One-line summary: Essays on Ayn Rand’s *The Fountainhead* is an important book well worth reading.
I recently read Essays on Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead (2006), edited by Robert Mayhew. I wish I would have read it earlier because it is such a good book.
This collections of essays by numerous Objectivist scholars covers various important aspects of the book. Each essay opens up whole new avenues for understanding not only the novel, but many elements of Objectivism on a deeper level. Some of my favorite essays include: “Humor in The Fountainhead” (by Dr. Mayhew), an exploration of the relationship between Frank Lloyd Wright and Howard Roark (by Michael Berliner), a discussion of the “spirit of youth” (by Benjamin Bayer), two illuminating esthetic essays (by Tore Bookmann), a juxtaposition of Roark with other novelists’ literary heroes (by Shoshana Milgram), an analysis of Roark’s legal case (by Amy Peikoff), and a discussion of the integrity of Roark (by the late Dina Schein Federman)
To me the chief virtue of this book — as well as all the others in this important series that Dr. Mayhew brought forth — is that it really re-immersed me in the world of The Fountainhead. As LP says in his interview (the epilogue of the book):
“What I get from The Fountainhead is the experience of a universe in which I want always to live: a world of ideas, passion, values, drama, creativity—of people of stature, brilliance, achievement”
I highly recommend the book and the others in this series. I hope that they become widely read, discussed, and cited as they represent first-rate scholarship.
