Fountainhead

Rating:
Summary: For little minds... and hard heads
Review: I gave Ayn 2 stars just for the amazing amount of words devoted to this tripe. After being bashed on the head for (it seems like) a bazillion pages of objectivist ideology, I must say "OK Alice (her real name), I get your point", but after I read a couple of pages more... I'm bashed about the head again with the same ideals... then again... and again... and again. The story is boring, the prose is uninteresting, the story insulting (especially to women), and the philosophy is wanting. I rather thought it was like treking through mud with rubber boots. Does anyone over the age of 18 find this interesting? Don't try and tell me that this is good writing. And as someone who loves books... her inability to write is her greatest flaw.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: One of the best books I've ever read; it changed my life. Some of the other reviewers I doubt have even read the book.

For my money, the only book of equal quality written in the last 100 years is her Atlas Shrugged.

Rating:
Summary: Buy it, Read it, Love it.
Review: Best book ive ever read, hands down.

Rating:
Summary: One man versus Altruism - [e-mail]
Review: The Fountainhead is a story of one man, Howard Roark - Ayn Rand's ideal man- and it is the story of how he fights the natural tendency of our world toward collectivism. Roark is a lone creator in a world of fakers, followers and phonies.

For those out there who follow a religious sect who believe in compassion and altruism as lofty goals - the atheistic objectivist credo of Ayn Rand may be hard to swallow. For me, it was not difficult at all. In fact, I had no difficulty at all reconciling Howard Roark with my religious beliefs. Simply, God and the highest ambitions and accomplishments of a creative individual, to me, are one and the same. Compassion and pity are not the loftiest Godly virtues in my world. I can reconcile compassion with objectivism.

In my religious world, individualism and achievement reign supreme. Compassion does exist but is secondary. Simply, the American experiment works so well because it has done a masterful job of balancing both fundamental needs of man: the need to create in an unfettered environment(liaises faire capitalism) and the need to believe in God. Ayn Rand's objectivism is a necessary antidote to our present condition to help restore the balance in a world where altruism is becoming the highest ideal. Although Ayn Rand is a proclaimed atheist, I do not think it is impossible to be both an objectivist and a believer. Man does not have to destroy the greatness in the individual to be God-like. One does not have to be a sociopath to be like Howard Roark. (One reviewer called Roark a sociopath and I totally disagree.) Roark has no use for most of the world and unlike the warped sociopath, he does not scheme to get his way - he merely works and achieves. The textbook sociopath feeds off the sickness of the world and achieves through cunning and deceit. Perhaps Wynand could be considered sociopathic, Toohey - definitely - but not Roark. His selfishness is the virtuous kind - directed toward creation. If one is religious - Roark is god-like and of course, blasphemous to the secular and non-secular priests - like Toohey - that are not willing to allow another god in their presence. (Toohey's god is power.)

In this novel, Ayn Rand describes her philosophy of objectivism through the interactions between characters. Peter Keating, an architect, achieves greatness by copying others. He is immoral and despite wealth and seeming success, his life is empty. He is the ultimate user and hypocrite. Keating is the immoral user that is the antithesis of the moral hero of the objectivist philosophy.

But Rand does not favor altruism as an answer to immoral deeds. In fact, altruism itself is evil because a society, which fosters it, always does so at someone else's expense, and that someone is, as in Roark's case, the true creator and ndividual. This warps and compromises the rightful way of things and inevitably leads us down the path to collectivism. In the person of Ellsworth Toohey, a sociopathic newspaper columnist, Ayn Rand shows how the power hungry manipulate the masses by setting a standard of mediocrity which fosters collectivism. Altruism is a favorite method of manipulation.

In our own time, over 50 years after the original publication of the Foutainhead, we can see how in the name of altruism, greedy and soulless politicians are still selling us an Altruistic nirvana. What started as an altruistic call to help the underclass and the oppressed, Affirmative Action and other programs of its like have become programs of evil. Though well intentioned, Affirmative Action programs allow the mediocre to take the place of the best and the brightest in our schools and other institutions. And the sickness is not merely that it advances the stupid and slow among us. There are some very bright but terribly misguided people who think that Affirmative Action is a good thing. Out of guilt and the need to conform, many intelligent people have been led astray as well. And for the people of color who think it is a good thing - it is nothing more than the face of slavery in a new costume.

So, in the end, Roark's passion for his work and uncompromising creativity in accomplishing his professional goals set him apart from the second-handers - the same one's that feed off the creativity of the greats thinkers of history: the Galileos, the Edisons, and yes, even our modern Prometheus - the Edward Tellers of the world!

Roark is a hero because he will never compromise despite enormous pressures to do so. Although many argue about the necessity to compromise depending upon circumstance, compromising to misplaced altruism or the forces of evil leads to immorality, or fascism, or downright stupidity. Does anyone really want to be operated on by an Affirmative Action brain surgeon?

Roark did not sell out. He is certainly a valuable model in this world of immoral leaders and corrupted politicians willing to sacrifice even the greatest among us for their collectivist agendas.

Rating:
Summary: This book brings new meaning to the phrase "Be Yourself"
Review: One man standing against society, ruined lives, unspeakable acts of defiance, enemies that strike with a pen instead of a hand and of course the oddest pair of lovers that you will ever encounter. The main character in this book is Howard Roark. When I started reading it, I thought the character was practically in human. He didn't seem to have cares, worries, or any emotions at all. Roark brushed off things that normal people would be worried about, like being called in by the Dean or getting kicked out of school. When Peter Keating (another main character) discussed his future with Roark, it really showed their contrasting personalities. A good example is the famous quote with Peter saying, "How do you always manage to decide?" and Roark replying "How can you let others decide for you?" Roark is who everyone wants to be but is completely terrified of what would happen, if they were. He brings a new meaning to the word independent. This book tells a story of true independence against society. People are scared of what they don't understand, of what is different, or of what they want to be but can't accomplish. Another quote that really shows the philosophy in this book is in Roark's speech when he is describing the ultimate egotist and says " He is the man who stands above the need of using others in any manner. He does not function through them. He is not concerned with them in any primary matter. Not in his aim, not in his motive, not in this thinking, not in his desires, not in the source of his energy. He does not exist for any other man- and he asks no other man to exist for him." Throughout the story Roark is the good guy without ever claiming to be or making any feats of valor or honor. He doesn't save a damsel in distress nor have a million friends. He is simply true to himself in every way that is humanly possible and beyond. The story shouts the message that one should be independent, true and never give in to what others want. But also shows that this is the hardest feat too ever accomplish in life. This book brings a new deep meaning to the phrase "Be Yourself".

Rating:
Summary: Strong, Lasting and Universal Plot
Review: During college, We all Civil Engineering Students as well Architect students use to read this book and use to discuss many issues. This book is evergreen type of subject. For many more years the content will be revellent. Hasit Dave ([e-mail])

Rating:
Summary: Ayn Rand's best novel
Review: Though Atlas Shrugged is Rand's definitive novel, The Fountainhead is her best literary work.

The story is about an architect who refuses to compromise his work to gain fame or commissions. The architect Howard Roark is supposedly based on Frank Lloyd Wright, but really has little in common with Wright except for his relation to Louis Sullivan, the father of skyscrapers which is novelized here, and his uncompromising style.

The character of Ellsworth Toohey is one of the most brilliant and subtle villains ever, the capricious Dominque Francon, a unique heroine. Most of the characters are highly successful with the notable exception of Roark himself, who comes off slightly flat. (Compare this failure to that of Ladislaw in Middlemarch. Some novelists have more trouble with heroes than villains.) Despite this criticism, The Fountainhead is an excellent novel and for sheer literary merit, the best thing Rand wrote.

Rating:
Summary: Read it yourself
Review: I bought a copy of The Fountainhead at a used bookstore. At the time I had never even heard of Ayn Rand. After reading The Fountainhead I began searching for information about her and was surprised to find how prolific she was. Most people either love her or hate her; no middle ground. Rand has been much criticized for events in her personal life. Let me just say that if all philosophers were discredited on such grounds, there would be few who could withstand such scrutiny. Human beings aren't perfect. Rand's mistakes in her personal life do not detract from her brilliance. Her support of logic over emotion is just plain good sense. She encourages everyone to be self-sufficient and to base their decisions on reason rather than blindly accepting what others would tell you is right based on their own agenda. However, don't take my opinion or that of anyone else. Simply read the book for yourself and draw your own conclusions. Even if you don't agree with Rand's philosophy, the story is riveting. But I must say that the validity of her ideas is illustrated every night on the six o'clock news! Since reading this book I have viewed politics, philosophy, and human relations in an entirely new light.

Rating:
Summary: Everything You Could Want
Review: I have always been interested in Ayn Rand, even though I knew nothing about her. I was recently lent this book by a friend. I don't think I could have asked for anything more in a book. It is thought-provoking and immensely satisfying. The characters are real, they each have a past, a motivation, and a tremdously human personality. The reader finds bits of himself in each one. The author tracks their development, walks you through their lives, draws you to one conclusion after another, until ultimately you have a clear picture of each. The most incredible thing about this story is the emotional response evoked by the people and events. There were times I hated something so much I wanted to throw the book across the room. There were times I actually thought I hated the book, as I vicariously experienced the torture of the characters. To me, the success of a novel is directly linked to the amount of impact it has on the reader. In this way, The Fountainhead is one of the most successful books I have ever read. Ayn Rand's philosophy, Objectivism is demonstrated so convincingly throughout the story, that it becomes impossible for the reader to distinguish it from the characters involved, yet simple for the mind to grasp. The reader is left with a knowledge of truths never before articulated, yet eerily familiar. Through the tangled, confused, and often excruciating lives in this novel, we confront our own illusions, short-comings and most importantly, our fears, until we are left with a simple idea, one that has become so obvious in the process of reading that we'd wonder why we hadn't thought of it already, if Rand hadn't shown us why we didn't. I can't say enough about this book. It should be required reading for life.

Rating:
Summary: Some who bash Rand neither fear her nor misunderstand her
Review: _The Fountainhead_ is my favorite among Rand's novels, but anybody who thinks Howard Roark is the "projection of an ideal man" is kidding himself.

Rand's _Journals_ indicate that, like Danny Renahan (the "hero" of the unwritten work _The Little Street_), Roark was supposed to have been "born without the ability to consider other people." In ordinary terms, he was a narcissist and a sociopath. And while a good deal of the melodrama in the novel is satisfying within the limited world of the novel itself, nevertheless in real life things would not have worked out this way for Roark. Nor would such a man have been able to design buildings suitable for human habitation.

And don't make the mistake Rand encourages you to make (in _TheRomantic Manifesto_): imagining what Roark would do as a model for your own behavior. This technique, like the novel itself, shows you only what things look like "from the inside" to Roark himself -- so it's no help if Roark's vision is limited in the first place.

If you want to see such a character "from the outside," I highly recommend Paul Theroux's fine novel _The Mosquito Coast_. His "protagonist" Allie Fox is every bit the genius Roark is, and also every bit as unable to consider other people. Watch what happens to him as seen through the eyes of one of his own children.

And if you wouldn't ask yourself what Allie Fox would do, reconsider asking the same question about Roark.