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Post 0

Saturday, November 26 - 4:51pm

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I am looking for a biography of AR that covers her personal life. I would prefer it to be mainly about her life and not written by an sycophant nor a deconstructionist out to debunk her.

Post 1

Saturday, November 26 - 5:10pm

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It doesn't yet exist.

Although Jeff Britting's book is neutral it is not in-depth. The rest are partisan to one degree or another or deal more with her philosophy.

Wait 20 years. (Man, do I hope I'm wrong about this last.)

Post 2

Monday, November 28 - 5:33pm

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If you don't want to wait 20 years :-), Barbara Branden's _The Passion of Ayn Rand_ is the closest there is to a neutral biography. If you are not aware of their relationship, Barbara was a close friend of Ayn's for many years until their relationship ended badly in the late 60s.. The book has elements of "factual" storytelling, but because of Barbara's personal history with Ayn, it also entails Barbara's subjective perspective.

Post 3

Monday, November 28 - 8:52pm

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Anne Heller is also working on a biography of Rand. And I think someone from ARI is, too. Given the controversial nature of Rand, and disagreements concerning her personality even among Objectivists, your best bet might be to try several biographies taking different viewpoints. Then you would have a better overview than if you just read one that someone else certified as being "neutral".

-Bill

Post 4

Tuesday, November 29 - 1:57am

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(Shudder.) If you do read the Brandens' books, please read The Passion of Ayn Rand's Critics, as well. Then you can make up your own mind about what you can trust that the Brandens wrote about Rand.

Post 5

Tuesday, November 29 - 8:06am

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Ali,

I should add that I must respectfully disagree with Walter on this one. The Passion of Ayn Rand was written by a woman who claims to have been victimized by Rand. In places it is quite vindictive, with enough praise for Rand thrown in at random to give the false impression that it is "balanced" and "objective". It contains some internal contradictions and, according to someone I know who worked for Rand after the break with the Brandens, contains anecdotes of her later life that are pure inventions of the author. A number of people who were mentioned in it have praised it with the caveat that the details of their lives as recounted in it are quite inaccurate. The lack of accuracy in details that can be checked by third parties makes it almost useless, in my opinion, as a record of the real or alleged private conversations and other events to which there are no longer any living witnesses other than the Brandens. Overall, it is a very sloppy and partisan work covered by a veneer of clever writing skill.

If you do read it, I suggest doing so only after reading other biographical material on her and hopefully listening to some recordings of her public appearances and/or lecture series appearances.

Material sold under the auspices of ARI, like Paxton's Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life, are interesting in their own way, but tend towards adulation and are flawed by a whitewash of the whole NBI period and an unwillingness to come to grips with (or even to mention) Nathaniel Branden's influence on Objectivism. This makes the experience of watching the movie version of Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life a little like watching a history of the Soviet space program.

And if you aren't familiar with Rand's own fiction and nonfiction, I would place those as a higher priority than any biographies. A good bet might be to focus on those while waiting for the newer biographies to come out.

-Bill

(Edited by William A. Nevin III on 11/29, 8:07am)

(Edited by William A. Nevin III on 11/29, 8:07am)

Post 6

Tuesday, November 29 - 8:56am

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Ali,

I am repeating the following from the other thread with identical title, since this seems to be the one that has been given attention.

I would suggest you go here and read through whatever you wish. Richard Lawrence has done a top-notch job of keeping most of the pertinent information, both positive and negative, that is out there on both Rand and Objectivism on his site, the Objectivism Reference Center.

As this site has no affiliation with any of the Objectivist factions that I can discern, I find it extremely objective and a wonderful source of information. His "Biographical FAQ" is very good and to the point - and in my opinion, as a short overview, very, very, very good.

As an added thought, I respectfully disagree with the value attributed to The Passion of Ayn Rand by the last two gentlemen. If it is read as an autobiography/biography, it is a magnificent work.

It will give you a pretty good timeline of the events in Rand's life, a list of non-Objectivist people whom Rand did influence in the world (by 1988), a wonderful portrait of the early Rand and her struggles through The Fountainhead, a first-hand insider account of the writing of Atlas Shrugged days and NBI days and following, and a pretty good idea of the personal impact of Rand on one disciple. There are many other virtues to that book.

I will not need to state any criticisms since this has been done constantly on the Valliant threads and even on this one.

I do agree that it should be supplemented with other works, though. But that would be true for any of the other works you read about Rand.

There is nothing like using your own mind to judge what is out there.

Good luck to you and happy reading.

Michael

(Edited by Michael Stuart Kelly on 11/29, 8:59am)

Post 7

Tuesday, November 29 - 7:13pm

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These are the biographies I�ve selected so far:
1. The Passion of Ayn Rand by Barbara Branden
2. Ayn Rand: The Russian Radical by Chris Matthew Sciabarra,
3. The Passion of Ayn Rand�s Critics by James S. Valliant

I�ve ordered the first one and I am going to buy the next two after Christmas. I�ve already read her major works of fiction and her collections of essays.

I am distressed to learn that this site is going to morph, disappear or something the day after tomorrow. Too bad too because SOLO is one of the better Randian discussion forums on the net.

Thank you for your input one and all.

Ali Hassan Massoud

Post 8

Tuesday, November 29 - 5:11pm

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Just WHAT did Barbara Branden invent? I am asking for references not in PARC. If you can't say why did you speak?

It is obvious to me that while Ayn Rand appears to be more innocent regarding the start of her affair with NB than the Brandens came to think, a great injustice was done to Barbara Branden and Frank O'Connor by Ayn Rand and to a lesser extent by Nathaniel, who was also something of a victim. The whole thing was just too bad.

I said a while back that PARC would slap back to hit Rand in a great irony to the stated purposes of James Valliant. It has.

--Brant

Post 9

Tuesday, November 29 - 7:53pm

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Ali,

You chose most wisely. Congratulations. Read them all, then use your own mind. (Boy, do I respect that!)

I still highly recommend the Objectivism Reference Center for a huge amount of free online material, including many texts by Rand herself.

You will also find collections of links to material criticizing Objectivism, which provide much food for thought. (I strongly believe that a sound philosophy must be able to stand up to good criticism, so I am all in favor of examining this stuff, despite disagreeing with it.)

btw - I have no relationship, not even as a friend, to the site's owner. I just admire his work.

Michael

Post 10

Tuesday, November 29 - 8:45pm

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Brant,

She invented things like the dialogue between the doctor who diagnosed her lung cancer and Rand -- something Barbara could not have witnessed. That's just an obvious example.

Ayn Rand Biography Recommendations