Ayn Rand

An essential guide to the life and works of Ayn Rand, the book chronicles and summarizes her writings, presents information about her national and global impact--and the response to it--and provides the most comprehensive bibliography published to date. Written by an independent scholar who is not part of either the Ayn Rand establishment or the Ayn Rand detractor camp, The New Ayn Rand Companion builds on the foundation of the original. New materials about Rand's poshumous publications, the latest biographical information, and summaries of books and articles about Rand, published since her death, have been added.

Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged is one of the most influential books of the twentieth century-its popular impact ranked second only to the Bible in a major poll. Millions know Rand as one of this century's great thinkers, writers, and philosophers, yet much about the private Ayn Rand remains shrouded in mystery. Who was Ayn Rand? My Years with Ayn Rand charts the course of the clandestine, tempestuous relationship between the enigmatic author of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead and Nathaniel Branden-her young disciple and future pioneer of the self-esteem movement. In this book, discover the real Ayn Rand through the eyes of the man who became her soul mate and shared her passions and philosophical ideals. Their tragic and tumultuous love story began with a letter written by Branden as an admiring teenage fan and ended, more than twenty years later, with accusations of betrayal and bitter recriminations. My Years with Ayn Rand paints an unforgettable portrait of Ayn Rand-whose ideas, even today, can generate a maelstrom of controversy. Previous Praise for Nathaniel Branden "Relentlessly revealing. . . the myth of Ayn Rand gives way to a full-sized portrait in contrasting colors, appealing and appalling, potent and paradoxical. . . . it takes a special kind of nerve to write such a book."-Norman Cousins, author of Head First and The Healing Heart "Non-stop theater. All the ingredients are there: conflict, colorful characters, suspense, and a Greek inevitability of tragedy born of hubris. There's a nexus of sex nearly dizzying in its permutations."-Dale Wasserman, playwright and screenwriter, Man of La Mancha and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest "Branden plots his relationship with Rand from a psychological vantage point, with devastatingly articulate results. . . . A fascinating portrait of Rand and her disciples."-Kirkus Reviews "What a story! It's heroic, romantic, deadly, horrifying, tender-and I couldn't put it down."-George Leonard, author of The Transformation and Education and Education and Ecstasy

Part of an ongoing series covering the texts and lives of the most important women writers of English, this book contains introductory essays by Harold Bloom and provides biographical information, a wide selection of critical excerpts, and complete bibliographies of 11 authors.

Classic Cult Fiction is a history, analysis, and reference guide to books that have become "bibles" to generations of Europeans and Americans over the past 200 years--books like The Catcher in the Rye. Fearlessly taking on "canon formation," Whissen identifies the top 50 classic cult books, first presenting an informed and witty interpretation of the phenomenon and its characteristics with examples from different cultures and periods. The individual works are each discussed relative to time and place, impact, and audience psychology and analyzed in terms of common cult attributes. A chronological listing of cult fiction adds a number of titles not chosen for the top 50.

Science fiction has evolved and diverged in many ways and moods. When World Views Collide is the third and final volume in a history of the genre that began with Foundations of Science Fiction and continued in Great Themes of Science Fiction. The conflicts in science fiction are conflicts about world views, which Pierce defines as fundamental beliefs about the nature of man, the universe, and man's place in the universe. Pierce presents each world view in science fiction on its own terms, as expressed in the works of its partisans. This final volume of the trilogy thus examines science fiction as a way of defining and delimiting humanity and human values, which may well be the most important aspect of the genre today.

Alan Greenspan is one of the most powerful and enigmatic men in the world. Although endlessly pursued by the press and ceaselessly present in the public spotlight, very little about his private life has ever been revealed. Citizen Greenspan: The Man Behind Money presents the celebrated Fed Chairman as few know him. It spans his hardscrabble childhood in Depression-era New York City, his fascinating decades-long friendship with controversial author Ayn Rand, his Juilliard education and days spent touring with Henry Jerome's jazz band, as well as his two marriages, dynamic D.C. social life, and service to five U.S. presidents. Artfully crafted, this biography paints an astonishing and enthralling portrait.

Based on unprecedented access to Greenspan's family members and to such peers as Henry Kissinger, Gerald Ford, and Milton Friedman, Citizen Greenspan: The Man Behind Money makes news and breaks new ground. It also provides fresh insight into Greenspan's reign at the Fed -- from the stomach-churning crash of 1987 to today's rollicking markets -- and a glimpse at what's next for the famous Chairman.

In Classical Individualism, Tibor Machan argues that individualism is far from being dead. Machan identities, develops and defends what he calls classical individualism: the sort with roots in Aristotle rather than Hobbes. This type of individualism does not reject the social nature of the human being, but finds that every human being is also a self-directed agent who is responsible for what he or she does. Machan rejects all types of collectivism, including communitarianism, ethnic solidarity, racial unity, and gender identity.

The ideas in Classical Individualism have important social and political implications, and will be of interest to anyone concerned with the notion of individuality and individual responsibility.

Discusses agnosticism, skepticism, secular humanism & the burden of proof; the nature of religious experience; problems in proofs of God's existence; the ethics of Jesus; sex & guilt; Christian values in American society; religion & culture; the lure of "afterlife"; concepts of heaven, hell, & original sin; fearing death; hedonism & stoicism; sex without God; tolerance; atheism, ethics, & the pursuit of happiness; the sacred & the profane; the impact of Paul, Aquinas, Luther, & Calvin & the assault on reason. The modern revival of reason, skepticism, atheism, & secular humanism ensures that hope remains for a future without the constraints of dogmatic doctrine & religious tyranny. Why Atheism? is an accessible guide to living a positive life without a supreme being.

Including representative journals for the 20th and late 19th centuries, this book profiles the most significant conservative journals of the past century. From the rise of industrial capitalism, when laissez-faire conservatives praised bountiful America, to the end of the Cold War, these journals have covered a variety of topics from differing, sometimes even contradictory, points of view. Yet they speak to the richness and comprehensiveness of the conservative press in America. Together they provide a focused history of conservative thought in 20th Century America.

This book provides strong guidance to teachers and students of literature that gives them a greater understanding of the philosophical influences on more than 100 major literary figures. The text describes philosophical influences reflected in their writings as well as references to philosophical works that are known to have played a part in their intellectual and aesthetic development.