Letters of Ayn Rand
Encyclopedia
Letters of Ayn Rand is a book derived from the letters of novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand
, and published in 1995, 13 years after her death. It was edited by Michael Berliner with the approval of Rand's estate.
, historian Jennifer Burns affirmed that Berliner had only omitted material rather than changing the content.
The hardcover edition of Letters of Ayn Rand was published by Dutton
in 1995. A paperback edition was published by Plume
in 1997.
, Isabel Paterson
and John Hospers
. An appendix provides a form letter that Rand sent to many fans of The Fountainhead
who had written her. Rand's heir, Leonard Peikoff
, provides an introduction.
. The reviews were mixed.
In The New York Times Book Review
, Christopher Cox, then a member of the United States House of Representatives
, gave the book a positive review. He said Rand's letters were "an important part of Ayn Rand's intellectual contribution" that are "filled with flashes of emotional insight, surprising facts and unintended humor." This was the first positive review of one of Rand's books in The New York Times Book Review since 1943.
Another positive review came from Rand scholar Chris Matthew Sciabarra
. Writing in Reason
magazine, he predicted that Rand's letters would "delight and sometimes shock readers", and said "what is most startling about the collection is how well it humanizes Ayn Rand."
Liberty
magazine editor R.W. Bradford found the book interesting and said it "allows the reader to see glimpses of the real woman and her development as a thinker and writer." However, he described Berliner's editing as "inept" and Peikoff's introduction as "uninformative". He said Rand wrote relatively few letters for a significant literary figure, and suggested Berliner held back potentially interesting letters for fear of upsetting Rand's "self-made myth," which Bradford considered "inexcusable".
In The Washington Post
, Jeffrey Frank
described the book as "ultimately tedious". He said her earlier letters are "considerably more interesting than the later ones", which include "an endless amount of whining about various publishers, her detailed responses to editors' suggestions, her hectoring assertions of her beliefs."
In National Review
, Florence King
said the "book reeks of the sycophancy that Miss Rand always inspired" and noted several letters attacking the National Review itself, "the magazine she loved to hate".
Objectivist
magazines praised the book, with one saying, "in her letters we learn more of the style of her soul", while another called the book "the next best thing" to knowing Rand personally.
Other reviews included a review by Claudia Roth Pierpont
in The New Yorker
, and reviews in Booklist
, Choice, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch
.
Rand scholars writing about the book some years later also expressed mixed opinions. Mimi Reisel Gladstein
complimented the "uncommon variety of letters" included, saying it "allows the reader access to the many facets of Rand's private and public personae." However, she noted a mistake regarding Rand's birthday at the beginning of the book, and included it among several posthumous books approved by Rand's estate that "have not always exhibited a confidence-inspiring level of academic rigor." Jennifer Burns said scholars can use the material in the book, but indicated the material omitted by Berliner includes items "of high interest to the historian" so that "important insights can be gleaned only from the originals."
Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her two best-selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
, and published in 1995, 13 years after her death. It was edited by Michael Berliner with the approval of Rand's estate.
Background
When Rand died in 1982, the materials in her estate included copies of over 2000 letters written by her between 1926 and 1981. Berliner selected "approximately 35 to 40 percent of the total" for publication. He also edited the letters to remove "less interesting material", such as opening and closing statements or apologies by Rand for not writing someone sooner after they had written her. Discussing the letters in the context of a later controversy over the editing of Rand's published journalsJournals of Ayn Rand
Journals of Ayn Rand is a book derived from the private journals of novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand, and published in 1997, 15 years after her death. It was edited by David Harriman with the approval of Rand's estate.-Background:...
, historian Jennifer Burns affirmed that Berliner had only omitted material rather than changing the content.
The hardcover edition of Letters of Ayn Rand was published by Dutton
E. P. Dutton
E. P. Dutton was an American book publishing company founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. In 1986, the company was acquired by Penguin Group and split into two imprints: Dutton Penguin and Dutton Children's Books.-History:Edward Payson Dutton founded...
in 1995. A paperback edition was published by Plume
Plume (publishing)
Plume is a publishing company in the United States, founded in 1970 as the trade paperback imprint of New American Library. Today it is a division of Penguin Group, with a backlist of approximately 700 titles....
in 1997.
Contents
The organization of the letters is largely chronological, but specific sections are dedicated to Rand's correspondence with Frank Lloyd WrightFrank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
, Isabel Paterson
Isabel Paterson
Isabel Paterson was a Canadian-American journalist, novelist, political philosopher, and a leading literary critic of her day. Along with Rose Wilder Lane and Ayn Rand, who both acknowledged an intellectual debt to Paterson, she is one of the three founding mothers of American libertarianism...
and John Hospers
John Hospers
John Hospers was an American philosopher. In 1972 he was the first presidential candidate of the Libertarian Party, and the only minor party candidate to receive an electoral vote in the 1972 U.S. Presidential election....
. An appendix provides a form letter that Rand sent to many fans of The Fountainhead
The Fountainhead
The Fountainhead is a 1943 novel by Ayn Rand. It was Rand's first major literary success and brought her fame and financial success. More than 6.5 million copies of the book have been sold worldwide....
who had written her. Rand's heir, Leonard Peikoff
Leonard Peikoff
Leonard S. Peikoff is a Canadian-American philosopher. He is an author, a leading advocate of Objectivism and the founder of the Ayn Rand Institute. A former professor of philosophy, he was designated by the novelist Ayn Rand as heir to her estate...
, provides an introduction.
Reception
At the time of its release, about a dozen publications reviewed Letters of Ayn Rand, according to the Ayn Rand InstituteAyn Rand Institute
The Ayn Rand Institute: The Center for the Advancement of Objectivism is a 501 nonprofit think tank in Irvine, California that promotes Ayn Rand's philosophy, called Objectivism. It was established in 1985, three years after Rand's death, by Leonard Peikoff, Rand's legal heir...
. The reviews were mixed.
In The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York...
, Christopher Cox, then a member of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, gave the book a positive review. He said Rand's letters were "an important part of Ayn Rand's intellectual contribution" that are "filled with flashes of emotional insight, surprising facts and unintended humor." This was the first positive review of one of Rand's books in The New York Times Book Review since 1943.
Another positive review came from Rand scholar Chris Matthew Sciabarra
Chris Matthew Sciabarra
Chris Matthew Sciabarra is a Brooklyn, New York-based political theorist. He is the author of three scholarly books—Ayn Rand: The Russian Radical; Marx, Hayek, and Utopia; and Total Freedom: Toward a Dialectical Libertarianism—as well several shorter works...
. Writing in Reason
Reason (magazine)
Reason is a libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation. The magazine has a circulation of around 60,000 and was named one of the 50 best magazines in 2003 and 2004 by the Chicago Tribune.- History :...
magazine, he predicted that Rand's letters would "delight and sometimes shock readers", and said "what is most startling about the collection is how well it humanizes Ayn Rand."
Liberty
Liberty (1987)
Liberty is a leading libertarian journal founded in 1987 by R. W. Bradford in Port Townsend, Washington, and currently edited from San Diego, California, by Stephen Cox...
magazine editor R.W. Bradford found the book interesting and said it "allows the reader to see glimpses of the real woman and her development as a thinker and writer." However, he described Berliner's editing as "inept" and Peikoff's introduction as "uninformative". He said Rand wrote relatively few letters for a significant literary figure, and suggested Berliner held back potentially interesting letters for fear of upsetting Rand's "self-made myth," which Bradford considered "inexcusable".
In The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, Jeffrey Frank
Jeffrey Frank
Jeffrey Frank is a journalist and author. He is currently a senior editor at The New Yorker and has written three books: The Columnist, Bad Publicity: A Novel, and Trudy Hopedale: A Novel...
described the book as "ultimately tedious". He said her earlier letters are "considerably more interesting than the later ones", which include "an endless amount of whining about various publishers, her detailed responses to editors' suggestions, her hectoring assertions of her beliefs."
In National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
, Florence King
Florence King
Florence Virginia King is an American novelist, essayist and columnist.While her early writings focused on the American South and those who live there, much of King's later work has been published in National Review...
said the "book reeks of the sycophancy that Miss Rand always inspired" and noted several letters attacking the National Review itself, "the magazine she loved to hate".
Objectivist
Objectivism (Ayn Rand)
Objectivism is a philosophy created by the Russian-American philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand . Objectivism holds that reality exists independent of consciousness, that human beings have direct contact with reality through sense perception, that one can attain objective knowledge from perception...
magazines praised the book, with one saying, "in her letters we learn more of the style of her soul", while another called the book "the next best thing" to knowing Rand personally.
Other reviews included a review by Claudia Roth Pierpont
Claudia Roth Pierpont
Claudia Roth Pierpont has been a contributor to The New Yorker since 1990 and became a staff writer in 2004. Her subjects include Friedrich Nietzsche, Katharine Hepburn, Mae West, Orson Welles, the Ballets Russes and the Chrysler Building....
in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, and reviews in Booklist
Booklist
Booklist is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. It is geared toward libraries and booksellers and is available in print or online...
, Choice, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch
Richmond Times-Dispatch
The Richmond Times-Dispatch is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond the capital of Virginia, United States, and is commonly considered the "newspaper of record" for events occurring in much of the state...
.
Rand scholars writing about the book some years later also expressed mixed opinions. Mimi Reisel Gladstein
Mimi Reisel Gladstein
Mimi Reisel Gladstein is a professor of English and Theatre Arts at the University of Texas at El Paso. Her specialties include authors such as Ayn Rand and John Steinbeck, as well as women's studies, theatre arts and 18th-century British literature.-Life and scholarship:Gladstein was born in...
complimented the "uncommon variety of letters" included, saying it "allows the reader access to the many facets of Rand's private and public personae." However, she noted a mistake regarding Rand's birthday at the beginning of the book, and included it among several posthumous books approved by Rand's estate that "have not always exhibited a confidence-inspiring level of academic rigor." Jennifer Burns said scholars can use the material in the book, but indicated the material omitted by Berliner includes items "of high interest to the historian" so that "important insights can be gleaned only from the originals."