Customer Reviews

The Early Ayn Rand

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The stories in this book all have the same qualities as the books Ayn Rand wrote during her mature years: that life can and should be an adventure ("Good Copy"), that men have a great capacity for heroism ("Red Pawn"), that no man can escape the consequences of his philosophy ("Think Twice"). If you've been curious about Ayn Rand but hesitant to take on reading one of her large books (Atlas Shrugged or The Fountainhead) then try reading a couple of these short stories. If you enjoy them, you probably won't be able to wait to get started reading one of her books! If you've already enjoyed reading one of her books, these stories will give you a few more hours to spend with her and her ideas.

I find "The Early Ayn Rand" to be well-edited and well-organized with helpful introductions to each work by Leonard Peikoff. The introductions cover not only the immediate works but also the philosophy behind the works, comparable to the ideas in "The Art of Fiction" by Rand but in more concise form.

I disagree with Mr. Peikoff's recommendation to read Rand's novels first and these early works second. A serious thinker who wants to understand Rand and never read anything by her could best understand her philosophy by reading the works in chronological order, starting with "Early Ayn Rand" and ending with her masterpiece "Atlas Shrugged."

Most of the works in the "The Early Ayn Rand" anthology were not intended for publication and therefore are best used to observe the process by which Rand developed her writing skills and her philosophy in steps over several decades. The works begin as short and entertaining theatrical bits but gradually get more philosophical.

Here are the works included:

1920's works

(1) The Husband I Bought - first person with a protagonist who is a woman in love

(2) The Night King - first person with a protagonist who is a male thief

(3) Good Copy - action and romance

(4) Escort - very short

(5) Her Second Career - about the difficulty of succeeding in Hollywood

1930's works

(6) Red Pawn - getting more philosophical now, about the stupidity of self-sacrifice

(7) We the Living (deleted sections) - not so great

(8) Ideal - written as a play, excellent philosophically

(9) Think Twice - written as a play, excellent philosophically

(10) Fountainhead (deleted sections) - excellent, Rourke's old girlfriend Vesta Dunning and their opposing philosophies

1940's work

(11) The Simplest Thing in the World - common human trait of striving to put other people down

John Christmas, author of "Democracy Society"