Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime and start saving today with fast, free delivery

Kindle
$0.59

Available instantly

Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial

Hardcover
$11.83

Mass Market Paperback
$6.79

Buy new:

$6.79

List Price: $7.99

Save: $1.20 (15%)

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns

FREE delivery Friday, March 22 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35

Or fastest delivery Wednesday, March 20. Order within 10 hrs 20 mins

Select delivery location

In Stock

$$6.79 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Ships from

Amazon.com

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.

Read full return policy

Payment

Secure transaction

Payment

Secure transaction

We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

Details

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

Follow the author

Ayn Rand

Follow

Anthem Mass Market Paperback – March 1, 1996

by Ayn Rand (Author), Leonard Peikoff (Introduction)

4.4 5,214 ratings

See all formats and editions

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$6.79","priceAmount":6.79,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"6","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"79","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"vjKk0ACufu7WvVG8gl7405lLXA1FfZeJTVi%2F%2BB%2FHo8lfzCoUHz97p40DulwcmgZVNbdp3gMg2tvGWcqVWeCPRzRYGeMNWua9IiWK6jS80EvaHTFd25nc%2BQDjKi6tEx4rlF82wSwGbNM%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Anthem is Ayn Rand’s classic tale of a dystopian future of the great “We”—a world that deprives individuals of a name or independence—that anticipates her later masterpieces, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.

They existed only to serve the state. They were conceived in controlled Palaces of Mating. They died in the Home of the Useless. From cradle to grave, the crowd was one—the great WE.

In all that was left of humanity there was only one man who dared to think, seek, and love. He lived in the dark ages of the future. In a loveless world, he dared to love the woman of his choice. In an age that had lost all trace of science and civilization, he had the courage to seek and find knowledge. But these were not the crimes for which he would be hunted. He was marked for death because he had committed the unpardonable sin: He had stood forth from the mindless human herd. He was a man alone. He had rediscovered the lost and holy word—I.

“I worship individuals for their highest possibilities as individuals, and I loathe humanity, for its failure to live up to these possibilities.”—Ayn Rand

Print length

253 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Signet
Publication date

March 1, 1996
Dimensions

6.73 x 4.13 x 0.65 inches
ISBN-10

9780451191137
ISBN-13

978-0451191137
Lexile measure

880L
See all details

Frequently bought together

$6.79

Get it as soon as Friday, Mar 22

In Stock

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

+

$6.89

Get it as soon as Friday, Mar 22

In Stock

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

+

We the Living (75th-Anniversary Edition)

$9.99

Get it as soon as Friday, Mar 22

In Stock

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Try again!

Details

Added to Cart

Choose items to buy together.

Ayn Rand
10,764
Mass Market Paperback
251 offers from $0.95
Ayn Rand
20,095
Mass Market Paperback
246 offers from $1.25
Ayn Rand
2,418
Mass Market Paperback
66 offers from $6.74
Ayn Rand
1,598
Mass Market Paperback
103 offers from $1.35
Ayn Rand
82
Hardcover
16 offers from $9.95
Ayn Rand
726
Mass Market Paperback
105 offers from $2.25

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Born February 2, 1905, Ayn Rand published her first novel, We the Living, in 1936. Anthem followed in 1938. It was with the publication of The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged (1957) that she achieved her spectacular success. Rand’s unique philosophy, Objectivism, has gained a worldwide audience. The fundamentals of her philosophy are put forth in three nonfiction books, Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, The Virtues of Selfishness, and Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. They are all available in Signet editions, as is the magnificent statement of her artistic credo, The Romantic Manifesto.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0451191137
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Signet (March 1, 1996)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 253 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780451191137
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0451191137
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 880L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.9 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.73 x 4.13 x 0.65 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #36,806 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #150 in Political Fiction (Books)
- #1,337 in Classic Literature & Fiction
- #3,372 in Literary Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.4 5,214 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

Important information

To report an issue with this product or seller, click here.

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Ayn Rand

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Ayn Rand's first novel, We the Living, was published in 1936, followed by Anthem. With the publication of The Fountainhead in 1943, she achieved spectacular and enduring success. Rand's unique philosophy, Objectivism, has gained a worldwide audience and maintains a lasting influence on popular thought. The fundamentals of her philosophy are set forth in such books as Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, The Virtue of Selfishness, Capitalism: the Unknown Ideal, and The Romantic Manifesto. Ayn Rand died in 1982.

(Image reproduced courtesy of The Ayn Rand® Institute)

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5

5,214 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Reviews with images

See all photos

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Gma carrie

Fast read

Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2024

Verified Purchase

Purchased after reading some reviews.
Interesting book, read in a couple of hours.

Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2024

Verified Purchase

This is a book by a time traveler. A warning and a gift.
This book is well named: Anthem, the song of the individual free human.

Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2023

Verified Purchase

This book is a classic for a reason. Easy to read with a unique perspective on regaining one’s individualism against the pervasive guiding philosophy of the world they inhabit.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Eric W.

He believes in a better world. One where it is not a crime ...

Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2016

Verified Purchase

In this dystopian society, one man stands alone. He believes in a better world. One where it is not a crime to love a woman. One where stating your idea is not a death sentence. In the dark world he lives in he is looking for a way to make it light again.
The short novella, Anthem by Ayn Rand was published in 1938. Ayn submitted it two an American and an English publishing firm, but in the end the publishing firm Cassell located in England published the book. This book contains 52 pages. This book follows the life of Equality 7-2521 as he tries to survive in the dystopian society he was born into.
Equality 7-2521 is the main character of the book. He has two friends, Union 5-3992 and International 4-8818. They found an entrance to an old tunnel in their assigned work area. Equality 7-2521 is a street sweeper. He is a very intelligent man, however he learned things too quickly and asked too many questions. As a result, the Council of Vocations assigned him the job of street cleaner as a punishment for his intelligence. With this newly discovered tunnel, he started preforming scientific experiments. He stole some paper and started writing his findings in a journal. While cleaning the streets Equality 7-2521 meets a woman with the name, Liberty 5-3000. The two discover that they love each other, however in their society you do not love each other, man and woman cannot even talk to each other. In his experiments Equality 7-2521 rediscovers electricity. He decides to take his finding to the World Council of Scholars, in the hope they will be impressed and amazed by his discovery. However, this is not the case. They sentence him to death. Before they could catch him, he runs into the Uncharted Forest, where he is joined by Liberty 5-3000. They live their lives together in the forest and discover what they can about life before their dystopian society.
Throughout most of the people refer to themselves as “we” instead of “I.” In this society they removed the words “I,” and “You.” They believed that individuality was a sign of ego. The fact that the society, thought referring to yourself with “I” would get rid of a person’s individuality is absurd. A person’ individuality comes from the way a person acts. For example in the book, Equality 7-2521 expressed his individuality through his scientific experiments. Yes, he could not state that he, himself accomplished his experiments. But he still did it himself. It was not a group of people doing these experiments. Therefore, he was still expressing his individuality. The society did not successfully take away a person’s individuality, just by removing the words, “I” and “You.” Equality 7-2521 still found a way to express himself in his own way.
This book was an enjoyable read. I liked the dystopian society. I would recommend this book to young adults. I liked that this dystopian society took a way the words “I” and “You.” While they thought that this would take away a person’s individuality it did not. I liked that the viewpoints switched from First Person to Third Person throughout the story. It provided a unique perspective. Also, I liked that the focused of the story stayed on Equality 7-2521. Yes, he feel in love with a woman, but it did not become a love story. The book stayed focused on the dystopian society and the issues that Equality 7-2521 found wrong in the society.

48 people found this helpful

Helpful

Koa Feliciano

Excellent if you have rational thoughts.

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2023

Verified Purchase

A cautionary tale published decades ago which predicted much of what is happening in our world today. The people who need to read this will not do so. This novel relates how a world calamity was used to strip humanity of it's individuality. Nobody thinks for themselves. Everyone lives for everyone else. If it does not benefit society as a whole then you cannot do it. Everyone is the same, everyone gets the same, everyone's lives are the same. Same for emotions. Welcome to tomorrow's world today.

9 people found this helpful

Helpful

Taritee

The World's End?

Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2001

Verified Purchase

You live in a world where the word individualism is a curse. You have never seen the face of your parents and have no idea of where you were born or how. You are sent to the Home of Infants and stay there until you are five years of age and by then you are sent to the Home of the Students where you study until your fifteenth year. Before going to sleep you repeat with your right arm raised: "We are nothing. Mankind is all. By the grace of our brothers are we allowed our lives. We exist through, by and for our brothers who are the State. Amen." Although I am stating with the words: 'you' and 'your'-you do not know of those words. You exist as a 'we' for you must not betray 'our' brothers.
The years have gone well into the future from where we stand right now and yet instead of our dreams of conquering the world and improving the technical industries worldwide, something has happened to demolish all our efforts. We are at loss of all sciences and civilization. There is no electricity, only candles and even this is respected with a high air of responsiblity.
The main character we meet in this story is Equality 7-2521 whom decides to conquer these one way thoughts. After finishing his years in the Home of the Students he wish secretly to go to the Home of the Scholars. But as he enters the center of the great hall on the first day of spring they look into the cold eyes of the elders belonging to The Council of Vocations utters the words: 'street sweeper'.
But Equality 7-2521's curiosity gets the better of him and he searches for things that spark his imagination and mind. He plays with Science and experiments with wires and he discovers an underground tunnel which he uses as a type of lab. In the tunnel he finds the evidence of a world that existed well before the time of when he was born and had so much more than they had now. He sets out to tell the leaders but they call him a traitor for disobeying his brothers. He escapes to a large forrest where he meets with Liberty 5-3000, The Golden One who he had met before whilst carrying on with his work as a sweeper. And the two start to discover the truth of the human race and it's means. They learn the holy word diminished for so long... 'I'.
The book is strange. And it's rather short. It consists of just over 100 pages of large text writing and then the rest is the originally published copy of Anthem with Ms. Rand's own hand written corrections. It starts full of enthusiasm and adventure but ends with a cliffhanger that seems not to be very uplifting at all. The book isn't a book not worth reading. It seems to be a very easy context of Ms. Rand's philosophy on Objectivism and is highly entertaining for the most part. I liked her ideas a great deal and wish she'd made more of a story out of it for she made it more into a modest article or drafted frame than a novel or story...something towards a very short fantasy tale at the closest.
I recommend this book to all ages over eleven or so. Not much of it is too difficult and it makes you realise that it's not all that bad that you use the word "I" a little too often in your sentences :D

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

Amazon Customer

Great book

Reviewed in Canada on May 17, 2023

Verified Purchase

This book was the inspiration for Rush 2112 iconic album. Great story.

Arshiya Sultana

A must read

Reviewed in India on January 12, 2024

Verified Purchase

A must read book and quality is satisfactory considering the price👍🏻

One person found this helpful

ATREYU

Distopía totalitaria...

Reviewed in Mexico on November 18, 2019

Verified Purchase

Excelente novela corta con muy buenas críticas directas/indirectas al totalitarismo, el comunismo, el socialismo, así como la noción de que todos somos iguales y que debemos ser tratados de la misma manera (incluso los que no lo merecen).

Translate review to English

José Macaya

No imprescindible. Para quien quiera leer más de Rand

Reviewed in Spain on October 5, 2020

Verified Purchase

La Rebelión de Atlas era fabuloso e imprescindible. Este no lo es. La temática apocalíptica sobre el devenir del género humano se mantiene, pero desarrollada de forma que es más difícil relacionarse con ella. Una virtud es que es corto. De interés para quien quiera leer más de Ayn Rand.

Translate review to English

Kindle Customer

Excelente

Reviewed in Brazil on June 20, 2018

Verified Purchase

Enredo envolvente e conceito Extremamente valioso.
Simples e fácil de assimilar, então mesmo quem não tem o costume de ler, pode se aventurar nesse livro.
Otima obra.

Translate review to English

See more reviews

Buy new:

$6.79

Return this item for free

Image Unavailable

Follow the author

Anthem Mass Market Paperback – March 1, 1996

Purchase options and add-ons

Frequently bought together

Similar items that may ship from close to you

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Product details

Videos

Important information

About the author

Ayn Rand

Customer reviews

Reviews with images

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Prime includes:

Buy new: $6.79

Follow the author

Anthem Mass Market Paperback – March 1, 1996

Purchase options and add-ons

Frequently bought together

Similar items that may ship from close to you

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Product details

Videos

Important information

About the author

Ayn Rand

Customer reviews

Reviews with images

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Buy new:

$6.79