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Summary: Awesome book
Review: This book is a real eye opener to how good we really have it, Rand tells this story very good and easy to understand, i recomend this to anybody with any interest in Philosophy.
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Summary: Preachy and boring
Review: Anthem was required reading for my teen son this year. I swiped his copy and read it after he was asleep, thinking we'd have a lovely story to dicuss the next day, the way we did after he read "The Lord of the Rings" and "Ender's Game".I was wrong. The problem with "Anthem" is that there is simply no story here. The book might as well have been a non-fiction essay, because it repeatedly beats you over the head with the author's views. There is no attempt at subtlety, so the book becomes preachy. The point the author is trying to make is something that we all already know anyway, so I didn't read the book and come away thinking "Eureka! I really see the world differently now!" There is a big difference between a beautifully written story that is able to blend the author's views into a masterfully crafted and entertaining tale (like Orson Scott Card often does) and a plain old boring statement that just wants to get the point across to the reader, which is what this book is. Frankly, I'm disgusted that my son had to waste his time with this book. No wonder it's so hard to get kids to read when they're force fed this stuff.
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Summary: I love this book!
Review: This is definatly one of the best books I've read. I know it has lots to do with the problem of some forms of government, but I prefer to read it purely from a fictional point of view. Its definatly a book I can relate to. Maybe not government-wise, but pretty much the rest of my life.
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Summary: Rand's Objectivist views at their most idealistic..
Review: In stark opposition to her massive (but equally well-written) novels THE FOUNTAINHEAD and ATLAS SHRUGGED, ANTHEM presents Ayn Rand's Objectivist philosophy in a very engaging, idealistic manner. ANTHEM is brief, concise, and drives quickly from start to finish with no hesitation, no unexpected plot delays, and very little indecision on the part of the main characters. Much like 1984 and ANIMAL FARM, ANTHEM presents the 'horrors' of socialism and state oppression: loss of identity, corruption and deceit, and the despair associated with having every choice taken away, every voice silenced, every new idea crushed. Unlike the former novels, the answer for Rand in ANTHEM is not victory over the state; the answer is escape followed by a revolution led from outside, an answer which parallels her own life. Those who enjoyed Orwellian fiction should find the same kind of enjoyment in ANTHEM, a work which is in some ways unjustly overshadowed by THE FOUNTAINHEAD and ATLAS SHRUGGED. The latter two are long, exhausting novels which, while worth the read, are labor-intensive. ANTHEM is a marked contrast, a brief missive which is made excellent by the clarity of its message rather than the excellence of its argument.
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Summary: Shades of Mao's Cultural Revolution
Review: I'm giving the concepts contained in 'Anthem' 5 stars even though Rand's prose still fall a bit flat. Don't misunderstand, I have read all of Rand's works that have been published in the last twenty years and share her basic beliefs. But 'Anthem' really is weak as literature even though it's a towering achievement as a manifesto. I first read 'Anthem' in the 1970's. Nixon had made his historic trip to China and details were starting to emerge about the Cultural Revolution. The Khmer Rouge had executed just about every Cambodian who could read. Saigon had fallen, the Portuguese had abandoned Angola and Mozambique to the Marxists, dozens of proxy wars were being fought and the West was generally losing. At this point in the Cold War there were serious concerns about the future of Western values such as individual liberty, free thought, due process, etc. Could we stand up to the Communist threat or would another Dark Age descend upon us for 1000 years? Communism was a malignant pestilence that left 100,000,000 dead bodies in its wake and Anthem describes exactly the kind of irrational thought that caused this mass genocide. Now, even though Communism is being cast into the "dustbin of history", Anthem is still a poignant reminder of how close we came to living as Equality 7-2521.
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Summary: The World's End?
Review: You live in a world where the word individualism is a curse. You have never seen the face of your parents and have no idea of where you were born or how. You are sent to the Home of Infants and stay there until you are five years of age and by then you are sent to the Home of the Students where you study until your fifteenth year. Before going to sleep you repeat with your right arm raised: "We are nothing. Mankind is all. By the grace of our brothers are we allowed our lives. We exist through, by and for our brothers who are the State. Amen." Although I am stating with the words: 'you' and 'your'-you do not know of those words. You exist as a 'we' for you must not betray 'our' brothers. The years have gone well into the future from where we stand right now and yet instead of our dreams of conquering the world and improving the technical industries worldwide, something has happened to demolish all our efforts. We are at loss of all sciences and civilization. There is no electricity, only candles and even this is respected with a high air of responsiblity. The main character we meet in this story is Equality 7-2521 whom decides to conquer these one way thoughts. After finishing his years in the Home of the Students he wish secretly to go to the Home of the Scholars. But as he enters the center of the great hall on the first day of spring they look into the cold eyes of the elders belonging to The Council of Vocations utters the words: 'street sweeper'. But Equality 7-2521's curiosity gets the better of him and he searches for things that spark his imagination and mind. He plays with Science and experiments with wires and he discovers an underground tunnel which he uses as a type of lab. In the tunnel he finds the evidence of a world that existed well before the time of when he was born and had so much more than they had now. He sets out to tell the leaders but they call him a traitor for disobeying his brothers. He escapes to a large forrest where he meets with Liberty 5-3000, The Golden One who he had met before whilst carrying on with his work as a sweeper. And the two start to discover the truth of the human race and it's means. They learn the holy word diminished for so long... 'I'. The book is strange. And it's rather short. It consists of just over 100 pages of large text writing and then the rest is the originally published copy of Anthem with Ms. Rand's own hand written corrections. It starts full of enthusiasm and adventure but ends with a cliffhanger that seems not to be very uplifting at all. The book isn't a book not worth reading. It seems to be a very easy context of Ms. Rand's philosophy on Objectivism and is highly entertaining for the most part. I liked her ideas a great deal and wish she'd made more of a story out of it for she made it more into a modest article or drafted frame than a novel or story...something towards a very short fantasy tale at the closest. I recommend this book to all ages over eleven or so. Not much of it is too difficult and it makes you realise that it's not all that bad that you use the word "I" a little too often in your sentences :D
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Summary: Inspired!
Review: Anthem is a futuristic book where mankind has lost himself. He lives only for his fellow men. He swallows whatever line of garbage his fed, and accepts it. He has no thoughts of himself. He is lost. The word "I" is forbidden. It's not even in the language for people to know. Anthem is a philosophical Rand book that tells us freedom is being free from your fellow man. That we should live life for ourselves, though it's not advocating total selfishness. We should choose our own friends, our own jobs, and our own lifestyle, which is based on our own happiness. The book is not a difficult read, and its message is quite clear. If you like Rand and have not read this book, you won't be disappointed.
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Summary: Interesting proposal of solid philosophy; not indispensable
Review: There is nothing inherently wrong with this book. It clearly states her philosophy--a solid, logical one to which I owe nothing but respect--and the writing is, as Rand's prose usually is, uninspiring but efficient. Unfortunately, however, Anthem has little signifigance other than that it came before Rand's two larger novels. To learn about Objectivism, her outright philsophy, The Virtue of Selfishness, for example, is the source. For dramatizations, look to The Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged. For early Soviet distopian works, Zamyatin's WE is contextually more interesting (and, perhaps, watered down) Novel or poem, fiction or manifesto, Anthem is neccessary reading only for those who haven't the time to trudge through a bigger book or those looking to complete Rand's corpus.
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Summary: "The Best" is an Understatement
Review: I've read the Fountainhead and that book was spectacular and recently I came across "Anthem" and now it has become my favorite book. If you enjoyed this book, check out "The Giver" by Lois Lowry, they both are similar but "The Giver" gives more detail and is based from a youth's out look. They are both two of my fav's and I'd like to share them with you all who have similar intrests to mine.
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Summary: The Power of Individuallity
Review: In today's society, one is constantly hearing in the news about mergers and corporate buyouts, but where is that taking us? In the futuristic world of Anthem, the expression 'all for one and one for all' has become the way of life. Society has become so collective that the individual no longer exists. The concept of first person expression does not exist. There is no I only WE. Anthem show what happens when one person refuses to be anonymous.
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