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Summary: Great, although long, novel
Review: This is one of the best novels I think I have ever read because of the presentation of a gripping story with an intellectual and philosophical undertone. ... this is a wonderful book that strikes upon some of the most significant morals or belief systems in American and developed society - capitalism, altruism, cronyism, independent versus collective thought and action, and much more. It is a great read!
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Summary: everyone should read this book
Review: i don't even want to say why, but this book changed my life, and you shouldn't read people's reviews of it because anyone you know that recommends this book will let you figure it all out for yourself. not only is the book extremely well written but it applies to anyone anywhere and has taught even the people who wrote terrible reviews of it something about life.
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Summary: A Great American Novel
Review: It's easy to lose sight of why we read fiction. When you're young and full of hope-for whatever it is that you will want out of life-or if you're older but still hanging on to that youthful optimism some of us once had, The Fountainhead may be just the book for you. It's a little dated now; no one is that certain anymore-as was the author, and her main character, Howard Roark. But if we could, many of us would still like to be like him, or at least we would like to try. This is a novel about Rand's ideal man, (and some other characters who are almost, but not quite, ideal, and some who are bad). She paints a portrait of what he must look like, and you the reader will see it very clearly. You may hate him, or love him, or simply "shrug." But you will get to know him; he will live for you. What you decide, Rand says, will be a judgment of you, and to this I agree. It will tell what kind of person you are. Rand's portrait of Roark is like Michelangelo's sculptures and painting. It's that good. That doesn't mean that a rational adult has to agree with every word of this novel-or with Rand's Philosophy in toto. This book, like every great work of art, has to be judged as a whole. This is Rand's best. Even if you end up coming down against her philosophy in its main points, you can still love this book. In a nutshell-it's about "the best within us."
Rating: 
Summary: One long Harangue
Review: Fountainhead by Ayn Rand is verbose and preachy. It is obvious that this novel is her attempt to convert people to her philosophy. Essentially what you have are long speeches by main characters, which is merely her vehicle to push her systematic view of the world. I've never heard of her philosophy before but after 700+ pages of her beating me over my head with it I don't think I'll forget about objectivism. I doubt that would I ever read another book by her, even though it was a relatively fast read.
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Summary: magnificence
Review: that someone could say this book doesnt evoke laughter or tears boggles my mind, and thats all i cant think to reply to at this moment. dominique and howard's relationship often drove me to tears and i feel there are a great number of moments in the book that are humerous. maybe my sense of humour is just strange, but i thought the book was all around wonderful and amazing
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Summary: Must Read!
Review: Read it! Read it! Read it!!! This is one of my favorite books of all time. I first read The Fountainhead in 1979; I've had three copies, and re-read it more than a half-dozen times, since then. If you're unfamiliar with Ayn (rhymes with 'nine') Rand, she can be difficult to follow as she writes in long, multi-paragraph dialogs. If you want to try something a bit shorter, yet a good introduction to her writing style and personal philosophy, try something lighter like "Anthem." I feel her best book is "Atlas Shrugged."
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Summary: On why architecture is philosophical.
Review: This book is about being truthful to one-self. It is wrong to say that this book is not about architecture. First, the architecture of New York and the northern US East-Coast in the 1920s and 1930s is the offspring of capitalism and individualism. Ayn Rand's was born in St. Petersburg Russia and lived through the first years of the Communist Regime, which she detested. She moved to the United States where she developed a theory praising man and what it can do. That is why the characters in this book are so fond of New York - the huge skycrapes are NOT TO MAKE MAN FEEL SMALL, BUT TO ELEVATE HIM THROUGH WHAT HE CAN ACCOMPLISH. On the other hand, you will understand the superficiality of renaissance, baroque, classic and neo-classic architecture used in the early 1920s and 1930s. This architecture is merely decorative. Howard Roark comes to tear all this apart with a concept of unity and "objectivism" largely criticized but admired by those who do not live with the flow like the passive-agressive Peter Keating who you will probably despise at the end of the novel. It makes me feel like when I finished The Catcher in The Rye. Other themes include love, sex, jingoism and sensationalism, art, society and socialism. That is why this book is so rich. All this is set with very en-vogue New York as backdrop. I highly recommend this book for prospective and practicing architects and to anyone who appreciates anti-heroes.
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Summary: Taking one's self too seriously
Review: The successful philosophical or political novel is a rarity. Of the former, Sartre's "Nausea" is a modern masterpiece. Of the latter, I would nominate Zola's "Germinal" and Steinbeck's "In Dubious Battle" as leading contenders. Of course, "War and Peace" and "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" present philosophical ideas, but neither is a novel in the traditional sense. The secret of success in these endeavors is to to present the ideas through the media of sympathetic characters and a compelling narrative. "No sense in useless tub-thumping," said Zola. Ayn Rand should have heeded that advice. Her characters are mere types, employed repeatedly (and I mean repeatedly) as mouthpieces for specific points of view. There are three telling omissions in "The Fountainhead": the first is that, although this is an epic tale, covering several decades in the lives of many characters, there are no babies born, no children reared. I'm afraid a philosophy of selfishness has to go the way of dirty diapers when Baby arrives. The second omission is humor. There are no laughs here. Egoism is a serious business. The third omission, perhaps arising from the first two, is emotional warmth. Ironically, Rand's essentially Humanist (that is, atheistic and anthropocentric) view lacks humanity. Her heroine can only achieve sexual fulfilment through being forcibly raped, her hero's heart and soul are centered on bricks and mortar. This novel will oblige you to think, but will not move you to laugh or cry. "The Fountainhead" is well written and thought provoking, but in addition to the points I mentioned above, I was left wondering what the problems were supposed to be in relation to the architecture of the time. This was the age of Art Deco and of Frank Lloyd Wright, surely a golden age in American architecture. And is the era of the the Wall Street Crash, the Great Depression and Roosevelt's New Deal really the best advertisement for laissez faire economics?
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Summary: You Can't Touch Howard
Review: This was my first Ayn Rand book to read, a easy, understandable read because its in the form of a fictional novel. The main reason I like this book and felt angry sometimes is because Howard(the main character) gets [bothered] alot but he doesn't care, he is too pure. I was getting mad at him for not getting upset. It was fairly easy to understand Ayn Rands philosophies on life because they were portrayed through the characters. I think if you read this book you will be surprised at how it will affect the way you feel about yourself and your ego.
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Summary: The Sacred Contract
Review: Although the heroic architect of "The Fountainhead" is very loosely modeled on Frank Lloyd Wright, the novel is not really about architecture at all. The story really centers on a man who knows what he wants to do and intends to work only on his own terms. Howard Roark bucks architectural norms to create his own designs where form follows function. While it sounds like an auto commercial today, the notion was more revolutionary when the story was written in the forties. True to Randian form, the pack instincts of Roark's peers take over as they vow to take him down. His originality and, more importantly, his refusal to act on any terms other than his own infuriate those around him. Also true to form, our superhuman protagonist has a superhuman mate equally dedicated to pure excellence and pure ego. Both "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged" make for great reading aside from Rand's tendency to engage in speechmaking. She never trusts the reader to draw the appropriate lessons from the story and therefore sets up melodramatic, scripted speeches of heroic length to drive her points home. Nevertheless, the books are interesting, with powerful plots, and mark a potent answer to the drive toward collectivization of the twentieth century.
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