Howard Roark, Francisco d'Anconia, John Galt and her other unprecedented heroes. Harry Binswanger (hb@interport.net)