The Fountainhead

Locations
Call Number: Fiction / Rand, Ayn, Adult Book / Fiction / Classic / Rand, Ayn
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Rand, Ayn	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Rand, Ayn	4-week checkout	Due 05-18-2024
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Rand, Ayn	4-week checkout	Due 04-18-2024
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Classic / Rand, Ayn	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Classic / Rand, Ayn	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Classic / Rand, Ayn	4-week checkout	Due 05-03-2024

Originally published by Bobbs-Merrill.
Here is the story of an intransigent young architect, Howard Roark, of his violent battle against a mindless status quo, and of his explosive love affair with a beautiful woman who worships him yet struggles to defeat him. In order to build his kind of buildings according to his own standards, Roark must fight against every variant of human corruption.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

This Book Should Have More Reviews submitted by Jan Wolter on June 24, 2013, 12:52pm Ayn Rand's philosophy, as expressed in "Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged", is still influential our world, and if you really want to "get it" you kind of have to read it. (I'm reminded of a scene in the movie "Dirty Dancing" where a characters flashes his annotated copy of "Fountainhead" and that pretty much tells us all about him.) When you read it, you need to be prepared to be, at least briefly, convinced by it. A few people adopt it as their life philosophy, but most of us quickly rebound as we notice that Ayn Rand's engaging characters are actually wind-up automatons who in no way resemble actual live people, and if you try to transfer her philosophy to real live people it simply won't go.

So properly there should be about a dozen reviews about this book each saying contradictory things, with the authors all calling each other nasty names. That would give approximately the correct overall impression of the book. It's also an entertaining read if you can somehow refrain from taking it as seriously as it wants to be taken.

A Classic you should read submitted by wendylv on August 10, 2015, 1:40pm I loved this book when I read it in high school (30 years ago!) mostly because it just turned everything I thought I knew on its head. Altruism is bad! Egocentrism is good! Ayn Rand is a great writer--every word, every paragraph is perfect-- even if her philosophy won't hold up for real people trying to live real lives. I agree with Jan's review so someone else will have to write one disagreeing with us!

4 Out Of 5 Stars submitted by Varshini on June 16, 2019, 9:26am Before reading this book, I knew it was about Ayn Rand’s controversial philosophy. To be honest, I didn’t agree with her ideas, but her writing of the novel was great. This book was beautifully written and very interesting. I would definitely recommend it.

Hated the book but I'm glad I read it submitted by lincjohn on June 12, 2023, 8:08am I read this book because I've heard it referenced in political and casual discussions and I figured it was an important read. I think the philosophy was impractical and non-sensical at best, vicious and abhorrent at worst. Because the ideas were so contrary to what most people believe, this book was a useful instrument for examining my own morality and why I believe what I do. It was hard to be invested in the plot because all of the main characters were terrible people. However, now I know what people are talking about when they reference this book or Ayn Rand's philosophy.