Objectively Speaking: Ayn Rand Interviewed

Freelance writer Podritske and author Schwartz (The Foreign Policy of Self-Interest) have selected 32 lectures and interviews from the 60-year career of writer and conservative philosopher Ayn Rand (1905-1982), founder of objectivism, beginning with her first interview in 1923, on the Depression (""Americans... don't even know what a depression is""), when the Russian émigré had just sold her first story to Universal Studios. Rand's 1943 novel Fountainhead catapulted her to success (amplified by the release of a film version) that was solidified in 1957 by her 1100-page magnum opus Atlas Shrugged. Both novels and later non-fiction were conceived as vehicles for ""objectivism,"" a laissez-faire world-view based around the ethics of ""rational self-interest"" (a more familiar iteration might be ""Greed is Good""); among her followers were Leonard Peikoff and a young Alan Greenspan. Though she knew hers was ""an extreme and unpopular viewpoint,"" she was a tireless advocate for ""full, unregulated, uncontrolled capitalism,"" and a harsh opponent of conservatives who ""tie their political views to religion."" With transcripts from speeches, television appearances, radio shows and more, this will no doubt please Rand's fans and provide a great resource for students.