Ayn Rand

Rating:
Summary: A brief journey through a great life
Review: Jeff Britting's "Ayn Rand" is a superb account of the life of one of the most interesting intellectuals of the 20th century. Many have read her novels the Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged but few know that the details of her life make her seem very much like a character out of her own novels. Her youth in Russia is recounted in some detail, as well as her departure for the United States, and her early career writing for film and theater. This is followed by further information on the writing of her novels culminating in Atlas Shrugged. Then, having completed her goals in literature, she moved to focus more on helping to spread the philosophy she developed in the course of writing her novels by writing and speaking wherever and whenever she could.

This book is a good starting point for understanding her life. It contains a little more detail than the Academy Award Nominated movie "A sense of life" of which Britting is the producer. For greater details on her intellectual development I recommend "The Journals of Ayn Rand" edited by David Harriman. For more biographical details see also "Letters of Ayn Rand" edited by Michael Berliner, which contains much of her correspondence.

Rating:
Summary: DELIGHTFUL !
Review: This book expands upon the biographical information in "Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life," the companion book to the Academy Award-nominated documentary. It explores Miss Rand's life as a lone champion of individualism -- the great defender of freedom and the pursuit of happiness.

I especially enjoyed the photos of the young Ayn Rand, and information about her family. The many letters between them quoted here, smash the myth (perpetrated by inept pseudo-biographer Barbara Branden) that they were enemies.

Those who love Ayn Rand's fiction will find many details on the genesis of her monumental novels, "We the Living," "Anthem," "The Fountainhead," and "Atlas Shrugged."

Ayn Rand gives those who seek to understand the world, a rational philosophy to live by. She inspires, and sets minds on fire. The intellectual movement she created will lead to a second Renaissance: a rebirth of reason, Romanticism, and individual rights.

The only possible criticism of this book, is that it measures only 5" x 7". I'm sure her fans would gladly pay more, for a larger volume.