September 2 has a special significance in Ayn Rand’s classic novel, Atlas Shrugged, as the date is mentioned throughout the book. It’s also the day when Ayn Rand actually started writing the novel, in 1946. So last week on September 2, New Ideal. . .
How can we help students understand Anthem with greater depth and clarity?
Ayn Rand’s post-apocalyptic novella Anthem is a deeply poetic story of humanity so immersed in collectivism that the very word “I” has been lost and must be rediscovered.
One falls in love with the embodiment of the values that formed a person’s character.
Learn how to grasp the mystery and the logic of Ayn Rand's magnum opus.
We the Living is relevant because it is not about an ever-receding past, but about an ever-approaching future.
The Ayn Rand Institute is bringing online scores of in-depth historical, literary and philosophic essays on Ayn Rand’s novels. These essays — originally included in four scholarly books edited by Robert Mayhew — will be accessible to anyone, anywhere on the globe, for free.
Interest in Ayn Rand is not only growing in the United States, it’s a worldwide phenomenon. Now, everyone seriously exploring Rand’s ideas can freely read these insightful essays. Many of the essays make extensive use of previously unpublished material from the Ayn Rand Archives and promise to greatly enhance online exhibits such as “Blueprints for The Fountainhead.”
The first book in the series was Essays on Ayn Rand’s “We the Living” (2004; expanded 2012), followed by Essays on Ayn Rand’s “Anthem” (2005). Next came Essays on Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead” (2007) and Essays on Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” (2009). The books feature contributions from some of the world’s most knowledgeable Objectivist scholars: Leonard Peikoff, Onkar Ghate, Tara Smith, Tore Boeckmann, Shoshana Milgram, Gregory Salmieri, Allan Gotthelf, Darryl Wright and others. Each volume is unique, but there are commonalities — each contains essays on Rand’s creative process, her literary influences and inspirations, the novels’ publishing and adaptation histories, comparisons to other fiction, and deep analysis of important themes and characters.
Education is core to ARI’s mission. A significant number of contributors to these books are members of the Ayn Rand University faculty. The essays from the Mayhew books have the power to greatly enrich the public understanding of, and appreciation for, Ayn Rand as a novelist and a seminal philosopher.
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Agustina Vergara Cid
Lindsay Joseph
Aaron Smith
Allan Gotthelf
Onkar Ghate
Leonard Peikoff