The Fountainhead: Ayn Rand

has anyone read this?

i have heard about it in passing but never paid it much attention. it just popped up in a podcast i was listening to and asked the wife if she has ever heard of it and apparently we have it in our closet(not enough room in the house for all the books we have)

i think i am going to dig it out and dive in. its getting cold out. clocks get set back an hour in a couple weeks. i usually burn through a few books between now and april or so.

any comments are appreciated.

originally posted by: TinySickTears
has anyone read this?

i have heard about it in passing but never paid it much attention. it just popped up in a podcast i was listening to and asked the wife if she has ever heard of it and apparently we have it in our closet(not enough room in the house for all the books we have)

i think i am going to dig it out and dive in. its getting cold out. clocks get set back an hour in a couple weeks. i usually burn through a few books between now and april or so.

any comments are appreciated.

It’s worth a read. It changed my life, I think. I was young but I think it still holds up. I think I’ll give it a re-read.

as a story, it was alright. a good way to waste some time.

as a philosophy, not so much.

It was a great Gary Cooper movie that takes itself too seriously. Good Cliffnotes version unless you want to read the book-which also took itself too seriously.

Read Atlas Shrugged first.


But, yes, worth your time.

originally posted by: NiNjABackflip

It’s worth a read. It changed my life, I think. I was young but I think it still holds up. I think I’ll give it a re-read.

that is exactly what was said on the podcast.
changed their life

definitely diving in. never looked into her.

she seemed very interesting.

originally posted by: theatreboy
Read Atlas Shrugged first.


But, yes, worth your time.

will probably read that too but Fountainhead came out first so i want to start there.

thanks for the replies all

Ah, the myth of the superman who actually IS an island...

well, nothing wrong with quality, honor and self assurance... but there is something wrong, in my opinion, with rank elitism , prejudice and abandoning your less able brothers to fate.

Reality is a tad more nuanced... and ol ' Ayn only saw one side of things... in my opinion, of course.

Well worth reading, though ... the movie with Greg Peck is funny.

a reply to: TinySickTears

Sharp lady. She’s been widely panned as having stolen the philosophy of others and various other criticisms, but there is no denying her wits.

originally posted by: Baddogma
Ah, the myth of the superman who actually IS an island...

well, nothing wrong with quality, honor and self assurance... but there is something wrong, in my opinion, with rank elitism , prejudice and abandoning your less able brothers to fate.

Reality is a tad more nuanced... and ol ' Ann only saw one side of things... in my opinion, of course.

Well worth reading, though ... the movie with Greg Peck is funny.

Brother, if you do not believe in a God, than you let others to their fate...natural selection, evolution and all.

However, if you believe in a God, you know to help those in need....unless they are not willing to try and help themselves.

The soul of the sluggard desireth and finds not..

a reply to: theatreboy

I'm not sure about God, actually, either way... and even if the ol' universal throne is empty, one should help others precisely (and only) because it is the correct thing to do and not because some angry ruler will fry you for eternity for being a selfish cad.

But Rand is probably (at least partially) correct in her primary ideas, like the "average human" is stupid and holds the gifted back from greatness. I just find her, ultimately, heartless and too enamored of her brand of "greatness" which leaves out other kinds of worthwhile humans.

Humans are great and have survived, so far, because of the variety expressed in our Hodge-podge. And truly, especially now in our complex society, no man is an island of self sufficiency.