Letters of Ayn Rand

by Ayn Rand

Book Overview

The publication of the letters of Ayn Rand is a cause for celebration, not only among the countless millions of Ayn Rand admirers the world over, but also among all those interested in the key... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525939466
• ISBN13: 9780525939467
• Release Date: June 1995
• Publisher: Dutton Books
• Length: 681 Pages
• Weight: 2.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.0" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Spectacular!

Ayn Rand is the author of numerous philosophical works, fiction and non-fiction alike. She is best known as the founder of her unique Objectivist philosophy, which is essentially concerned with individual men acting in their own rational self-interests, coupled with a strong moral defense of free-market Capitalism. Her ideas are very complex, yet easily grasped by the interested reader."Letters of Ayn Rand" is a wonderful book for Rand fans, however I think many of the ideas will be lost on newcomers. "Letters" contains almost 60 years worth of personal letters Miss Rand wrote during the course of her lifetime. We have a very wide range of recipients for her letters here, everyone from philosophers, heads of state, newspapermen, literary agents, Hollywood types, fans, political organizations, you name it. Rand was just as eloquent and blunt with her letter writing as with her "serious" writing.I very much enjoyed following Rand’s career through these letters. We start with a young Russian woman trying to settle in to American life, through a writer’s struggles to get her work published, and ending with the writings of an established philosopher ahead of her time. Rand fought tooth and nail to get both "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged" published as written, however we learn that she was not entirely against having editorial assistance. Rand understood the editor’s job of providing constructive criticism of her work; however she always stood tall and insisted on making any sort of changes to her works personally. She never tolerated any sort of editorial "rewrites" of her novels or her original screenplays, etc.; Rand fought many tough battles with editors, publishers, film producers, etc. during the course of her writing career for the purpose of having her work stand as written by her hand ALONE. This was very difficult to do back in the 40s and 50s (probably more so today), as witnessed by her numerous letters to the powers-that-be.Rand was brutally honest with everyone she wrote letters to, including family members and adoring fans. Rand was helping to support a niece during the girl’s troubled high school days. Rand then found out that the girl and her caretakers weren’t being up front with her, and subsequently told her relatives in no uncertain terms that Rand’s assistance for the girl is NOT charity and that her help is NOT unconditional. In other instances, fans of Rand who misinterpreted her books were shown little sympathy; not because Rand was against teaching fundamentals of her philosophy (she acted as a teacher far more often than not), but because the letter-writer seemed to have purposefully missed Rand’s crucial philosophical points. Rand had no patience for those who would claim to be fans of "The Fountainhead", yet ask her to support causes that did not match the ideas of her novels. Her voice is always clear, and her uncompromising use of reason and logic are unmatched.There are some complaints from other reviewers regard

Revealing, and EXACTLY in the way her admirers think

I found this book tremendously inspiring, as inspiring as a great biography--because in a sense that is what it is. Ones sees that despite the negatives, Ayn Rand took joy in the great crusade of ideas that constituted her life. Through these letters the reader feels like he is participating in this drama. The most interesting aspect is, in the Introduction's words, the "series of painful shocks" by which she came to realize the philosophical and moral bankruptcy of "the pitiful compromisers and anti-intellectual temporizers" known as conservatives. A few of them have posted reviews below. As comes out in those postings, conservatives want to "conserve" not only capitalism, but also the moral-philosophical status quo. This is evident in the logical structure of the arguments presented. An "actual" philosopher is presumed by them to be any representative of that Establishment, whereas a young person striving to come to an independent grasp of reality has got to be an unwitting victim. A novelist who solves an ancient problem (the is-ought gap) in the course of composing a character's climactic speech ("Well, I never! A speech in a novel! Who ever heard of such a thing?") is only starting to engage in "efforts" in philosophy when she refers to and cites that speech in the manner of a proper academic who is publishing before he perishes. One hears the familiar drone of the conservative in another reviewer's condemnation of Rand's morality of rational self-interest as "justification for behaving in a[n] anti-social manner that is slowly destroying the fabric of the societies of the Western World." One often hears it said about Objectivists (those who espouse Ayn Rand's philosophy) that "No disagreement with her writings is ever accepted and if you disagree you are an evil communist/collectivist." It is true that many of her admirers, notably among the young (who are especially fiery when it comes to ideals), act that way. But these LETTERS show that that was not Ayn Rand's own attitude when she believed the person was intellectually honest--witness her correspondence with, among many others, John Hospers.

These letters would make great bedside reading, except they'

I agree completely with David Brown who writes on The Daily Objectivist website: "Never mind your views of Rand's views or how long it's been since you read the Promethean tale of the man who "set out to stop the motor of the world, and did." If you're at all intrigued by the fiery personality that was Ayn Rand, you must, no option, read these letters. Covering some five decades of her life, and penned with her unique intensity, they give us the most fascinating insight into Rand's mind and life in many years. And there's a surprise on almost every page." Indeed there is! This book is full of gems...see Ayn Rand tell a young man how to find the right woman! (Hey, it worked for me!)

A fascinating chronicle of the soul behind Atlas Shrugged.

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)

Well-edited and revealing of Ayn Rand's personality

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.