The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand (EPUB)

Description

The revolutionary literary vision that sowed the seeds of Objectivism, Ayn Rand’s groundbreaking philosophy, and brought her immediate worldwide acclaim.This modern classic is the story of intransigent young architect Howard Roark, whose integrity was as unyielding as granite…of Dominique Francon, the exquisitely beautiful woman who loved Roark passionately, but married his worst enemy…and of the fanatic denunciation unleashed by an enraged society against a great creator. As fresh today as it was then, Rand’s provocative novel presents one of the most challenging ideas in all of fiction—that man’s ego is the fountainhead of human progress…“A writer of great power. She has a subtle and ingenious mind and the capacity of writing brilliantly, beautifully, bitterly…This is the only novel of ideas written by an American woman that I can recall.”—The New York Times

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐For the review:The ability to read this book across devices is invaluable! I can read this book on my kindle, on my iPhone while waiting in line, on the PC on my desktop, and even listen to the audible version while I stand on a crowded subway. The WhisperSync feature is nearly perfect and the only glitch that occurs is when there is no coverage in the subway. This is a very enjoyable way to read books and the transition between reading and listening is so seamless that it begins to feel very natural. You can read a long book like this much more quickly this way.The novel is one of ideas, ways of looking at life, and a story of characters who live those ideals.Quotes:First, from the introduction:”This is the motive and purpose of my writing: the projection of an ideal man.””IT is a sense of enormous expectation, the sense that one’s life is important, that great achievements are within one’s capacity, and that great things lie ahead.””The Fountainhead’s lasting appeal: it is a confirmation of the spirit of youth, proclaiming man’s glory, showing how much is possible.””It does not matter that only a few in each generation will grasp and achieve the full reality of man’s proper stature – and that the rest will betray it. It is those few that move the world and give life its meaning. The rest are no concern of mine, it is not me or The Fountainhead that they will betray: it is their own souls.”First sentence:”Howard Roark laughed.””My dear follow, who will let you?” “That’s not the point. The point is, who will stop me?”Roark:”I can find the joy only if I do my work in the best way possible to me. But the best is a matter of standards – and I set my own standards.””I don’t propose to force or be forced. Those who want me will come to me.””You’ve made a mistake already. By asking me. By asking anyone. Never ask people. Not about your work. Don’t you know what you want? How can you stand it, not to know? How can you let others decide for you?””One can’t collaborate on one’s own job. I can co-operate, with the workers who erect my buildings. But I can’t help them to lay bricks and they can’t help me to design the house.””I don’t believe in government housing. I don’t want to hear anything about its noble purposes. I don’t think they’re noble.””The only thing that matters, my goal, my reward, my beginning, my end is the work itself. My work done my way.””When you suspend your faculty of independent judgement, you suspend consciousness.””Every form of happiness is private. Our greatest moments are personal, self-motivated, not to be touched. The things which are sacred or precious to us are the things we withdraw from promiscuous sharing.”On Dominique Francon and her first relations with Roark:”the sensation of a defiling pleasure.””the exaggerated fragility of her body against the sky.””He stood looking up at her; it was not a glance, but an act of ownership.””She thought of being broken- not by a man she admired, but by a man she loathed. She let her head fall down on her arm; the thought left her weak with pleasure.””He did it not as love, but as defilement. And this made her lie still and submit.””The act of a master taking shameful, contemptuous possession of her was the kind of rapture she had wanted.””She had found joy in her revulsion, in her terror and his strength. That was the degradation she had wanted.””Through the fierce sense of humiliation, the words gave her the same kind of pleasure she had felt in his arms.””when they were in bed together it was – as it had to be, as the nature of the act demanded – an act of violence. It was surrender mad the more complete by the force of their resistance.”She even wrote: “Howard Roark is the Marquis de Sade of Architecture.””He defeated her by admitting her power.””She felt no thrill of conquest; she felt herself owned more than ever.”Roark’s apartment:”His new home was one large room in a small, modern apartment house on a quiet street. His room contained a few pieces of simple furniture; it looked clean, vast and empty; one expected to hear echoes from its corners.”Roark’s office:”His staff loved him. They did not realize it and would have been shocked to apply such a term as love to their cold, unapproachable, inhuman boss. But working with him, they knew that he was none of these things, but they could not explain, neither what he was nor what they felt for him.””He responded only to the essence of a man: to his creative capacity. In this office one had to be competent. But if a man worked well, he needed nothing else to win his employer’s benevolence: it was granted, not as a gift, but as a debt. It was granted, not as affection, but as recognition. It bred an immense feeling of self-respect within every man in that office.””They knew only, in a dim way, that it was not loyalty to him, but to the best within themselves.”Ellsworth Toohey:”Reason can be fought with reason. How are you going to fight with the unreasonable?””To write a good play and to have it praised is nothing. Anybody with talent can do that- and talent is a glandular accident. But to write a piece of crap and have it praised – will, you can’t match that.”Gail Wynand:”The man humbled his own wealth.””When I look at the ocean, I feel the greatness of man.””I would give the greatest sunset in the world for one sight of New York’s skyline.””The sky over New York and the will of man, made visible. What other religion do we need? Is it beauty and genius they want to see? Do they seek a sense of the sublime? Let them come to New York, stand on the shore of the Hudson, look and kneel.””I never meet the men whose work I love. The work means too much to me. I don’t want the men to spoil it. They usually do. They’re an anticlimax to their own talent.””Anger made me work harder.””The walls of Wynand’s office were made of cork and copper paneling and had never borne any pictures.”

⭐The Fountainhead is known as one of the most politically influential books of the twentieth century, giving rise to the libertarian and conservative movements. Although my own outlook on life is at odds with these movements, I thought I should read it nonetheless.As to the story aspects of the novel, the general framework is compelling. A lead character who is true to his ideals, however unduly rigid they may be. A feminine protagonist, who is a remarkably independent woman for a novel written in the 1940’s. A dominating, Hearst-like publisher who has essentially a bromance with the lead character. A wide assortment of hypocritical intellectuals in the arts and politics.But there are drawbacks to the story. The book is nearly twice as long as typical novels. It is unduly wordy at times, particularly in the multi-page soliloquies of some of the characters. Also, Rand unfortunately portrayed the characters in black and white, with no nuance.The real alarming aspect of the book is its political outlook. Charity is “the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on mankind.” Collegial work on projects is terrible. Blowing up buildings, because of artistic objections, is just fine. And so forth. Here are some repugnant excerpts from the book. A person who lives to help others “is a parasite.” The concept of serving people is worse than enslaving them. The sole goal of leaders is to enslave others. “Civilization is the process of setting man free from man.” “The world is perishing from an orgy of self-sacrificing.”It’s frightening that this book is seen as a beacon by so many political figures in our country.

⭐As with Atlas Shrugged, you cannot put this book down. It’s power is in how the story continues to keep you going, just one more page…

⭐I’ve been re-reading some classics of socio-political fiction, including 1984 and Brave New World. This one fits right in. It’s amazing in 2022 how prescient they all seem. Of course the characters and settings are dated, but the ideas …. They are as timely, if not more so, as ever.

⭐My favorite by Ayn rand is Atlas Shrugged but some say this is the better book. You decide.

⭐THERE ARE SO MANY REVIEWS ABOUT CONTENT OF THE BOOK. HERE I AM SHARING DETAILS ABOUT DIFFERENT EDITION OF THIS BOOK.THERE are GENERALLY 4 TYPES OF EDITION . ( PHYSICAL BOOKS )1) MASS MARKET PAPERBACK 2) PAPERBACK 3) HARDCOVER 4) LIBRARY BINDINGTHE SURPRISING PART IS THAT THE FOUNTAINHEAD HAVE 730 PAGES. AND ALL EDITION CONTAIN SAME NUMBER OF PAGES.( GENERALLY THERE IS SOME DIFFERENCE)1) MASS MARKET PAPERBACK :- A Mass market paperback is very small size book. published by publisher too decrease the cost of production and final price. HERE THE mrp is 400 rs. for 730 pages , and because of this the quality of the book is very low . and also the main problem is FONT which is very very very small ,( because large content in very small book) . so for fountainhead i do not suggest you to buy this edition.(there are some other mass market paperback of different books are available , but font in those books are good like ‘to kill a mockingbird’) ISBN :- 978-04511911512) PAPERBACK :- paperbacks are general sized book. the size varies with publishers . but for penguin it is generally 19.6 cm long and 12.7 cm width. there are two different editions according to two different Contries. USA And UK.first one is fountainhead published by penguin uk modern classics. i prefer this edition to purchase. because the size is large compare mass market paperback and have 19.6 cm length and 13 cm width. The font is small but compare to mass market paperback , font is good. The paper quality is also good.(not great) binding is also good. But the main thing is price. Price is great . This edition is available for 200 to 400 rs. Which is great thing because book is printed in UK. ( Indian printing is cheap)The us edition was published by PLUME. The size is large compare to UK paperback. But the price is very high . You have to import the book. So I suggest you don’t go for this Edition.ISBN Penguin UK edition :- 978-0141188621ISBN USA PLUME edition :- 97804522733373) HARDCOVER :- the Hardcovers are generally most expensive one .because of sewn binding and hard cover. The fountainhead Hardcover edition is published by Penguin USA under centennial Hardcover edition. The book is big . But contain same no. Of pages. So if you are in love with the fountainhead and want to collect it then go for this edition.for this you have to search ” Ayn Rand Hardcover” on amazon.in ( otherwise you will not find this book ) this will cost you -between 1000 to 2000. You can also import this edition from Amazon.co.ukISBN Hardcover Edition:-978-04522867574) Library Binding :- These are Mass market paperback in the cloths of low quality Hard Cover. So here , soft cover of a mass market paperback is Removed and then a low quality Hard cover is attached to same mass market paperback. This is done by third party . In the case of fountainhead it is done by TURTLEBACK book. Do not go for this edition. As they are made from mass market paperback .fonts are too small. And too close.this edition does not deserve ISBN , waste of moneyIn short best value for money edition is penguin uk edition.Penguin uk edition link The Fountainhead (Penguin Modern Classics) https://www.amazon.in/dp/0141188626/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_9APJBb3V66CH6Thank You.Images1) comparison of mass market paperback and paperback2) fountainhead uk3) fountainhead Plume USA4) library binding5) hardcover6) comparison of massmarket paperback , paperback and hardcover.7) aboslutely brilliant editionp.s. :- the font in THE UK edition is also small, but compare to mass market paperback fonts are good. this problem is because of the content,that is the content of the book is very large, so if a publisher decides to publish this book with big fonts, the book will easily take 1100-1200 pages . and in that case , the book may become very expensive.edit 1 :- I Purchased hardcover edition of ATLAS SHRUGGED And it is absolutely brilliant , in all aspects. ( image 6 and 7 )there is another paperback edition of The Fountainhead. which is published in USA . have similar cover and size same as hardcover. ( ISBN for this paperback edition is 9780452286375)

⭐So boring it’s not even funny. It reminded me of a fun joke that sums up the book and makes it more entertaining:Ayn Rand, Rand Paul, and Paul Ryan walk into a bar. The bartender serves them tainted alcohol because there are no regulations. They die.

⭐One of the best books ever written… Ayn Rand is not for everybody… I don’t know, I can’t guarantee you that you might like this… The first time when I read this book when I was a college kid, I wasn’t immediately interested, took way too long to slowly complete… Now when I bought and read it again, i couldn’t stop reading it.. It’s beautiful in it’s own way… If you come this far in finding this book and reading my review, I do believe this is definitely worth a shot for you… After all what life is, if it is without little risks….

⭐I started reading the Fountainhead because I came across the author’s name and the term “Randian” a number of times during a short time. (I am from Finland, where Rand is not well known.) I was intrigued by her reputation as a die hard defender of individualism and capitalism and thought that reading her would be relevant amid all the debate over bankers’ bonuses, bailouts and the future of the welfare state. I also sometimes wonder about the virtues of individualism on a personal level, which made me all the more interested in reading about Rand’s characters, who symbolise individualism and its rival “ideologies.” The lives and fates of the characters reveal Rand’s take on the merits, implications and outcomes of the thought systems that they each embody.The novel’s hero is Howard Roark, an architect who is the archetype of individualism. Career-wise he is talented, passionate, and uncorrupted: he will not compromise his artistic vision in order to get a lucrative commission no matter how dire a financial strait he is in. He is similarly pure in all facets of life, refusing to feign friendship with anyone, or to sacrifice himself for anyone even though this often causes him much trouble and suffering. Roark’s life is noble and contrasts sharply with that of his peer since college, Peter Keating, who symbolises the spinelessness that most people possess to some degree. Unlike Roark, Keating lives for everyone but himself: as an architect, he has no style of his own and craves recognition rather than self-expression. Even in his love life, the most personal thing of all, he lets the opinions of others dictate his actions. Although he has an influential network and is a member of high society, Keating’s relations with people are hollow and unfulfilling, whereas Roark’s are meaningful and deep.Roark’s real antagonist is Toohey the socialist. Unlike Keating, who cannot articulate the reasons for his discomfort with Roark, Toohey understands Roark perfectly and despises all that he represents. Roark exudes strength and independence; Toohey has always protected and sided with the weak (both in his personal life and professionally, as a socialist agitator and writer). He is one of the few who recognises Roark’s genius, but is intent on destroying him. In Toohey’s opinion, Roark and his wonderful buildings would not inspire and elevate the rest of the population, but rather depress them by showing them what greatness people are capable of, but which they themselves never will be. Toohey advocates the sacrifice of individual achievement and self-expression to egalitarianism through mediocrity, and is portrayed as the most despicable character of the novel. The life of his niece, Catherine, demonstrates the result of living according to Toohey’s philosophy. She devotes herself to her career as a social worker, completely abandoning her own needs in favour of those of societys’ weakest members. Rather than finding the fulfilment that Toohey promised she would in relieving herself of her own ego, she feels bitter and empty to the point of losing her humanity. There could be no clearer indictment of socialism than this. Rand suggests that if, by contrast, everyone lived like Roark and pursued their own self-interest, all human relations would be purer and people would be happier and more fully human. This is, of course, the classic argument for capitalism.Rand’s worldview is very black and white. As many have noted, her characters are one-dimensional vehicles to express ideas, and are hardly realistic. Roark is presented as the ideal human being and seems to have no internal contradictions or flaws, while Keating lacks any redeeming qualities. Rand seems to be very contemptuous of the average person, represented in the novel by the mindless readers of a filthy tabloid newspaper called the Gazette. She idealizes Roark’s strength, creativity and resolution but has no regard for other values such as kindness, cooperation and altruism. This, of course, is her point: that it would be best for individuals and society if everyone uncompromisingly pursued their own interest. This idea has been acknowledged as overly-simplified in economics, and I think it is also that on an individual level. In my opinion, altruism, cooperation and wanting to be accepted by others are fundamental aspects of human nature, albeit more present in some people than others. The quality of seeking others’ approval, which Rand so scorns in Keating, has been seen by for example Adam Smith as the very glue that holds our society together and creates the basis of our morality.Precisely because of its polarization, The Fountainhead is extremely thought-provoking and inspiring. It does not surprise me that many people have described it as a life-changing work: who couldn’t help but admire someone as strong, free and independent as Roark. Although I do not believe that it would be possible or desirable for everyone to become like him, I do think that most people would benefit from trying to adopt some of his qualities. In this sense the fountainhead is very inspiring and perhaps for some, life-changing. It is also a very engaging and entertaining read which touches upon debates that are relevant today. I highly recommend it.

⭐I first read this book in the 1950s. A fine and important book if a little long. However this Kindle version is a travesty. Whoever formatted it for Kindle did a terrible job. I’m amazed it was not checked before it was put out. Some of the more obvious errors. Conversations between two people not given separate lines, in conversations which often run for several pages . No indication of sub chapters, by normal space and indication; ie a *. Pages sometimes only half full even if in the middle of a scene, that is continued on the next page. Uneven line spacing throughout, even temporary changes in font. I’ve been meaning to send this review for some time now, but have been very busy, and have now forgotten all the numerous irritating errors. This Kindle version is simply a waste of money. I’m a great Kindle fan, so that’s hard to say.

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