Essays on Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged

by Mayhew, Robert; Berliner, Michael S.; Bernstein, Andrew; Binswanger, Harry; Boeckmann, Tore; Britting, Jeff; Ghate, Debi; Ghate, Onkar; Gotthelf, Allan; Locke, Edwin A.; Milgram, Shoshana; Peikoff, Leonard; Ralston, Richard; Salmieri, Gregory; Smith, Tara

• ISBN13: 9780739127803
• ISBN10: 0739127802
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-05-16
• Publisher: Lexington Books

Summary

While the fiction of novelist-philosopher Ayn Rand is extremely popular and enduring, little has been written on it so far. This book consists of essays, most of which are new, by top Rand scholars on Atlas Shrugged, her magnum opus. The essays deal with historical, literary, and philosophical topics, surpassing related writings in breadth and depth of analysis. The historical essays cover the writing of Atlas Shrugged, its publication history, and its reception. The literary essays cover analysis of the novel's plot, theme, and characterization; comparisons with other works, such as the novels of Hugo, Dostoevsky, and Joyce; and the proper approach to adapting Atlas Shrugged to film. The philosophical essays cover a vast range of topics, including the place of John Galt's speech in the novel, the role of the mind in human life, and the evil of non-objective law. Some of the essays make use of previously unpublished material from the Ayn Rand Archives. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Robert Mayhew is professor of philosophy at Seton Hall University. His authored books include Ayn Rand and Song of Russia: Communism and Anti-Communism in 1940s Hollywood, The Female in Aristotle's Biology: Reason or Rationalization, and Aristotle's Critique of Plato's Republic; his edited collections include Essays on Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead and Ayn Rand Answers: The Best of Her QA.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Bibliographical Note	p. xv
The Part and Chapter Headings of Atlas Shrugged	p. 1
Who Was John Galt? The Creation of Ayn Rand's Ultimate Ideal Man	p. 53
The Spirit of Francisco d'Anconia: The Development of His Characterization	p. 79
A Note on Francisco's Ancestry	p. 105
Working for Ayn Rand: Selections from Facets of Ayn Rand	p. 113
Publishing Atlas Shrugged	p. 123
The Atlas Shrugged Reviews	p. 133
Reply to Whittaker Chambers	p. 145
Atlas Shrugged and the Metaphysics of Values	p. 149
Atlas Shrugged as the Culmination of the Romantic Novel	p. 167
A Tale of Two Novels	p. 191
Adapting Atlas Shrugged to Film	p. 195
Atlas Shrugged on the Role of the Mind in Man's Existence	p. 219
Ayn Rand's Ethics: From The Fountainhead to Atlas Shrugged	p. 253
No Tributes to Caesar: Good or Evil in Atlas Shrugged	p. 275
The Businessmen's Crucial Role: Material Men of the Mind	p. 299
The Traits of Business Heroes in Atlas Shrugged	p. 317
"Humanity's Darkest Evil": The Lethal Destructiveness of Non-Objective Law	p. 335
The Role of Galt's Speech in Atlas Shrugged	p. 363
Galt's Speech in Five Sentences (and Forty Questions)	p. 375
Discovering Atlantis: Atlas Shrugged's Demonstration of a New Moral Philosophy	p. 397
A Note on Dagny's "Final Choice"	p. 453
Outline of Atlas Shrugged	p. 467
Outline of Galt's Speech	p. 501
Select Bibliography	p. 505
Index	p. 507
About the Contributors	p. 513
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