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Ayn Rand
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page one Profile Fiction Primary Non-Fiction AR Library page two |
Ayn Rand was one of the most important
philosophers of the XXth Century.
Ayn Rand was born 2 February 1905 in St. Petersburg [Leningrad], Russia, nee Alissa Zinovievna Rosenbaum. She came to America in 1925, working in Hollywood for Cecil B. DeMille and others. She met and married Frank O'Connor on 15 April 1929, and she became a U.S. citizen in 1931.
She and Frank moved to New York City, after which her first major work, the play now known as "The Night of January 16th", was produced in Los Angeles & on Broadway (1934-35); her first published novel was "We The Living" in 1936. The novel "Anthem" was published in 1938; her stage play "The Unconquered" had a short Broadway run in 1940; and her novel "The Fountainhead" was published in 1943. She and Frank then returned to California, partly due to her involvement in the filming of "The Fountainhead", which was released by Warner Bros. in 1949.
Before she and Frank moved back to New York City in October, 1951, she met future associates Nathaniel & Barbara Branden and Leonard Peikoff. Her most famous work and final novel "Atlas Shrugged" was published in 1957. Thereafter, she wrote non-fiction and worked in a range of media: lectures, radio shows, The Objectivist Newsletter, magazine articles, a column in the Los Angeles Times, and personal appearances on "The Tonight Show", "Today", and other television programs.
A major break with the Brandens occurred in 1968, resulting in their public 'repudiation' and the disbandment of the Nathaniel Branden Institute. Leonard Peikoff was designated Ayn Rand's sole legal heir, and is now her self-appointed intellectual heir. The Objectivist ceased publication in September 1971, succeeded by the bi-weekly Ayn Rand Letter the month after.
A diagnosis of lung cancer in 1974 caused her to curtail her activities, with Leonard Peikoff gradually taking over the reins; the Ayn Rand Letter was discontinued in 1976. Frank O'Connor died in November 1979, a heart-wrenching event from which Ayn Rand never quite recovered.
"The Objectivist Forum" began publication in February 1980 (it continued after her death, until 1987), and the "Ayn Rand Library" book series was begun. Ayn Rand died of heart failure in New York City on 6 March 1982, and was buried at Valhalla, NY.
Many non-fiction compilation books and the six books of the "Ayn Rand Library" were completed and published posthumously. Many books by others about Ayn Rand – both for and against her theories – are still being written and published successfully, and her own works sell 300,000 copies each year. The Ayn Rand Institute continues to spread her ideas and ideals, while the expulsion of several staff members in 1990 resulted in the competing Institute for Objectivist Studies, retitled recently as The Objectivist Center.
A seeming renaissance in Ayn Rand's popularity began in the 1990's, with two U.S. postage stamps in her honor [at top of Links Page], the 1998 documentary feature film, "Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life" was nominated for an Oscar, and inclusion of both "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead" in the top ten of many lists of 'Best (or Most Important) Novels of the XXth Century'. A restoration of the Italian "We The Living" was re-released in December 2003.
The on-again, off-again television mini-series of "Atlas Shrugged" is again listed on IMDb, with Angelina Jolie signed to portray Dagny Taggart; the LionsGate Films production is scheduled for broadcast in 2008.
Many Ayn Rand / Objectivism Links
Dec 2003 essay "The Cultural Ascendancy of Ayn Rand" by Chris Matthew Sciabarra
Ayn Rand Film Festival
at Magic Lantern Cinema & Video Store
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"The Objectivism Research CD-ROM: The Works of Ayn Rand" [2001] by Leonard Peikoff & Ayn Rand Oliver Computing CDROM [5/2001] for only $59.95 |
Fiction Works
"Atlas Shrugged" [1957]
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Signet pb [8/96] for $8.99
Plume 9x6 pb [8/99] for $13.60 Dutton 35th Anniv 9¼x6¼ hardcover [3/92] out of print/used Signet 35th Anniv pb [3/92] out of print/used Highbridge ABR audio CD [6/2000] for $22.02 on audio cassettes
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"Atlas Shrugged: Manifesto of The Mind" [2000] by Mimi Reisel Gladstein Twayne Publg 8¾x5¾ [6/2000] for $34.00 |
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"The World of Atlas Shrugged: The Essential Companion to Ayn Rand's Masterpiece" [2001]
Highbridge UNABR audio [4/2001] 2 tapes - out of prodn/used Highbridge UNABR audio CD [4/2001] out of prodn/used |
The on-again, off-again television mini-series of "Atlas Shrugged" is again listed on IMDb, with Angelina Jolie signed to portray Dagny Taggert; the LionsGate Films production is scheduled for broadcast in 2008.
"The Fountainhead" [1943]
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Idealistic young architect Howard Roark has a tough time because he will not compromise with the mediocre architecture of the establishment. When his 'big chance' skyscraper is redesigned without his knowledge, he dynamites the construction site and is put on trial.
Signet pb [8/96] for $8.99 Plume 60th Anniv 9¼x6½ hardcover [12/2002] for $27.97 Blackstone UNABR audio CD [6/2003] for $44.95 on audio cassettes ABRIDGED read by Edward Herrmann [12/94]: 5 tapes for $24.00 UNABRIDGED read by Christopher Hunt [1/95] Part 1 [13 tapes] for $85.95 Part 2 [11 tapes] for $76.95 | ||
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1949 movie Directed by King Vidor; script by Ayn Rand, based on her novel; starring Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal, Raymond Massey, Kent Smith, Robert Douglas & Henry Hull Warner b&w DVD [11/2006] for $17.49 Warner b&w VHS [1/90] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb | ||
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"Anthem" [1938]
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Signet pb [8/96] for $7.99
Caxton hardcover [12/66] for $11.66 Penguin UNABR audio CD [10/2000] for $16.07 Blackstone UNABR audio [6/97] for $17.95 |
"We The Living" [1936]
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N.A.L. pb [1/96] for $7.99
Dutton 9.3x6.4 hardcover [12/95] for $29.95 Blackstone UNABR audio [8/97] for $85.95 adapted as "The Unconquered" |
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"Noi Vivi" [Italian feature film 1942]
Restored/subtitled version released 1986 Based on "We The Living"; screenplay by Oreste Biancoli & Anton Giulio Majano; directed by Goffredo Alessandrini; starring Alida Valli, Rossano Brazzi & Fosco Giachetti b&w VHS [5/94] 2 tapes for $69.95 credits from IMDb: 1942 version | 1986 version |
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"Essays on Ayn Rand's 'We The Living'" [2004] by Robert Mayhew R&L/Lexington 8¾x5¾ pb [2/2004] for $28.95 R&L/Lexington 9x6 hardcover [4/2004] for $75.00 |
Double paperback:
"The Fountainhead" & "Atlas Shrugged"
 | N.A.L. pb [10/97] out of print/used |
Stage Plays
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"Night of January 16th" [1934; revised 1963]
N.A.L. 8x5 pb [5/90] for $8.76 Broadway credits from IBDb Movie version [Paramount Nov 1941]
"Broadway Television Theater" broadcast of 14 July 1952
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Playscript [1940] Amereon hardcover script [6/81] for $19.94 Script edited by Nathaniel Edward Reeid
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"The Unconquered"
[1940 Broadway play, adapted from "We The Living"]
"Ideal" [2004 video release]
Ayn Rand's play 'Ideal' was written in 1934 and not produced until 1989,
at the Melrose Theater in Hollywood, under the direction of Michael Paxton
b&w video not available; credits at IMDb
The three cardinal values of the Objectivist ethics ... are: Reason, Purpose, Self-Eesteem, with their three corresponding virtues: Rationality, Productiveness, Pride.
The objectivist ethics holds man's life as the standard of value
– and his own life as the ethical purpose of every individual man.
Primary Non-Fiction Works
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"For The New Intellectual" [1961]
N.A.L. pb [3/84] for $6.39 Blackstone audio CD [11/2000] for $69.99 documentary film "For The New Intellectual" [1961]
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"The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism" [1964]
N.A.L. pb [7/89] for $6.39 Blackstone UNABR audio [3/2001] for $39.95 Blackstone audio CD [3/2001] for $48.00 |
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"Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal" [1967]
N.A.L. pb [8/84] for $7.99 Blackstone UNABR audio [11/2000] for $69.95 Blackstone audio CD [11/20001] for $96.00 |
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"The Romantic Manifesto" [1969]
N.A.L. pb [6/75] for $5.59 |
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"The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution" [1971]
Penguin 8x5 pb [2/94] out of stock/used |
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"Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology" [1990]
Meridian 8x5 pb [12/90] for $14.36 |
Minor Non-Fiction by Ayn Rand
The Ayn Rand Library
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Vol I: "Philosophy: Who Needs It?" [1982]
N.A.L. pb [4/85] for $6.39 |
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Vol II: "Early Ayn Rand" [1984]
includes novella "Red Pawn", stageplays "Ideal" and "Think Twice", short stories "The Husband I Bought", "Good Copy", "Escort" and "Her Second Career", and portions removed from "The Fountainhead" N.A.L. pb [12/86] for $5.59 |
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Vol III: "The Ominous Parallels" by Leonard Peikoff [1982] Plume 8x5 pb [10/97] for $11.16 |
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Vol IV: "The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z" [1986]
N.A.L. 9x6 pb [1/90] for $14.36 |
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Vol V: "The Voice of Reason: Essays In Objectivist Thought" [1989]
Meridian 8x5 pb [7/90] for $13.56 |
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Vol VI: "Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand" [1991] by Leonard Peikoff Meridian 8x5 pb [12/93] for $13.56 |
Books & tapes for sale in association with 
Profile •
Fiction •
Non-Fiction •
AR Library •
Minor Non-Fiction
Audio Tapes •
Other Works •
Works About AR
Ayn Rand/Objectivism Links Page
at Working Minds website
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