Books Sorted by Rating

Gotthelf reports that the book (a collection of papers delivered to the Ayn Rand Society of the APA) has gone to the publishers (University of Pittsburgh Press).  It's the first volume in the Ayn Rand Society Philosophical Papers.  No publication date given.  <eom> (See the whole review)

After half a century, the original lecture series on Objectivism is now available in book form, with new commentary by the author and a forward by Barbara Branden. Paperback copies of the book will start shipping to those who pre-ordered the book on 12/12/2009. Order from the Laissez Faire books website: For ten years--from 1958 to... (See the whole review)

Suppose that two strangers have agreed to an exchange that must be kept secret. They agree on the money price for the good being exchanged, and they agree on separate pickup locations for the money and the good. The purchaser of the good then calculates: If I leave the money and she leaves the good, that is good (R = reward for cooperation). But if... (See the whole review)

Morality within the Limits of Reason Russell Hardin (Chicago 1988) The Economics of Rights, Co-Operation and Welfare Robert Sugden (Oxford 1986, Palgrave Macmillan 2005) Russell Hardin and Robert Sugden have independently employed game theory to expand our understanding of human rights. The relevance of game theory to rights the... (See the whole review)

This precursor of Atlas Shrugged anticipated the election of a Socialist Labour government in the United Kingdom. First published in 1907, action takes place about 1918 and a few years later.  Ernest Bramah Smith wrote adventure and detective books, dime novels.  This work shows many of the those features.  The workmanship is uneven.  The story was... (See the whole review)

Essays on Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged Robert Mayhew, editor (Lexington 2009) One contribution to this collection is Michael Berliner’s “The Atlas Shrugged Reviews.” He “describes the generally hostile nature of the reviews the novel received, and underscores that this hostility came as much from the Right as it did from the Left” (x). Ye... (See the whole review)

This small book is simply fantastic and fun to read. It also contains some interesting observations.

Did you buy your ticket yet? Only $200,000 to see the Earth from Space.

The Myth of the Robber Barons describes the role of key entrepreneurs in the economic growth of the United States from 1850 to 1910. The entrepreneurs studied are Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, James J. Hill, Andrew Mellon, Charles Schwab, and the Scranton family. Most historians argue that these men, and others like them, were Robber B... (See the whole review)

This is the only 19th century book describing Russia which was forbidden in Soviet Union. Normally they loved the criticism of czarist time, but somehow this book analysis was easily applied to them. I remember reading big portions of it typed on typewriter and secretly distributed through SamIzdat. Now I have it on my book-shelve and nobod... (See the whole review)

After Adam Smith A Century of Transformation in Politics and Political Economy Murray Milgate and Shannon C. Stimson (Princeton 2009) From the publisher: Few issues are more central to our present predicaments than the relationship between economics and politics. After Adam Smith looks at how politics and political economy were a... (See the whole review)

Yesterday I finished reading Financial Fiasco. There are other good books about the recent financial crisis covering different aspects of it -- the drama, the bankers, the rating agencies and especially "Wall Street." "Wall Street" makes a good scapegoat for those in Washington, D.C. (The book does not hold Wall Street innocent.) Published ... (See the whole review)

I had the good fortune to attend the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) 1982-84. It was the first state residential high school of its kind to specialize in recruiting extremely bright, self-motivated, rising eleventh graders for an intense, two year program of rigorous coursework. Unfortunately, I found the history departme... (See the whole review)

Put this in your Rand-sighting file: "Egoless Egoists: The Second-Hand Lives of Mad Men" by Robert White, published in Mad Men and Philosophy: Nothing Is as It Seems (part of the Philosophy and Pop Culture Series.) Much of Mad Men fits the theme of The Fountainhead in its expose of second-handers, and White gets it right: "Presumably, Coo... (See the whole review)

The human race may not survive the agricultural revolution.    “This book is not just about agriculture,” Manning writes, “but about the fundamental dehumanization that occurred with agriculture.”  ... (See the whole review)

Like the subtitle indicates, this book is about induction. When and why is the inference from "some" to "all" legitimate? The narratives about some famous scientists arriving at their inductive generalizations are interesting and illuminating. There are ones about Benjamin Franklin, Kepler, Galileo, Newton, atomic theory, and chemistry. Harriman's ... (See the whole review)

I heard the author, Star Parker, interviewed on Sean Hannity today. She literally blew me away. I am recommending this book before even reading it because of how impressed, how in awe, I already am of her. She was so poignant, so prescient. I know of only one other woman -- a prominent mid-20th Century novelist/philosopher who will go unnam... (See the whole review)

I just got an email from Charles, who created this graphic novel based on Ayn Rand's Anthem.  I haven't read it, but it's a good idea.  That book in particular seems appropriate for a visual presentation.  The author says he coordinated with ARI on this project, so it seems like it will be a fair interpretation.  If anyone has read it yet, please l... (See the whole review)

Finally, a housing crisis book that really names names!

(Passing this along from my inbox) ... (See the whole review)

Philosophy in World Perspective David A. Dilworth (Yale 1989) What the publisher said of this book on the back cover is exactly right:In this original work of systematic philosophy, David Dilworth places the major texts of Western and Oriental philosophy and religion, both ancient and modern, into one comparative framework. His study reve... (See the whole review)

I just bought this book and will report on it here after I get some time to read it ...

My review is on Amazon. If you find it helpful, please click the Yes button.

Book Description: ... (See the whole review)

This is a great book with a lot of interesting content.  The theme of the book is why we should be optimistic about the future. ... (See the whole review)

This was an interesting and though-provoking book.  The book discusses predictions about the future.  Obviously there are religious predictions, but talking heads on TV are constantly making predictions.  There are many books out there that make predictions.  The author brings up several familiar names, like Paul Ehrlich and Peter Schiff.  He descr... (See the whole review)

Selected quote from the back panel of the book: "Professor Buechner presents a new theory of price in this book. A lifelong admirer of Ayn Rand, he has built his theory on her philosophy of Objectivism and created an original conception of the economy and how it works. His book is written for the economist or noneconomist, particularly for t... (See the whole review)

Kira Peikoff is Leonard Peikoff's daughter. See the endorsement by #1 best selling novelist Lee Child.

The book states, "While healthy, smart, happy, successful, virtuous parents tend to have matching offspring, the reason is largely nature, not nurture." Hopefully, it will help encourage more rationally selfish people to have more kids. World demographics are trending toward a shrinkage in their numbers and huge increases among populations ... (See the whole review)

"Dennis Hastert ... had a 104-acre farm in Shipman, Illinois, worth between $50,000 and $100,000. His other assets amounted to no more than $170,000. He remained at a similar level until he became Speaker of the House. (1) But by the time he set down the Speaker's gavel, he was substantially better off than when he entered office, with a reported n... (See the whole review)

Does anyone out there know about this?  It looks interesting, though maybe not worth the price for non-specialists.  Rand gets a few mentions. (See the whole review)

Dickens pioneered serialization and responded to public demand.  Not our favorite writer, he nonetheless is to be lauded as a capitalist among authors. ... (See the whole review)

Freedom is living your life the way you want to live it. ... (See the whole review)

Shameless self promotion, but just for fun. Last year, I wrote this for my own pleasure, truly as a form of self therapy. It was great fun, nothing else. It is not even remotely political, although, some politics does manage to sneak into the cracks and crevices. It is primarily a story about a young man with a positive attitu... (See the whole review)

I just finished reading this book and put my review of it on Amazon. If you find my review helpful, please click on the Yes button below my review.

Maybe it is only my love for economic and social freedom, but I quickly developed strong interest in Meira Pentermann's characters. Communication, trust, and much more are severely hampered in her vision of America swaying strongly towards socialism. Terrible to be in a such a situation, fortunately so far in history these economically self defeati... (See the whole review)

I have just finished this hot-off-the-press book. I can summarize it in one word, "sneering." He sneers at Objectivism, Rand, libertarianism and the Tea Party from the first page to the last. Weiss's goal is to show how the "cult" of Rand has influenced the Tea Party movement and the resurgence of "extreme" right wing politics. He acknowledges the ... (See the whole review)

Bought this yesterday, finished it last night. Was drawn to it because of the interest by my 24 year old son. IMO, one of the most wildly effective political books aimed at modern youth ever. And, this is great, fantastic news for Ayn Rand fans. It's crystal clear depiction of heroic individuals in the face of an oppressive to... (See the whole review)

The DIM Hypothesis Leonard Peikoff (2012) The representation of Kant’s philosophy in this book is grossly out of balance, and in this it is like Leonard Peikoff’s earlier representations and those of Ayn Rand. Some errors in intellectual history may not affect Dr. Peikoff’s DIM hypothesis itself. It is easy to imagine that his... (See the whole review)

This transcription of lectures from 1983 may prove less satisfying to those who have considered themselves at least "students of Objectivism" for the past 30 years.  ... (See the whole review)

Here is a related video and short article. ... (See the whole review)

http://atimetobetray.com/ I just finished reading this book by Reza Kahlili, a very compelling book about his life, the tragic downfall of Iran into madness and his time spent as a CIA mole within the Revolutionary Guard.

Ayn Rand Explained From Tyranny to Tea Party Ronald E. Merrill, author Marsha Familaro Enright, editor (2012 Open Court) Description at Amazon Ayn Rand Explained is an engrossing account of the life, work, and influence of Ayn Rand: her career, from youth in Soviet Russia to Hollywood screenwriter and then to ideological g... (See the whole review)

Haven't yet picked up the book, but was impressed by radio interviews of Shapiro.

Since Socrates and Plato, there have been philosophers arguing that morality is a requirement of rationality. Kant made an original and influential pitch for such a thesis. James Sterba, professor of philosophy at Notre Dame, makes his own attempt in From Rationality to Equality (Oxford 2013), hewing closer to Kant’s conception of the way morality ... (See the whole review)

I am an Objectivist and the author of this book. This is a short ebook on how to be happier! It is for Objectivists and Non-Objectivists alike. The advice is centered around a single (but complicated) summary paragraph. The meaning of that paragraph is then explained and explored for the remainer of the book. The book also contains a more usef... (See the whole review)

William W. Beach's back-cover comment (taken from Amazon): ... (See the whole review)

The American Pragmatists looks excellent. There is a very informative review of it here. I'm getting this one (re: a, b, c, d, e). (See the whole review)

My review of the book is on Amazon. The book does not mention Ayn Rand or her moral defense of capitalism.

My grandfather's memoir - finally published! I loaded a lot of information into Amazon pages. Also check out Kirkus review: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/aleksandr-konstantinovich-sokolenko/keep-forever/