Anthem [Paperback]

Ayn Rand (Author), Leonard Peikoff (Introduction)

Book Description

Release date: December 1, 1999

Anthem has long been hailed as one of Ayn Rand's classic novels, and a clear predecessor to her later masterpieces, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. In Anthem, Rand examines a frightening future in which individuals have no name, no independence, and no values. Equality 7-2521 lives in the dark ages of the future where all decisions are made by committee, all people live in collectives, and all traces of individualism have been wiped out. Despite such a restrictive environment, the spark of individual thought and freedom still burns in him--a passion which he has been taught to call sinful. In a purely egalitarian world, Equality 7-2521 dares to stand apart from the herd--to think and choose for himself, to discover electricity, and to love the woman of his choice. Now he has been marked for death for committing the ultimate sin. In a world where the great "we" reign supreme, he has rediscovered the lost and holy word--"I."

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Rand's dark portrait of the future was first released in England in 1938 and reedited for publication in the United States in 1946. This 50th-anniversary edition includes a scholarly introduction and a facsimile of the original British version, which bears Rand's handwritten alterations for its American debut.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

A writer of great power. She has a subtle and ingenious mind and the capacity of writing brilliantly, beautifully, bitterly. (The New York Times) --The New York Times --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Plume; Anniversary edition (December 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452281253
• ISBN-13: 978-0452281257
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (894 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,800 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ayn Rand's first novel, We the Living, was published in 1936. With the publication of The Fountainhead in 1943, she achieved spectacular and enduring success. Through her novels and nonfiction writings, which express her unique philosophy, Objectivism, Rand maintains a lasting influence on popular thought.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#7 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics

#55 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Literary

#7 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics

#55 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Literary

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

234 of 255 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is not a book. April 9, 2000

By Kat McFall

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Anthem is not a book. It is not a philosophical or governmental treatise. As Ayn Rand herself admitted, it has neither a real plot nor a real climax. Anthem is a poem.
Its final two chapters are (according to Rand) the "anthem"--the celebration of the human ego. This is not done in logical terms, but in pure emotional exultation. In my opinion, Rand's writing throughout the book is skilled, passionate and evocative, but in the last two chapters she really shines.
For presentations of Rand's philosophy, Objectivism, in logical form, read Atlas Shrugged. For a ruthless, beautiful evocation of the emotional aspect of Rand's philosophy of egoism, read Anthem. If you have socialist leanings, or simply have always assumed the many is more important that the one, the book may disturb you greatly (it did me, when I read it the first time). It will change the way you feel, and Rand's later work will change the way you think.
Highly recommended. This book is often misunderstood, but if you read it with the understanding that it is a poem, and not a book, your understanding of it will be enhanced.

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Short, Sweet, Thought Provoking Intro to Ayn Rand June 24, 2001

By khettrich

Format:Mass Market Paperback

The novel is a tale of a time when the human race has lost all individuality, when people are reduced to numbers and have lost their freedom to make decisions for themselves. Through this novel, written and completed while Ayn Rand was working on Fountainhead, Ayn Rand introduces her philosophy concerning the individual.

The novel really got me thinking and I couldn't put it down. At just over a hundred pages, i read it all in one setting, and thought about it the rest of the week. Though the world in Anthem is a very dark and depressed one indeed, it comments nonetheless on more subtle forms of control and losses of our individual freedom in today's world.

An excellent read and a great intro to her philosophy. This book led me to purchase Atlas Shrugged, and I recommend these both to all my friends.

Amazing and Powerful.

44 of 52 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Rand's Best March 30, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Mass Market Paperback

This is in my opinion, Ayn Rand's best book. There are a number of reasons for this, but I think most important is that unlike "The Fountainhead" or "Atlas Shrugged", she wrote a succinct piece, and didn't allow herself to ramble. Anyone wanting an introduction to Rand should start here, it won't take you long to get through, the writing is pretty good, and it lacks the convoluted plots and characters of her longer pieces. In a strange way it is at times quite moving, and also lacks some of the more objectionable statements that can be found in Rand's other pieces, bordering on racism & fascism at times... this is a classic struggle for Individualism against a smothering regime, but not a struggle putting down other people's individualism.

I suggest that any person coming to "Anthem" should read "WE" by Yevgeny Zamyatin first. It was written in 1920, only a few years after the Russian Revolution. Russian was Ayn Rand's native language and she would have been able to read this book in the original, in fact she left Russia six years after "We" was published. "Anthem" was written seventeen years after "We". Various features of "Anthem" seem to have been taken from "We" (Brave New World and 1984 were also influenced by it, but not to the same extent). The most obvious similarity is that the characters have numbers, not names, and don't think of themselves as "I" but "We" and there's also the diary format in common. A major difference is that in "Anthem", the society has regressed technologically. Although this particular Hive/Ultra-Communist set up has been much copied since in fiction, it was not so common when Zamyatin was writing.

I believe that Rand was heavily influenced by "We", and of course had a shared Russian background with Zamyatin... even if you don't agree with me, "We" is well worth a read in its own right for fans of "Anthem".

Trivia - "2112" by Rush is said to have been inspired by "Anthem", although the two stories only have basic similarities!