> >> The concepts that Rand tries so heroically to convey in her novel should
> >> have been left to her mentor, Nietzsche.
> >
> >Or a real writer like Heinlein. "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" gets the
> >ideas across, and is a real page-turner.
>
> I frequently hear complaints about Rand's apparent "inability" as a
> novelist and I can never understand quite why. I can honestly say that I
> find "Atlas Shrugged" to be the best book that I have ever read (though "The
I think part of the problem is her confrontational style, which, as I'm
learning from Barbara Branden's biography of Rand, is no different than
her personality. Blazing passion for the notion that she is absolutely
right about everything can be annoying. It can also be inspiring.
> A suggestion for anyone who is either repulsed or intimidated by
> "Atlas Shrugged" is to read "Anthem." As well as being told beautifully
> (IMO of course) it is a tenth of the size of "Atlas Shrugged." Probably
> some of the nicest words ever written (again, IMO) are in the book.
Cheers! I have a homemade sign with the word "evolvEgo" hanging
prominatnly in my apartment. (I added the "evolve" prefix to offset my
dissatisfaction for Rand's inability to acknowledge personal growth and
change, something I've seen a lot of...)
> "I do not surrender my treasures, nor do I share them. The fortune
> of my spirit is not to be blown into coins of brass and flung to
> the winds as alms for the pure of spirit. I guard my treasures: my
> thought, my will, my freedom. And the greatest of these is
> freedom." (p. 95-96)
>
The passage that, for me, embodies much of the beauty of Misss Rand's
sense of life is from "The Fountainhead":
"Don't work for my happiness my brothers--
show me yours--
show me that it is possible--
show me your acheivement--
and the knowledge will give me courage for mine."
p. 504
Those words never fail to stir my own passion for the attainment of my
goals.
Exovivo!
Michael Bowling