Search - Anthem

This is another one of those books that I read a long time ago, but that stays in my mind. To me, that is the mark of a truly good book. The negative utopia as seen in this book is only a short distance away if we don't learn that government is here to work for us, and not that we are here to work for the government. Like 1984, this book shows what can happen to a society that gets too dependent on its government. You lose your identity and all that is dear to you. Although it is a very small book, there is a lot of meat in those few pages. I would argue that this tiny novel has as much to contribute as Ayn Rand's other famous (and gigantic) work, The Fountainhead.

WOW...it has been years since i have read this book but it will leave you breathless like all of her other books.
it is a story of a man's escape from a society that has become homoginized. a great read

Is this Ayn Rand's shortest book? No, that was We the Living. This is a good one--better than Atlas Shrugged. If you have to choose one Ayn Rand book to read, I suggest The Fountainhead; this is the second one I would recommend. Her themes are repetitous and blunt--she is hardly subtle, and is even cartoonish in places. But everyone should read at least one Rand book, just to know what his or her teenager is brooding about. :) Perfect for the late-adolescent sensibility, and the ideas are interesting, if delivered in a bit of a bludgeoning style.

After starting, and eventually giving up on Ayn Rand’s novel, Atlas Shrugged, I was hesitant to pick up another of her books. However, Anthem came highly recommended and it’s more of a novella, as just a fraction of the size of other Rand novels.

I absolutely loved Anthem and I’m so glad that I gave it a shot. I am not a fast reader, and I easily finished the entire book in one day. It’s written in short bursts, a stark contrast to the drawn out paragraphs and dialogues that make up Atlas Shrugged. The story is concise, and powerful. It’s takes a little time to get used to the style of the writing, but the story line easily carries the reader into Rand’s fictional, futuristic, collective society.

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Nice short sample of Ayn Rand's writing. This book shows us what might happen once society decides to outlaw individuality in favor of the common good. Like all of Ayn Rand's writings, this book is a political commentary on the tangible and emotional benefits of capitalism and individuality. It is very well written, quite interesting plot and never dry. One of my pre teens really liked it while the other (most likely because he was assigned to read it) did not.