The Fountainhead

While I was in Israel I read Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, a whopper at seven hundred and fifty two pages and in small print as well, it's no quick read. Ayn Rand is an amazing author and it shows, born Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum; February second, nineteen hundred and five, she was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter.  Born and educated in Russia, Rand immigrated legally to the United States in nineteen twenty six. She was a screenwriter in Hollywood, had a play produced on Broadway in thirty five and six, but She first achieved fame in forty three with her novel The Fountainhead, then in fifty seven was followed by her best-selling work, the philosophical novel Atlas Shrugged. 


I would also call The Fountainhead a philosophical novel, it has a lot in common with Atlas Shrugged on a philosophical level, though the stories are very different. Fountainhead's story is based in architecture, courtrooms and the media. Howard Rourke is the lead with several other characters rounding off an exquisite cast. Thought compelling sells the description short, as the story throws twist and turns, left and right. Mix in romance as well, heroes, villians this book really has it all. The best description comes from the official Rand website: The story of an innovator—architect Howard Roark—and his battle against the tradition-worshipping establishment. Its theme: “individualism versus collectivism, not in politics, but in man’s soul; the psychological motivations and the basic premises that produce the character of an individualist or a collectivist.” Ayn Rand presented here for the first time her projection of the ideal man. Roark’s independence, self-esteem, and integrity have inspired millions of readers for more than half a century. I am officially an Ayn Rand Fan and will be studying her works in depth.


BTW- If you haven't read The Fountainhead click the first link to buy a copy, then when you are done give it to a friend, or lend it, just make sure to spread the words...