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Summary: Great book but letters are too small
Review: Okay, so I bought this book at a whim at an airport bookstore. I didn't know what I was getting into. The writing, plot & characters are timeless, unique and all in all, outstanding. I feel as if our society & times have been impacted by Ayn Rand's philosophy more than we realize. Her thoughts & characters are so original and I must say that I haven't read anything like the Fountainhead. Sure, the characters are unrealistic but I believe Rand took them to the extreme to make her points. I do not profess to be or consciously follow objectivism (some of it is common sense) but her book was deep, and a thought provoker.One last recommendation, do not buy the small paperback. The words are tiny and reading 700+ pages of that small print will kill your vision. Go ahead and invest in the bigger paperback, or better yet, get the hardback... it's worth it.
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Summary: The ulimate "anti-compromise" novel
Review: "Man's ego is the fountainhead of all progress"... the quote from which the title comes from. The Fountainhead is such an incredible example of what man (and woman) should strive to become. It is the ultimate "anti-compromise" novel ever written. The theme is simple. All of human progress is the result of someone using their abilities to go against the established way of doing things and create something new and better for all to enjoy. The book is not meant to be an accurate description of life as we know it, but rather an example of the type of people that create the future and those who act to stop progress. As with all of Rand's work, this book is a series of "what if" scenarios that play out in a melodramatic manner to make a point about both sides of human nature. I have read it four times now and everytime I open its pages, I am inspired to become the best person that I can be. I recommened it to anyone who wants to better themselves. For those who claim the book is not realistic or not truthful... There is a famous saying that all truths go through three stages, first they are scoffed at, second they are violently rejected and third they are accepted as if they has always been true. (Copernicus and his heliocentric model experienced these stages in attempting to change the status quo...) Ayn Rand's work is experiencing stage two right now, but in time i think it will be understood and not seem so threatening as it does to some today.
Rating: 
Summary: Great philosophical ideas, but...
Review: the characters are too "black or white", and are too extreme - each and every one of them... The philosophy behind this book - that not everything new is bad, and that any new idea should be inspected before being rejected on the basis of being new - is a very good one considering the fact that they were working in a very conservative environment. But again, the message is given in its most extreme version, and it seems that instead of rejecting new ideas and accepting only old ones, Ayn Rands wants us to accept new ideas and reject all old ones, which is just as wrong as the old fashioned way of looking at things... I don't see Roarke as a hero - in his extreme behavior, he almost missed his purpose, and maybe if he learned to be a little more flexible at times he would have had more chances of having people listening to him and would have had a much better chance and a much easier time spreading his message around - some people's objections were to him as a person, not to what he was trying to say. This may seem unfair, but that's the way life is... The other drawback of this book si the fact it's VERY old fashioned, and not that relevant to our modern society in many ways...
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Summary: Live by your own standards
Review: Rand's view that our own creations breathe some form of ourselves underlies the story in The Fountainhead. When others cannot create in the same way, they look to squelch it. A novel of true creativity and individualism. Worth a good, long read.
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Summary: Should be 6 stars
Review: If you can understand the true meaning of the book, than it should move you. Truly the greates piece of lit I ever read,Ayn Rand provides the basis Of Objectivism, her theme, through the lives of a number of different mind set people. The individual vs the collectivist. Ayn Rand didn't write the book to tell her reader's how the majority of the world becomes successful, she displayed a way to feel content with inside yourself.
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Summary: The Fountainhead
Review: The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand is masterfull. I loved the way all the charachters were realistic. This book is one of the best ones I have ever read. I hope everyone else who reads it gets as much from it as I did.
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Summary: A piece of my mind.
Review: Where to begin, where to begin. This book is quite possibly the best I have ever read. Sure it is challenging, but the time spent wrapping yourself into and very well becoming the characters is worth every second. The fact that it still enters my mind after having read it 6 months ago is a true example of the potential impact it can create. I suggest this book to anyone who feels that todays world and standards just don't hold true to what your heart is telling you. Read it, but don't stop there. To grasp the true meaning you have to really hear what the book and it's author is telling you. Amazing.
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Summary: A classic ignored by mainstream intellectuals
Review: Like Atlas Shrugged, this tale is an extraordinary one. Ayn Rand worked within the realm of ideas and their consequences. The characters here are both the usual and the heroic. Howard Roark, our hero, stands firm for individual integrity, against the critics and the masses until his point-of-view wins out. The greatness of Rand's work is that she sets a path in which mediocrity loses. Like any philosophy, her work didn't change the world, but had a deep impact on individuals that changed themselves and helped to make the world that much better. The villain Ellsworth Toohey is one of the great nemesis' in American literature. He is plainly passive-aggressive. He uses people's insecurities for his own power. Much like many villains in real life, Toohey defeats his foes through subtleties and pawns. He spends a lifetime propping up disciples around him for insulation. The bandwagon mentaility means that none of his ideas need ever come under logical scrutiny. When his game is discovered, his power is such, that he is not easily defeated. Roark's use of logical rhetoric at the conclusion of the novel is such that Toohey's nefarious work is rendered meaningless. For as good as the work is, I am opposed to Rand's atheism. She would replace God with the worship of man. Her heroic characters certainly make a case for such, but in real life even our most brilliant men are not without flaws and contradictions. I believe that God would want man to as heroic as Rand sees him. Rand would feel any recognition of a superior being would cast man back into the pool of the collective. This disagreement would put me outside the realm of Rand followers, but I love the book anyway and feel that it has a great deal to offer anyone who believes in individual liberty or is open to hear a case for it.
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Summary: A very interesting, but confusing book
Review: I have to say that this book was really a challenge for me to read. When I purchased the book I didn't think that I would like it, but I said what the hell I'll give it a chance, because you never know. It turned out to be very interesting. I enjoyed the way the author used two architects to portray two different outlooks on life. In order to enjoy this book you have to go into reading it with an open mind, and if you don't then the whole point will be missed. Read it you may have a different outlook on life when you've finished. This is the type of book that really makes you think while reading it. So if your in for a challenge I recommend this book.
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Summary: A pulprit to preach a sermon
Review: A good book, although it's very much like Atlas Shrugged--I think I like Atlas better. Howard and Dominique are both cold and indifferent to everyone and everything but each other. The end is not at all surprising. In fact, hardly anything in the book surprises me. Rand uses her books as a pulprit to preach the same sermon again and again.
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