Ayn Rand:

Philosopher and Novelist

Ayn Rand was a novelist & philosopher whose brilliant fiction & non-fiction have made her a major intellectual figure in the latter half of the 20th Century. She was especially popular in the heady 1960's, even to the point of being interviewed on the Johnny Carson show. She died in 1982, but now in the 1990's her work seems as popular as ever.

As an intellectual figure, Ayn Rand strove to set forth her uniquely integrated philosophy, which she named Objectivism. Her novels and non-fiction essays dramatize and explain, respectively, her view of life.

Ayn Rand believed strongly in our human potential. Her view of life has captured the heart of many people, especially young people, who read her novels and are inspired by the heroic characters therein.

Ayn Rand was born in Russia in 1908 and came to America soon after the Russian Revolution and the birth of the Soviet Union. She started as a screenplay writer and then moved on to novels. Her most famous novel is The Fountainhead, followed closely by Atlas Shrugged. After writing Atlas Shrugged, she stopped writing novels, choosing to present her philosophy through non-fiction.

For more information, here is a good resource: the biography page of The Ayn Rand Institute.