Letters of Ayn Rand
by Ayn Rand 
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"These remarkable letters cover more than fifty-five years of Ayn Rand's extraordinary life, work, and thought. They begin in 1926, with a note from the twenty-year-old Ayn Rand newly arrived in Chicago from Soviet Russia, an impoverished unknown determined to realize the promise of a land of opportunity. They move through her struggles and successes as a screenwriter, a playwright, and a novelist, her sensational triumph as the author of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, and her eminence show more as founder and shaper of Objectivism, one of the most challenging and important philosophies of our time. They are written to such famed contemporaries as Cecil B. DeMille, Frank Lloyd Wright, H.L. Mencken, Alexander Kerensky, Barry Goldwater, and Mickey Spillane. There are letters to philosophers, priests, publishers, and political columnists; to her beloved husband, Frank O'Connor; to her intimate circle of friends and her growing legion of followers; and to the readers who sent her their questions about and appreciations of her work, and were rewarded with letters of wisdom, sympathy, and brilliance. Her letters range in tone from warm affection to icy fury, and in content from telling commentaries on the events of the day to unforgettably eloquent statements of her philosophical ideas."--Jacket. show lessTags
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According to both Nathanial and Barbara Branden, these letters were published against Ayn Rand's wishes by her 'literary heir' and manager of her estate, Leonard Peikoff. Nonetheless - couldn't help myself.
The editor describes this as being only a small fraction of the whole, culled from less interesting examples. The vast majority is from the period 1945-1952 or so, when The Fountainhead was complete and Atlas Shrugged was just beginning. This portion contained a few revelations for me, including evidence that she was more knowledgeable in the history of philosophy than her critics suppose, and also more familiar with psychological theory (at one point, she critiques Freud in detail).
What's most fascinating to me are the more show more incidental letters: how she responds to family requesting money, her interest in cats, her correspondence with friends, etc. These are interspersed with letters that exactingly nitpick (in her usual style) every stray sentence or thought in the letters she is responding to, not letting the least irrationality slide past her uncommented upon. Frankly I would have found it exhausting to write to her, anticipating one of these replies.
The Letters are an interesting mix of what's found in her more formal writing and confirmation of her personality as described by her closest biographers. I'd recommend saving this as one of your last forays into her writing (as I did), so you can see it all come together in her own words. show less
The editor describes this as being only a small fraction of the whole, culled from less interesting examples. The vast majority is from the period 1945-1952 or so, when The Fountainhead was complete and Atlas Shrugged was just beginning. This portion contained a few revelations for me, including evidence that she was more knowledgeable in the history of philosophy than her critics suppose, and also more familiar with psychological theory (at one point, she critiques Freud in detail).
What's most fascinating to me are the more show more incidental letters: how she responds to family requesting money, her interest in cats, her correspondence with friends, etc. These are interspersed with letters that exactingly nitpick (in her usual style) every stray sentence or thought in the letters she is responding to, not letting the least irrationality slide past her uncommented upon. Frankly I would have found it exhausting to write to her, anticipating one of these replies.
The Letters are an interesting mix of what's found in her more formal writing and confirmation of her personality as described by her closest biographers. I'd recommend saving this as one of your last forays into her writing (as I did), so you can see it all come together in her own words. show less
The collected letters of one of the most iconoclastic authors of the twentieth century. The insights into the philosophy and literary art in these letters are profound.
Discover the "personal" Ayn Rand in this wondrous collection of her letters. Read what she wrote to an amazing array of people—from Barry Goldwater, Frank Lloyd Wright and Mickey Spillane, to Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Stack and Cecil B. DeMille. Whether she is writing to philosophers, artists, Hollywood celebrities, family members, captains of industry or her admiring fans, her unmistakable style and character are always in evidence.
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Author Information
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Ayn Rand, 1905 - 1982 Novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand was born Alice Rosenbaum on February 2, 1905 in St. Petersburg, Russia. She graduated with highest honors in history from the University of Petrograd in 1924, and she came to the United States in 1926 with dreams of becoming a screenwriter. In 1929, she married actor Charles "Frank" O'Connor. show more After arriving in Hollywood, Rand was spotted by Cecil B. DeMille standing at the gate of his studio and gave her a job as an extra in King of Kings. She also worked as a script reader and a wardrobe girl and, in 1932, she sold Red Pawn to Universal Studios. In the 1950's, she returned to New York City where she hosted a Saturday night group she called "the collective." It was also during this time that Rand received a fan letter from a young man, Nathaniel Branden. She was impressed with his letter, and she wrote him back. Her correspondence with him eventually led to an affair that lasted over a decade. He became her chief spokesperson and codified the principles of her novels into a strict philosophical system (objectivism) and founded an institute bearing his name. Their affair ended in 1968 when Branden got involved with another one of Rand's disciples. According to Rand, people are inherently selfish and act only out of personal interest making a selfish act, a rational one. It is from this belief that her characters play out their lives. Rand's first novel was "We the Living" (1936) and was followed by "Anthem" (1938), "The Fountainhead" (1943), and "Atlas Shrugged" (1957). All four of her novels made the top ten of the controversial list of the 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century. On March 6, 1982, Ayn Rand died in her New York City apartment. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Ayn Rand has a Legacy Library. Legacy libraries are the personal libraries of famous readers, entered by LibraryThing members from the Legacy Libraries group.
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1995
- People/Characters
- Isabel Paterson; Frank Lloyd Wright; John Hospers
- Important places
- Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA; New York, New York, USA
- First words
- (Introduction by Leonard Peikoff): I was a student and friend of Ayn Rand's for thirty-one years, from 1951 -- when she was 46 and writing Atlas Shrugged -- until her death in 1982, at the age of 77.
(Preface by Michael S. Berliner): Answering a letter in 1943 from her friend, well-known political writer Isabel Paterson, Ayn Rand wrote: "I got a special thrill out of your letter -- all my life, reading the published corr... (show all)espondence of famous people, I have envied them because they received personal letters on important and abstract subjects, I mean from friends, not just professional correspondence."
Hello [written in English] Lylolya,
There was a time when I loved that American expression of yours [referring to "hello"], and now I am using it myself, because they don't have any other expression here. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year -- to you and the family.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 185
- Popularity
- 176,489
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.90)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 4
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 2
