About this title: The controversial author Ayn Rand reasons the nature of art and its purpose in human life. Challenging conventional ideas, Rand searches for truth through her own unique philosophy.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Signet, N. Y.
Date Published: 1975
ISBN-13:9780451149169ISBN:0451149165
Description: Cover Art. Very Good. Vintage Paperback. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. The cover has very little shelf wear...........We are very careful when we list our books, but sometimes something minor may get by. read more
Edition: 2nd REV ed.
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Signet Book
Date Published: 1971
ISBN-13:9780451149169ISBN:0451149165
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Minor shelf and edgewear. Pages have a patina. Still very readable. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 200 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Edition: Revised Edition
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Signet-New American Library
Date Published: 1975
ISBN-13:9780451149169ISBN:0451149165
Description: Very Good. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. Lt. corner, edge wear. Pages fine, no writing. Rand throws a new light on the nature of art and its purpose in human life. Demonstrates her bold originality and her refusal to let populat catchwords and conventional ideas stand between her and the truth as she has discovered it. Rand presents a case against both naturalistic and abstract art. Underlying this treatise is the objectivist philosophy which has placed Ayn Rand in the mainstream of American thought. ... read more
Description: Good. Light shelving wear with minimal damage to cover and bindings. Pages show minor use. Help save a tree. Buy all your used books from Green Earth Books. Read. Recycle and Reuse! read more
Edition: 2nd REV ed.
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Signet Book
Date Published: 1971
ISBN-13:9780451149169ISBN:0451149165
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. Excellent copy. There is yellowing around the edges. The cover has nice square corners with a minor crease on the back. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 200 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Edition: Second Revised Edition
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Signet, New York, New York USA
Date Published: 1975
ISBN-13:9780451149169ISBN:0451149165
Description: Very Good. Nice claen Massmarket Paperback book. Minor shelfwear to cover pages. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Signet
Date Published: 1971
ISBN-13:9780451149169ISBN:0451149165
Description: Very Good. 0451149165. Very minor wear. Clean cover and pages, tight binding. Pasadena's finest independent new and used bookstore. Literature.; 0.6 x 6.7 x 4.5 Inches; 200 pages. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: New Amer Library, E Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1975
ISBN-13:9780451149169ISBN:0451149165
Description: Good + 16mo-over 5¾"-6¾" tall. Please email us if you would like further information or if you would like us to send you a picture of the book. Thanks for looking! read more
Description: Trade Paperback. 7 x 4 1/4. ISBN: 0-451-14916-5. 185 pp. + index. Subtitled: A philosophy of literature. Revised and updated to include art and cognition. Cover with watercolour painting of rust plumed angel/bird. ". Ayn Rand throws a new light on the nature of art and its purpose in human life. " Slight creases to corners. Lightly read. Overall cond. v. good. read more
"With this one, Rand really jumped the shark for me.
I was willing to try her philosophical essays in The Virtue of Selfishness, and I read a couple of her novels as well. But, the zealous condemning of whole branches of art and literature, because it didn't fit with her idea of what art should do? Condemning Dostoyevski and embracing James Bond? Not that there's anything wrong with Ian Flemming, mind you . . .
To make it clear what I'm arguing AGAINST, let me tell you the thesis Rand is arguing in this one: Art should glorify mankind, and relish in his good qualities. It shouldn't attempt to make us empathetic towards those who aren't righteous, because the dregs of society aren't a worthy subject of literature.
If that's what she wants to read, I am fine with that. But I like the dregs! The dregs are so much more interesting! Because it is the imperfect characters that make us work as readers and as writers. Through meditating on imperfection, we are forced to confront our own. And, we are forced to be empathetic (at least a little bit) to characters like Humbert Humbert and Raskolnikov (however you spell his name). So, while we can all look up to that bitter, womanizing 007 for his pimpjuice and his manliness (they may be synonyms, but I'm not going to ask the O.E.D. or Nelly to find out), we can ALSO read about less idealized characters and be reminded that people are complex and most have a combination of good and bad in them.
In sum, I believe that different sorts of art speak to different sorts of people, and equally intelligent people can read for very different reasons. (I know, I know. I've made fun of Twilight in at least five book reviews. But, that's just because it's inconsistent, sappy and perverse . . damn! There I go again. What I meant to say is, it's all in good fun.) So, I think it is remarkably silly for anyone to spend a whole book arguing why one aesthetic sensibility is more valid or morally sound than another.
And tomorrow, I'm going to tell you why R Scott Bakker is the author you should be reading right now, why he is flagbearer for a renaissance in the genre of fantasy, and why those who aren't reading it right now are tools and morons."
"An interesting look into Rand's thoughts on how her philosophy is expressed in the arts. It was up and down for me. I saw a lot of sense in her ideas surrounding the literary arts. I'm glad I read the book. The short story in the last chapter was a great way to finish."
"For anyone who's never understood so-called modern art and thinks art critics in general are idiots, this book generally supports that conclusion and gives lots of reasons why modern art really isn't art at all. In many places this book serves as a platform for Rand to espouse her personal tastes through the veil of her philosophy and condemn anything that doesn't fit. Overall, though, she makes some very valid points about what qualifies a work to be called "art" in the first place and then, what separates the good art from the bad art. I don't agree with some of her more pointed declarations -- for example, photography and ethnic dance forms are not valid art forms in her view -- but I appreciate the framework she uses to define what art is and means to rational humans."
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