Other Works by Ayn RandChat with other teachers about Three Plays, The Early Ayn Rand, and Ayn Rand’s non-fiction on our Discussion Board. 
The Early Ayn Rand (1984)This collection includes the first fiction Ayn Rand ever sold—the synopsis of an original 1932 screenplay, Red Pawn. It also contains unpolished, but charming short stories which she wrote in the late 1920s and early 1930s while she was still learning English, and mature works such as the stage plays Think Twice and Ideal and scenes cut from the published edition of The Fountainhead. 
Night of January 16th (1934)This play is a murder trial abounding in plot twists and original devices. The play has two different endings available—to reflect the actual verdict of a jury selected each performance from the audience. 
Three Plays (2005)Published together for the first time, here are Ayn Rand’s three compelling stage plays. Written in 1933, and a Broadway success in 1935, Night of January 16th is presented here in its definitive, final revised text—a superb dramatic objectification of Ayn Rand’s vision of human strength and weakness, a play famous for the author’s refusal to prearrange a dramatized verdict, leaving the solution to the audience. Also included are two of Rand’s unproduced plays: Think Twice (1939), a philosophical murder mystery, and Ideal (1934), the author’s bitter indictment of people’s willingness to betray their highest values, symbolized by a Hollywood goddess seemingly fleeing the authorities. 
The Virtue of Selfishness (1964)Ayn Rand’s revolutionary concept of egoism. Essays on the morality of rational selfishness and the political and social implications of such a moral philosophy. Essays include: “The Objectivist Ethics,” “Man’s Rights,” “The Nature of Government,” “The ‘Conflicts’ of Men’s Interests,” and “Racism.” 
Philosophy: Who Needs It (1982)Everybody needs philosophy—that is the theme of this book. It demonstrates that philosophy is essential in each person’s life, and how those who do not think philosophically are the helpless victims of the ideas they passively accept from others. Essays include the title essay, “Philosophical Detection,” and “Causality Versus Duty.” 
Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal (1966)Essays on the theory and history of capitalism arguing that it is the only moral economic system, i.e., the only one consistent with individual rights and a free society. Includes: “What is Capitalism?” “The Roots of War,” “Conservatism: An Obituary,” and “The Anatomy of Compromise.” 
For the New Intellectual (1961)A collection of the most challenging philosophical statements by the characters in her novels. The 48-page essay sweeps over the history of thought, showing how ideas control civilization and how philosophy has served for the most part as an engine of destruction. 
The Ayn Rand Lexicon (1986)
Edited by Harry Binswanger 
Ayn Rand Answers: The Best of her Q & A (2005)Edited by Robert Mayhew After the publication of Atlas Shrugged in 1957, Ayn Rand turned to nonfiction writing and occasional lecturing. Her aim was to bring her philosophy to a wider audience and to apply it to current cultural and political issues. The taped lectures and the question-and-answer sessions that followed not only added an eloquent new dimension to Ayn Rand’s ideas and beliefs, but a fresh and spontaneous insight into Ayn Rand herself. Ayn Rand Answers is a collection of those enlightening Q & As. Topics covered include ethics, Ernest Hemingway, modern art, Vietnam, Libertarians, Jane Fonda, religious conservatives, Hollywood communists, atheism, Don Quixote, abortion, gun control, love and marriage, Ronald Reagan, pollution, the Middle East, racism and feminism, crime and punishment, capitalism, prostitution, homosexuality, reason and rationality, literature, drug use, freedom of the press, Richard Nixon, New Left militants, HUAC, chess, comedy, suicide, masculinity, Mark Twain, improper questions, and more. 
The Voice of Reason: Essays in Objectivist Thought (1989)Philosophy and cultural analysis, including “Who Is the Final Authority in Ethics?” Also “Religion Versus America” by Leonard Peikoff, and a critique of Libertarianism by Peter Schwartz. 
Return of the Primitive: The Anti-Industrial Revolution (1998)Edited by Peter Schwartz Return of the Primitive updates and expands Ayn Rand’s 1971 book The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution, and presents her identifications of the intellectual roots and goals of the New Left, a “60s ideology opposed to industrial society. In his essays, Peter Schwartz explains how that same philosophy—in a different guise—permeates our culture today. 
The Art of Fiction (2000)Edited by Tore Boeckmann In 1958, Ayn Rand, already the world-famous author of such bestselling books as Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead, gave a private series of extemporaneous lectures in her own living room on the art of fiction. Tore Boeckmann and Leonard Peikoff, for the first time, bring to readers the edited transcript of these exciting personal statements. The Art of Fiction offers invaluable lessons in which Rand analyzes the four essential elements of fiction: theme, plot, characterization, and style. She demonstrates her ideas by dissecting her best-known works, as well as those of other famous authors such as Thomas Wolfe, Sinclair Lewis, and Victor Hugo. An historic accomplishment, this compendium will be a unique and fascinating resource for both writers and readers of fiction. 
The Art of Nonfiction (2001)Edited by Robert Mayhew In 1969 Ayn Rand gave a series of informal lectures on the art of nonfiction to a select group of friends and associates. Guided solely by a brief outline, the world-renowned author discussed all aspects of creating effective nonfiction, a skill she believed could be learned and mastered by any rational person. Now, for the first time, the edited transcripts of these remarkable sessions are available to readers and writers. In The Art of Nonfiction, Rand takes readers step by step through the writing process, providing insightful observations and invaluable techniques along the way. She discusses the psychological aspects of writing and the different roles played by the conscious and the subconscious mind. She talks about articles and books, explaining how to select a subject and theme (“If you have nothing new to say, no matter how brilliantly you can say it, do not do it”); how to identify your audience; and how to write the first draft. From preparing an outline to polishing a draft to mastering an individual writing style, this crucial resource introduces the ideas of one of our most enduring authors to a new generation. This book, an essential companion piece to Ayn Rand‘s The Art of Fiction, is at once a fascinating philosophical discourse on the art of creation and an invaluable guide for the aspiring writer or student. It is a treasure that will challenge and edify and illuminate the way to more powerful writing. 
Letters of Ayn Rand (1995)Edited by Michael S. Berliner This collection of more than 500 letters written by Ayn Rand offers much new information on her life as philosopher, novelist, political activist, and Hollywood screenwriter. Includes letters to fans, friends, Hollywood celebrities, business leaders, and philosophers. 
Journals of Ayn Rand (1997)Edited by David Harriman An extensive collection of Ayn Rand’s thoughts—spanning forty years—on literature and philosophy, including notes on her major novels and on the development of the political philosophy of individualism. Features Ayn Rand’s 1947 HUAC testimony and her notes about Communism in Hollywood. |