Anthem: The Original 1938 Unabridged and Complete Edition (Ayn Rand Classics)

Picked this up for free on Kindle. I've always meant to read it as it is reportedly the basis of Rush's album 2112 but never got around to it. Anyway, forty years later, I've finally ticked it off my list.I found the book very interesting: well written, with some interesting ideas. I'm not convinced, however, by the story's assertion that the only way for individuals to live is for themselves and no one else. Community and society, Rand seems to be saying, take from us the very things that give our lives meaning. 'I' is more important than 'we'. Obviously, the society described in the book has taken 'we' to ridiculous extremes and removed any traces of individuality. The story's protagonist can't understand how or why humanity gave away the total freedom he has come to associate with 'I', only to replace it with the chains associated with 'we'. Perhaps it is because the society based solely on 'I' and 'me' didn't work particularly well either.As I said, thought-provoking. Well worth a read, though, and probably the most accessible introduction to Ayn Rand's philosophical system of individuality and Objectivism.

Amazing book that makes you rethink and value just how free we are in our current lives. Amazing. Great read.

Exploration of the simplicity and purity of individual thought against the stagnation of groupthink. Very thought-provoking and a portent to Rand’s future works.

A good quick read. It lays down some of the ideas found in her other works. Power lives with the individual not the masses.

I dream of being in the house, outside the walls they escape to. This is a top 10 book for me. I digest Ayn Rand differently than most people.

This is either a short story or a novella but basically a one seating read. What if Fahrenheit 451 met Bastiat's Broken Window Fallacy? If you want an easy read that is also thought provoking look here. If you want a complex plot or a surprise twist look elsewhere. Personally, I loved it!