Ayn Rand has gathered around herself an extraordinarily loyal complement of admirers - one might almost say a "cult" has been built. For them - this anthology of selected excerpts from her previous writings will be something in the nature of a credo. An introductory essay attempts to capsule Miss Rand's philosophy. She postulates that the species of man known to his fellows as an "intellectual" is the twin brother of the Capitalist and that both were spawned by the Industrial Revolution. The intellectual, as she views him, has been a prodigal son and has failed in the role for which he was designed, - that is to give homage to both the Industrialist and to Capitalism itself. Instead, he is Peck's Bad Boy and has ridiculed and lambasted what is, in Miss Rand's view, the sole significant and creative fact of Western civilization. This is the stuff of controversy and the author spares no one in her broadsides. On the one side she lines up her foes: -philosophically everyone but the Greeks; politically, -Communists, Socialists, and all other inhabitants of the Left; artistically, the mainstream of American literature, which has failed to accept Miss Rand's version of the American Dream; and last but not least, all that calls itself religion. Having thus corrected history, Miss Rand leaves us with a solitary figure of the Industrialist, who is truly vibrant and dynamic through his creation of wealth and comfort. He is reinforced with an ethic which the author claims restores the dignity of the human being and a true scale of values. This philosophy is called Objectivism and its morality consists of "rational self-interest". One can hardly see this taken seriously by those whose ultimate concern is philosophy. Miss Rand is primarily a novelist and it is in this genre that she is safest - and presumably most popular.
Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 0451163087
Page Count: 437
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 22, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1960
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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