While the fiction of novelist-philosopher Ayn Rand is extremely popular and enduring, little has been written on it so far. This book consists of essays, most of which are new, by top Rand scholars on Atlas Shrugged, her magnum opus. The essays deal with historical, literary, and philosophical topics, surpassing related writings in breadth and depth of analysis. The historical essays cover the writing of Atlas Shrugged, its publication history, and its reception. The literary essays cover analysis of the novel's plot, theme, and characterization; comparisons with other works, such as the novels of Hugo, Dostoyevsky, and Joyce; and the proper approach to adapting Atlas Shrugged to film. The philosophical essays cover a vast range of topics, including the place of Galt's speech in the novel, the role of the mind in human life, and the evil of non-objective law. Some of the essays make use of previously unpublished material from the Ayn Rand Archives.
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Ayn Rand's magnum opus has long warranted analyses that are scholarly but accessible, sympathetic but not fawning, useful to readers new to Rand and rewarding to those who have long studied her. Readers have also needed an account of the book's development, publication, and reception. This outstanding collection meets these needs and more. It is the novel's definitive companion.... (John P. McCaskey )
Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged is unprecedented: a literary masterwork that presents a startlingly new philosophical system in the form of a mystery novel. In his latest collection of essays, Robert Mayhew has assembled an impressive group of scholars who explore Rand's last and most ambitious novel as a work of literature and of philosophy and place it in its historical and cultural context. This is at once a guide for new readers and a source of fresh insights for devotees. (Lennox, James G. )
In Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand presented a revolutionary new philosophy in the form of a gripping and inspiring novel. Dr. Mayhew's remarkable new collection will help readers gain an even deeper appreciation of Rand's esthetic and philosophical achievement. For anyone interested in understanding one of the most celebrated books of the 20th century, Essays on Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged is a must-read. (Yaron Brook )
Ayn Rand's magnum opus has long warranted analyses that are scholarly but accessible, sympathetic but not fawning, useful to readers new to Rand and rewarding to those who have long studied her. Readers have also needed an account of the book's development, publication, and reception. This outstanding collection meets these needs and more. It is the novel's definitive companion. (John P. McCaskey )
Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged is unprecedented: a literary masterwork that presents a startlingly new philosophical system in the form of a mystery novel. In his latest collection of essays, Robert Mayhew has assembled an impressive group of scholars who explore Rand's last and most ambitious novel as a work of literature and of philosophy and place it in its historical and cultural context. This is at once a guide for new readers and a source of fresh insights for devotees. (Lennox, James G. )
In Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand presented a revolutionary new philosophy in the form of a gripping and inspiring novel. Dr. Mayhew's remarkable new collection will help readers gain an even deeper appreciation of Rand's esthetic and philosophical achievement. For anyone interested in understanding one of the most celebrated books of the 20th century, Essays on Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged is a must-read. (Yaron Brook )
Ayn Rand's magnum opus has long warranted analyses that are scholarly but accessible, sympathetic but not fawning, useful to readers new to Rand and rewarding to those who have long studied her. Readers have also needed an account of the book's development, publication, and reception. This outstanding collection meets these needs and more. It is the novel's definitive companion. (John P. McCaskey )
About the Author
Robert Mayhew is professor of philosophy at Seton Hall University. His authored books include Ayn Rand and Song of Russia: Communism and Anti-Communism in 1940s Hollywood, The Female in Aristotle's Biology: Reason or Rationalization, and Aristotle's Critique of Plato's Republic; his edited collections include Essays on Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead and Ayn Rand Answers: The Best of her Q&A.
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15 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Top source for understanding "Atlas Shrugged",
By
This review is from: Essays on Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged (Paperback)
This collection of 22 essays covers aspects of "Atlas Shrugged" from the most general to the most applied. For people who want to understand the underlying causes explaining why "Atlas Shrugged" exerts a tremendous impact on the thinking of people who change American culture, this book explains it. The collection begins with a refresher course on the events of "Atlas Shrugged" (I advise readers of these essays to have already read "Atlas Shrugged," even if years ago), then proceeds to previously-unreported facts about character developments that Ayn Rand made during the writing, and in the collection's later chapters the essayists elucidate through comprehensive non-fiction prose many of the ideas on law and business ethics that the novel presents through its characters' actions and in brief dialogue scattered through the novel.Previously-published explorations on "Atlas Shrugged" didn't indicate how Ayn Rand's conception of her major character Francisco d'Anconia went through a significant transition. You get to read in this collection many quotations from Ayn Rand's manuscripts that show how d'Anconia changed from manuscript draft to manuscript draft to the final book. The early version of d'Anconia is intriguing, but it's easy to see why Ayn Rand realized that the story and the character needed the ruthless yet furtive honesty he has in the final incarnation. Not every aspect of the changes that "Atlas Shrugged" went through is here; for a comprehensive examination, "Essays on Ayn Rand's 'Atlas Shrugged'" should be read along with "Journal of Ayn Rand," published in 1997. Although some might want "Essays on 'Atlas Shrugged'" to cover it all, as it is it already fills 465 with its essays before going on to 41 pages of appendices (not counting the index), so the editor can be excused for not trying to give an overview of what people will find in "Journals of Ayn Rand" on pages 389 to 664. "Journals of Ayn Rand" is great for seeing how the overall structure of "Atlas Shrugged" was tweaked several times during the writing, and "Journals" shows what Ayn Rand wrote to herself to clarify her thinking -- but it doesn't reproduce manuscript originally intended for the novel and then superceded. "Essays on 'Atlas Shrugged'" fills in that gap, along with analyses of the significance of those changes, changes that were not hinted at by the notes that Miss Rand wrote for herself. There's more: * Had you noticed (or merely suspected without having the words to name it) that the emphasis in "The Fountainhead" (Ayn Rand's novel immediately prior to "Atlas Shrugged") was on the importance of *independence* to self-fulfillment (and human achievement) whereas in "Atlas Shrugged" there's a stress on *rationality*? Essayist Darryl Wright noticed, and he writes in detail that let's us follow how Ayn Rand elaborated on her understanding of the issues involved until she reached her last conclusions on which of those two virtues is paramount; * Have you wanted to carry away in your mind single-word descriptions that nail down just what mistaken thinking styles are held by the characters in the book, so that you can better identify these wrong habits when you see others using them? In the essays, you'll find Mr. Thompson identified as a pragmatist, Dr. Stadler as a Platonist ("a Scientist King"), etc. In each case, the reasons for the label are given. * Do you want to know why a film or TV version of "Atlas Shrugged" has yet to happen? One chapter details the efforts (and contracts) that didn't end with any filming during Ayn Rand's lifetime (she lived another 25 years after publication). * Have you wanted to better understand the speech that Galt makes to explain the ruination of the economy and culture? Inasmuch as the text of "Atlas Shrugged" does not divide that speech into sections, you may have been fazed or overwhelmed by such an undertaking. Three of the essayists undertook thorough examinations and present their findings here. (One of the three -- Allan Gotthelf -- knew Ayn Rand, showed his outline to her, and listened as she told him that his understanding is correct.) For people who take "Atlas Shrugged" seriously, this can be a fantastic time-saver, because great analyses are presented in prose and in an outline published as an appendix. (What's more, I had to acknowledge that the outline here is better than the one I created on my own before this book was available.) If you are at all serious about studying "Atlas Shrugged" "under the hood," this should be your first source. Some of the contributors knew Ayn Rand; the others studied her philosopher under those who knew Ayn Rand, and through the auspices of the Institute co-founded by her heir and thirty-year "pupil." You won't go wrong learning about Ayn Rand and "Atlas Shrugged" from this book.
18 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A scholarly look at the WORLD'S GREATEST NOVEL!,
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This review is from: Essays on Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged (Hardcover)
This eagerly-awaited book promises to be just as valuable as the three previous volumes, on "We the Living," "Anthem" and "The Fountainhead," with essays by noted scholars:"This is the first scholarly study of Atlas Shrugged, covering in detail the historical, literary, and philosophical aspects of Ayn Rand's magnum opus. Topics explored in depth include the history behind the novel's creation, publication, and reception; its nature as a romantic novel; and its presentation of a radical new philosophy. Contents: Preface Chapter 1. The Part and Chapter Headings of Atlas Shrugged Onkar Ghate Chapter 2. Who Was John Galt? The Creation of Ayn Rand's Ultimate Ideal Man Shoshana Milgram Chapter 3. The Spirit of Francisco d'Anconia: The Development of His Characterization Shoshana Milgram Chapter 4. A Note on Francisco's Ancestry Tore Boeckmann Chapter 5. Working for Ayn Rand: Selections from Facets of Ayn Rand Mary Ann Sures Chapter 6 Publishing Atlas Shrugged Richard Ralston Chapter 7. The Atlas Shrugged Reviews Michael S. Berliner Chapter 8. Reply to Whittaker Chambers Leonard Peikoff Chapter 9. Atlas Shrugged and the Metaphysics of Values Tore Boeckmann Chapter 10. Atlas Shrugged as the Culmination of the Romantic Novel Andrew Bernstein Chapter 11. A Tale of Two Novels Harry Binswanger Chapter 12. Adapting Atlas Shrugged to Film Jeff Britting Chapter 13. Atlas Shrugged on the Role of the Mind in Man's Existence Gregory Salmieri Chapter 14. Ayn Rand's Ethics: From The Fountainhead to Atlas Shrugged Darryl Wright Chapter 15. No Tributes to Caesar: Good or Evil in Atlas Shrugged Tara Smith Chapter 16. The Businessmen's Crucial Role: Material Men of the Mind Debi Ghate Chapter 17. The Traits of Business Heroes in Atlas Shrugged Edwin A. Locke Chapter 18. "Humanity's Darkest Evil": The Lethal Destructiveness of Non-Objective Law Tara Smith Chapter 19. The Role of Galt's Speech in Atlas Shrugged Onkar Ghate Chapter 20. Galt's Speech in Five Sentences (and Forty Questions) Allan Gotthelf Chapter 21. Discovering Atlantis: Atlas Shrugged's Demonstration of a New Moral Philosophy Gregory Salmieri Chapter 22. A Note on Dagny's "Final Choice" Allan Gotthelf Appendix A: Outline of Atlas Shrugged Gregory Salmieri Appendix B: Outline of Galt's Speech Gregory Salmieri (Softcover; 536 pages)" Make no mistake: "Atlas Shrugged" has outlived its critics, to win an even wider audience than ever before. It is timely and timeless. In an America whose alleged thinkers are taking it down the same Marxist path followed by Venezuela and Cuba, Ayn Rand raises the proud banner of individualism: "For centuries, the battle of morality was fought between those who claimed that your life belongs to God and those who claimed that it belongs to your neighbors--between those who preached that the good is self-sacrifice for the sake of ghosts in heaven and those who preached that the good is self-sacrifice for the sake of incompetents on earth. And no one came to say that YOUR LIFE BELONGS TO YOU AND THAT THE GOOD IS TO LIVE IT." Note: though this book is written for both scholarly and popular audiences, you should be sure to read "Atlas Shrugged" first!
10 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Top of the Line,
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This review is from: Essays on Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged (Paperback)
Atlas Shrugged is the most complete artistic expression of Ayn Rand's philosophy, Objectivism, which she called "a philosophy for living on earth" and described as "the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute." This collection of essays in turn is the most complete, scholarly, and philosophical analysis of Atlas Shrugged. Every essay in the book revealed to me new insights on the means and justification of living a full, happy life. As with his earlier collections such as Essays on Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, Dr Mayhew has placed a feast in front of us.
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