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Book SynopsisAyn Rand remains a truly significant figure of modern philosophy. Her unique vision of a world in which man, relying on reason, acts wholly for his own good is skillfully developed and illustrated in her most famous novels, Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. But Rand''s first novel, We the Living, a lesser-known but no less important book, offers an early form of the author''s nascent philosophythe philosophy Rand later called Objectivism.In the second edition, Robert Mayhew once again brings together pre-eminent scholars of Rand''s writing. The edition includes three new chapters, as well as an epilogue by renowned Rand-scholar Leonard Peikoff. In part a history of We the Living, from its earliest drafts to the Italian film later based upon it, Mayhew''s collection goes on to explore the enduring significance of Rand''s first novel as a work both of philosophy and of literature. For Ayn Rand scholars and fans alike, this enhanced second edition is a compelling examination of a nov
Trade ReviewWith his edited collections of essays on Ayn Rand’s novels, Professor Mayhew has set a new standard for scholarship on these important and works, which have too often been ignored by academia. Essays on Ayn Rand’s We the Living was the first of these groundbreaking collections, and the second edition adds to what was already an illuminating volume several new essays that exemplify the increasing sophistication that this series has contributed to our understanding of Rand as a novelist and philosopher. -- Gregory Salmieri, University of North Carolina
Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments Bibliographical Note Part 1: The History of We the Living Chapter 1: From Airtight to We the Living: The Drafts of Ayn Rand’s First Novel by Shoshana Milgram Chapter 2: Parallel Lives: Models and Inspirations for Characters in We the Living by Scott McConnell Chapter 3: We the Living and the Rosenbaum Family Letters by Dina Schein Federman Chapter 4: The Education of Kira Argounova and Leo Kovalensky by Shoshana Milgram Chapter 5: Russian Revolutionary Ideology and We the Living by John Ridpath Chapter 6: The Music of We the Living by Michael S. Berliner Chapter 7: Publishing We the Living by Richard E. Ralston Chapter 8: Reviews of We the Living by Michael S. Berliner Chapter 9: Adapting We the Living by Jeff Britting Chapter 10: We the Living: ‘36 and ‘59 by Robert Mayhew Part 2: We the Living as Literature and as Philosophy Chapter 11: We the Living and Victor Hugo: Ayn Rand’s First Novel and the Novelist She Ranked First by Shoshana Milgram Chapter 12: Red Pawn: Ayn Rand’s other Story of Soviet Russia by Jena Trammell Chapter 13: The Integration of Plot and Theme in We the Living by Andrew Bernstein Chapter 14: The sacred in We the Living by Robert Mayhew Chapter 15: The Plight of Leo Kovalensky by Onkar Ghate Chapter 16: Kira’s Family by John David Lewis Chapter 17: Kira Argounova Laughed: Humor and Joy in We the Living by Robert Mayhew Chapter 18: Forbidding Life to Those Still Living by Tara Smith Chapter 19: The Death Premise in We the Living and Atlas Shrugged by Onkar Ghate Epilogue: Introduction to We the Living by Leonard Peikoff Select Bibliography Index About the Contributors
