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Favourite Ayn Rand book

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Invictus

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Which of Rand's works did you enjoy most?

Of her fiction titles I enjoyed The Fountainhead above the rest. Atlas Shrugged was probably of a higher quality but it was my first experience with Rand's philosophy and I did not relate to it in the same manner as I did the books I read after having fully familiarised myself with Objectivism.

With regard to her non-fiction works I definitely found Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal to be the the best, presenting an excellent moral case for capitalism. It was also interesting to read what Alan Greenspan thought before joining up with the fed's. The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution wins the award for "book that should be read by every college student".

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Atlas is my favourite novel. I find it easier to follow than the Fountainhead.

VOS is my favourite non-fiction. I had a friend at school, who I am still in touch with, who had a nervous breakdown in his teens after having brought up as a Jehovah's witness and then I discovered the article "Religion Vs Mental health" which expalined everything.

The other brilliant article is the one on the pleasure-seeking mentality which describes his ex-girlfriend and my Dad perfectly.

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It's a dead heat between We The Living and The Fountainhead for me.

I liked Atlas Shrugged, in general, but I thought the novel got muddled in spots, particularly the overly long speech by John Galt, and the "action-packed" ending.

My favorite non-fiction was The Romatic Manifesto, though I disagreed with her view of photography being non-art, and some of her views on pop music (drumbeat of the jungle). Still, this book rekindled my interest in Dostoevky, and drew me to Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, my favorite book of all time.

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I would have to say The Fountainhead and Virtue of Selfishness would be my top fiction and nonfiction respectively. Though i wouldn't want Atlas to be too far from my reach either.

I worked at a Barnes for a while and recommended Ayn Rand fiction whenever I could. Anthem was an easy sell to the HS students looking for something that wouldn't take long to read. I put Fountainhead in the hands of a kid who said he'd read everything already. He hadn't. I loved when someone came in and asked for her books specifically. The only non-fic anyone asked for was VOS or Capitalism, the Unkown Ideal, and that was rare. They actually shelve Capitalism with the economics books, not the philosophy section. Accurate, but harder to find for someone browsing philo.

Later,

Bob

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They actually shelve Capitalism with the economics books, not the philosophy section. Accurate, but harder to find for someone browsing philo.

Actually, that is not accurate. Capitalism was not about the economics of capitalism, but the moral implications. It should go in the philosphy section, which is where they put it at the B&N here.

As for my favorites: The Fountainhead and The Romantic Manifesto.

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Actually, that is not accurate. Capitalism was not about the economics of capitalism, but the moral implications. It should go in the philosphy section, which is where they put it at the B&N here.

Richard, I think he was just referring to "they" as the Barnes and Noble that he works at specifically, not "they" meaning B&N or bookstores in general. I wonder if Capitalism is shelved in the economics section at my store too? Could be why I'm having trouble finding it...

OP---My favorite is definitely Atlas Shrugged. It was my first book of Rand's--I can't even pick it up off the coffee table without smiling :lol:

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You misunderstand my arugment Apprentice. I am saying that it shouldn't go there, not that it is not accurate that they put it there in the store he worked at.

He said it was accurate to put Capitalism in the economics section, just inconvienent. However, it is not accurate, as the book is about the moral/philosophical implications of capitalism, not economics.

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I agree with richard's reasoning now that i think about it. in fact, in the intro rand says it's not a treatsie on econ, but a collection of essays on the moral aspects of cap.

anyway, far as i know the barnes database is centralized for the US, so it should be classified the same in all the stores. If you look it up at barnes website, it provides links to related books which are categorizied econ or politics&govt' economic policy. It would be interesting to ask cust service desk at your local store for the book and see where the system tells you to go, even if they don't have a copy, it will give the categorization. It's in econ in the barnes i worked at last year and the one i frequent now as customer. we could make it a class project. lol. maybe petition barnes to shelve properly.

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Although I find Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead to be the best two books written by Rand, in that order, I have always loved the story of Anthem. Maybe Rush’s song 2112 has a bit of an influence here but I can always picture Anthem’s story in my head and it constantly helps me to complete the task at hand.

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Atlas Shrugged is my favorite and I must say I have always been puzzled by those who find Galt's speech artistically inappropriate. I loved every sentence of that speech! It was the irresistible power of reason unleashed against everything I had always detested -- blasting away centuries of vicious nonsense, equivocation and mysticism. The drama, the tempo and the style, all building inexorably to Galt’s pledge. What could be better?

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