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The Fountainhead (Scribner Classics) | 
 enlarge | Author: Ayn Rand
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Category: Book
List Price: $50.00
Buy Used: $6.84
You Save: $43.16 (86%)
Used (13) from $6.84
Avg. Customer Rating:  966 reviews
Sales Rank: 973953
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st Scribner Classics Ed
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 727
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.3
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.7
ISBN: 0684869713
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.52
EAN: 9780684869711
ASIN: 0684869713
Publication Date: December 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Very good hard cover, includes jacket, strong bind, firm, clean, slight shelf wear, low price, fast shipping!
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Amazon.com Review
The Fountainhead has become an enduring piece of literature, more popular now than when published in 1943. On the surface, it is a story of one man, Howard Roark, and his struggles as an architect in the face of a successful rival, Peter Keating, and a newspaper columnist, Ellsworth Toohey. But the book addresses a number of universal themes: the strength of the individual, the tug between good and evil, the threat of fascism. The confrontation of those themes, along with the amazing stroke of Rand's writing, combine to give this book its enduring influence.
Product Description
The Fountainhead, possibly the most influential and controversial novel of ideas in American history, presents a philosophy of vital interest to anyone seeking an understanding of our present-day culture. As relevant and exciting now as it was for those who clamored to read it when it burst upon the scene in 1943, this book continues to focus worldwide attention on its brilliant author, who pointedly asks, "Is it possible to be an individual in today's world?" The Fountainhead is the story of a gifted young architect, his violent battle with conventional standards, and his explosive love affair with the beautiful woman committed to destroying him. Howard Roark, expelled from school, mocked at parties and in print, perseveres in the face of near-universal derision and in the face of the fabulous success of his friend, the conniving Peter Keating, the most sought-after architect of the day, who knows nothing about actually designing buildings. In fighting for success, Roark, loosely based upon Frank Lloyd Wright, discovers the seductive power of money and acclaim, only to find that in the end he must be true to his own genius despite the great unhappiness that commitment may bring. What do we owe our community and what freedom does our community owe us? This debate has raged in our land since Emerson. The argument is especially heated in the realm of art: to what extent must the artist be held responsible to the desires of his audience, and can creativity survive in a world where one's intelligence is measured by the popularity of one's ideas? The Fountainhead became a towering book on the contemporary intellectual scene by simply illustrating the difficulties we encounter when we dare to march to our own drummer and by offering us the hope that it can be done. This timeless classic updates cherished and very American notions of liberty for a modern world, which, while no longer plagued by a global struggle against totalitarianism, threatens to be overrun by faceless corporate conglomeration. Agree or disagree with Rand's plan to maintain originality of thought and independence of action in such a world, her superb and powerful novel will leave you convinced at least of the nobility of the sentiment.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 961 more reviews...
 Fountainhead September 30, 2008
One of my favorites. Have read it twice. A must read for today's world.
Why Was This Book Written? September 26, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Why did Ayn Rand write this book? That's a fair question to pose of any author, but with this particular author and with this particular book, it's an essential question. Was the purpose of the book its entertainment value, which is substantial, or was it to serve as a platform for objectivism, the philosophy prevalent throughout the book?
My personal feelings are it's probably about a 60/40 ratio with the bulk on the side of the philosophy. She makes such an effort to separate her main character, Howard Roark, from the rest of mankind and to show his lack of concern for anything outside of his own individual motivations, that he appears at times to be a little two dimensional. How else then could he hope to find happiness in his personal life except with a woman who is equally as unconcerned with rest of humanity as he is? While one bounces from one unfulfilling relationship to another, the other appears determined to destroy his own career in the pursuit of uncompromising ownership of the creative process. Still, you root for the hero and hold tight to the hope that substance and raw talent will win out over style and high society. But you're a cheering section of one, because not even the main character cares enough to join in.
The Fountainhead has substantial entertainment value however. Ayn Rand is a master of the descriptive scene as she focuses your attention to the most minute details such as the arch of Dominique's back in order to portray an atmosphere in a scene. In many cases, you may feel as though you're viewing a performance on stage rather than reading a book.
So, which is it? Entertainment or a thought-provoking examination? A little of both probably. I mean, isn't that what most great books offer?
Fairy Tale September 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Ayn Rand created a real, modern fairy tale with The Fountainhead. It is hard to find a more honorable literary figure than Rand's creation of Howard Roark. The focus of the novel is mainly set on the true natures of people. You find those who manipulate, those who bully, those who parasite, and one who stands only for purity in how he sees the world. You will also surely be able to point out appropriate figures in your own life as the are archetyped here.
The relationships among the players are complicated and seem at times to be become completely contradictory. The result is that those who need to build a common concept of purity ultimately lose out to those who bravely and independently create their own.
You may come away from this book actually believing in the fairy tale that honesty and purity (in purpose) can truly lead to poverty, but happiness.
"But I don't think of you" August 29, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I'm not quite sure how she pulled it off, but with The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand managed to forge a literary masterpiece out of reheated libertarianism, stone age sexual politics, and dialogue that's so full of grandiose monologuing it would make William Shakespeare blush. I'm not being tongue-in-cheek here; I really do love this novel. I really do think that it's a jaw-dropping monument to the might of the individual, a symphonic ode to mankind's potential. Its seven-hundred pages see Rand laying waste to conventional standards, inverting all of society's most cherished values, and dropping more than a few subtle hints about the potential dangers of good intentions. Critics of Rand's work seem to miss out on the difference between quality and agreeability; they attack The Fountainhead for its philosophical underpinnings, calling it a piece of trash for no other reason than that they don't see things in quite the same way as Ayn Rand. They don't seem to care about its literary merit. Either that, or they just can't see the novel for what it is. They're completely oblivious to its ecstatic drama, angular poetry, remorseless tension, and epic scope. When they call Rand humorless, I have a hard time believing that they're missing out on the smirking satire and bruising irony that lurk beneath The Fountainhead's surface. When they call Rand inhuman, I wonder what they make of the dizzying panoply of characters that populate her work. Are they aware of the care she takes in evoking sympathy, even for her antagonists? Are they aware that she goes out of her way to remind us that Peter Keating, Alvah Scarret, and the Dean really are human beings? Even when she's depicting pure evil, Ayn Rand understands the importance of complexity, vision, and dimension; indeed, the novel's arch villain is every bit as masterful a creation as Shakespeare's Iago. Critics don't seem to appreciate the protagonist, either. I mean, do they really need to be told that Howard Roark is the very opposite of a soulless automaton, that he's the personification of struggle, of ambition, of hope, of everything that is pure and honest and noble about humanity? No, I don't sympathize with Rand's atheism (or with Roark's). I don't think that selfishness is as clear-cut a virtue as it's made out to be in her work. I am, for the most part (and I say this somewhat grudgingly), a liberal. I'm certainly not an objectivist, and I only have libertarian sympathies if you squint hard enough and ignore my views on our healthcare system. But that's beside the point; I'm not a Christian and I still like the Bible. I'm not an objectivist, and I absolutely adore The Fountainhead.
 Very bad DIscs August 10, 2008
1 out of 8 found this review helpful
The fountaun head is a great piece of Ayn Rand's work.
However I had trouble with 2 of the 6 discs I listened too. Returned the full set to Amazon.
Amazon got me a replacement set in nothing flat. Excellent service there. The replacement New set has 4 bad out of the 12 I have listened too. Its going back as well.
The manufaturer of these Audio books needs some new equipment of Quality control.
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