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Anthem
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Manufacturer: Signet
Author: Ayn Rand
Publisher: Signet
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price:
You Save: $ 2.50 ( 100% )
Manufacturer: Signet
Author: Ayn Rand
Publisher: Signet
Average Customer Rating:
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Anthem Description
Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9780451127372
ISBN: 0451127374
Label: Signet
Manufacturer: Signet
Number Of Items: 1
Publication Date: 1961-09-01
Publisher: Signet
Studio: Signet
EAN: 9780451127372
ISBN: 0451127374
Label: Signet
Manufacturer: Signet
Number Of Items: 1
Publication Date: 1961-09-01
Publisher: Signet
Studio: Signet
Editorial Review of Anthem
Customer Reviews of Anthem
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Classic Individual versus the collective
Review: At first glance, one might think of Huxley's 'Brave New World' but this book goes beyond just showing one course that the future of man might take. 'Anthem' shows the course our future will take if mankind loses the most important aspect of being man - the ability to recognize individuality, the sense of our uniqueness, and the 'I' in us all. Ms. Rand's philosophy of Objectivism is underlined in this one small story - a story that shows us an awful glimpse of the future and then gives us hope that we can avoid such a fate. I first read this book as a teenager, and have since read it (and all her books) dozens of times. It never loses its value.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Singing Anthem's praises
Review: I was given the book "Anthem", by Ann Rand, as a gift by my girl friend while we were both still seniors in High School. Up until that time I had been a voracious reader, but of books that entertained or were part of the Required Reading List. I can't remember a book that had stimulated me the way "Anthem" did, and at the time I wasn't even sure why it had made such an impression on me. At first the story didn't strike me as anything more than a titilating anti-establishment tale, a subject that was being knocked about with a lot of frequency at the time (read the 60s). Interestingly, it was my History class that allowed a light to come on in my understanding of Rand's story and when the story is placed in the context of the world in the 1920s and 30s, I saw the characters in a much different way. The story became an indepth perspective of social structuring that could have existed if history had taken a different turn during the time that Rand had written her book. Objectivism became a new word and my innocent/naive understanding of the battle over idealistic control of our lives took on a more serious comprehension of the consequences of just such ignorance. Rand's use of metaphoric titles in place of names made it easy to follow the process that could generate such a world where individuallity was akin to treason against the collective will. The use of the discovery of light as the vehicle of defiance was not lost on my young mind as the perfect symbolic form of discovering enlightenment. That the protagonists were young and of low social status was, I thought, highly indicative of the view at the time that rebellion and change in our society, could only come from such people, for that is where the seeds of reform can only germinate. Such thinking has since been debunked, but the core determination that individual freedoms, and thus human progression, cannot exist under a prohibitive collective ideology such as Communism or most forms of Socialism will always be true. Rand was staunchly anti-communist. Heady stuff for a young mind, but Rand's story makes the perfect pitch for what could happen if such ideologies prevailed. I found myself bonding with the characters and, to me, that is the mark of a great writer. Rand's "Anthem" is a truely great primer for anyone who wishes to tackle social issues, because first you must understand why you, as an individual, have the ability to even think about doing so. And, yes, that ability is not automatic or a guaranteed right. It's hard fought for, jealously guarded, and requires "eternal vigilance" to maintain.
Review Summary: Classic Individual versus the collective
Review: At first glance, one might think of Huxley's 'Brave New World' but this book goes beyond just showing one course that the future of man might take. 'Anthem' shows the course our future will take if mankind loses the most important aspect of being man - the ability to recognize individuality, the sense of our uniqueness, and the 'I' in us all. Ms. Rand's philosophy of Objectivism is underlined in this one small story - a story that shows us an awful glimpse of the future and then gives us hope that we can avoid such a fate. I first read this book as a teenager, and have since read it (and all her books) dozens of times. It never loses its value.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Singing Anthem's praises
Review: I was given the book "Anthem", by Ann Rand, as a gift by my girl friend while we were both still seniors in High School. Up until that time I had been a voracious reader, but of books that entertained or were part of the Required Reading List. I can't remember a book that had stimulated me the way "Anthem" did, and at the time I wasn't even sure why it had made such an impression on me. At first the story didn't strike me as anything more than a titilating anti-establishment tale, a subject that was being knocked about with a lot of frequency at the time (read the 60s). Interestingly, it was my History class that allowed a light to come on in my understanding of Rand's story and when the story is placed in the context of the world in the 1920s and 30s, I saw the characters in a much different way. The story became an indepth perspective of social structuring that could have existed if history had taken a different turn during the time that Rand had written her book. Objectivism became a new word and my innocent/naive understanding of the battle over idealistic control of our lives took on a more serious comprehension of the consequences of just such ignorance. Rand's use of metaphoric titles in place of names made it easy to follow the process that could generate such a world where individuallity was akin to treason against the collective will. The use of the discovery of light as the vehicle of defiance was not lost on my young mind as the perfect symbolic form of discovering enlightenment. That the protagonists were young and of low social status was, I thought, highly indicative of the view at the time that rebellion and change in our society, could only come from such people, for that is where the seeds of reform can only germinate. Such thinking has since been debunked, but the core determination that individual freedoms, and thus human progression, cannot exist under a prohibitive collective ideology such as Communism or most forms of Socialism will always be true. Rand was staunchly anti-communist. Heady stuff for a young mind, but Rand's story makes the perfect pitch for what could happen if such ideologies prevailed. I found myself bonding with the characters and, to me, that is the mark of a great writer. Rand's "Anthem" is a truely great primer for anyone who wishes to tackle social issues, because first you must understand why you, as an individual, have the ability to even think about doing so. And, yes, that ability is not automatic or a guaranteed right. It's hard fought for, jealously guarded, and requires "eternal vigilance" to maintain.