Ayn Rand and the World She Made

Splendid. . . . A cleanly and compellingly written biography of one of the strangest, most controversial and most widely read writers of the 20th century. San Francisco Chronicle A thoughtful, flesh-and-blood portrait of an extremely complicated and self-contradictory woman, coupling this character study with literary analysis and plumbing the quirkier depths of Rand s prodigious imagination. The New York Times Heller does a remarkable job with a subject who was almost cripplingly complex a real woman starring in her own propaganda film. New York magazine [An] outstanding biography that reveals much about a figure who to this point has been chronicled only by biased disciples. Washington Monthly Dramatic and very timely. The New York Times Book Review Offer[s] ammunition for fans and skeptics alike. The Washington Post A thoroughly researched, immensely readable portrait of a sui generis thinker who was fiercely committed to her ideals yet whose life contained fascinating contradictions. The Wall Street Journal s Speakeasy The champion of individuality who insisted on obedience and conformity from her followers (including Alan Greenspan), Rand emerges from Heller s superbly vivid, enlightening, and affecting biography in all her paradoxical power. Booklist (starred review) Engrossing and unsparing, an excellent introductory course on Rand written with a shrewd eye. New York Post The exploits of Ayn Rand the Sarah Palin of philosophical fiction are made more gripping by Anne Heller s refusal to treat her subject as a joke and to accept her as the force she remains in politics (tea partiers) and to each successive generation of selfish undergrads. Brad Gooch, author of Flannery: A Life of Flannery O Connor and frequent contributor to The Daily Beast A comprehensive study, in novelistic detail, of Rand s personal life. Time One imagines that Rand would have approved of much of what Heller has written: the balanced tone of her book, its reasonableness, its respect for what a struggling Russian refugee accomplished and achieved. And yet having finished the biography, one can almost hear the impossible Rand railing against Heller s failure to award her the place she always believed she deserved in the pantheon of the most glorious, solitary, and self-made literary giants. Bookforum A thorough recounting of [Rand s] life and the forces that shaped her philosophy. . . . Fascinating. Dallas Morning News Provides important and meaningful insight into the evolution of Rand s world view. Newsweek [A] work of historical scholarship that seek[s] to illuminate Rand s complexities rather than simply to support or condemn her. Harper s Magazine Heller takes a dispassionate view of Rand and, in this detailed portrait, seeks to reveal her as a whole person rather than the cardboard cutout swathed in legend created by the great lady herself. Bookreporter.com Skillful. . . . [A] detailed and engaging portrait of Rand s interior life. The New Republic The picture of Rand that emerges from Ms. Heller s book is all the more damning because the biographer is obviously fair-minded and, indeed, something of an admirer of her subject. The New Criterion Worthwhile and engrossing. City-Journal [An] excellent biography. . . . A vivid yet objective portrait of this gifted, brilliant, ultimately monstrous author. . . . Brings to life not only Rand but her circle and their milieu, making the book readable if only for its glimpse into a not-so-distant past where serious literature was widely influential, the television new, the railroad a common mode of travel. It s strangely quaint to read about a world without computers or cell telephones, a world where typists were a must and people wore hats as a matter of course. Even more extraordinary is [Heller s] rendition of this wildly divided woman, who could create some of our most unique literature yet remain unable to make that most fundamental of connections: unconditional love for another. PopMatters.com