Anne C. Heller has written for such publications as Lear's, Mademoiselle, TriQuarterly, and Esquire. She is the former fiction editor of Esquire and Redbook, and a former executive editor at Conde Nast Publications. She lives in Manhattan.
“Splendid. . . . A cleanly and compellingly written biography of
one of the strangest, most controversial and most widely read
writers of the 20th century.” —San Francisco Chronicle
“A thoughtful, flesh-and-blood portrait of an extremely complicated
and self-contradictory woman, coupling this character study with
literary analysis and plumbing the quirkier depths of Rand’s
prodigious imagination.” —The New York Times
“Heller does a remarkable job with a subject who was almost
cripplingly complex—a real woman starring in her own propaganda
film.” —New York magazine
“[An] outstanding biography that reveals much about a figure who to
this point has been chronicled only by biased disciples.”
—Washington Monthly
“Dramatic and very timely.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Offer[s] ammunition for fans and skeptics alike.” —The Washington
Post
“A thoroughly researched, immensely readable portrait of a sui
generis thinker who was fiercely committed to her ideals yet whose
life contained fascinating contradictions.” —The Wall Street
Journal’s Speakeasy
“The champion of individuality who insisted on obedience and
conformity from her followers (including Alan Greenspan), Rand
emerges from Heller’s superbly vivid, enlightening, and affecting
biography in all her paradoxical power.” —Booklist (starred
review)
“Engrossing and unsparing, an excellent introductory course on Rand
written with a shrewd eye.” —New York Post
“The exploits of Ayn Rand—the Sarah Palin of philosophical
fiction—are made more gripping by Anne Heller’s refusal to treat
her subject as a joke and to accept her as the force she remains in
politics (tea partiers) and to each successive generation of
selfish undergrads.” —Brad Gooch, author of Flannery: A Life of
Flannery O’Connor and frequent contributor to The Daily Beast
“A comprehensive study, in novelistic detail, of Rand’s personal
life.” —Time
“One imagines that Rand would have approved of much of what Heller
has written: the balanced tone of her book, its reasonableness, its
respect for what a struggling Russian refugee accomplished and
achieved. And yet having finished the biography, one can almost
hear the impossible Rand railing against Heller’s failure to award
her the place she always believed she deserved in the pantheon of
the most glorious, solitary, and self-made literary giants.”
—Bookforum
“A thorough recounting of [Rand’s] life and the forces that shaped
her philosophy. . . . Fascinating.” —Dallas Morning News
“Provides important and meaningful insight into the evolution of
Rand’s world view.” —Newsweek
“[A] work of historical scholarship that seek[s] to illuminate
Rand’s complexities rather than simply to support or condemn her.”
—Harper’s Magazine
“Heller takes a dispassionate view of Rand and, in this detailed
portrait, seeks to reveal her as a whole person rather than the
cardboard cutout swathed in legend created by the great lady
herself.” —Bookreporter.com
“Skillful. . . . [A] detailed and engaging portrait of Rand’s
interior life.” —The New Republic
“The picture of Rand that emerges from Ms. Heller’s book is all the
more damning because the biographer is obviously fair-minded and,
indeed, something of an admirer of her subject.” —The New
Criterion
“Worthwhile and engrossing.” —City-Journal
“[An] excellent biography. . . . A vivid yet objective portrait of
this gifted, brilliant, ultimately monstrous author. . . . Brings
to life not only Rand but her circle and their milieu, making the
book readable if only for its glimpse into a not-so-distant past
where serious literature was widely influential, the television
new, the railroad a common mode of travel. It’s strangely quaint to
read about a world without computers or cell telephones, a world
where typists were a must and people wore hats as a matter of
course. Even more extraordinary is [Heller’s] rendition of this
wildly divided woman, who could create some of our most unique
literature yet remain unable to make that most fundamental of
connections: unconditional love for another.” —PopMatters.com
"Splendid. . . . A cleanly and compellingly written biography of
one of the strangest, most controversial and most widely read
writers of the 20th century." -San Francisco
Chronicle
"A thoughtful, flesh-and-blood portrait of an extremely complicated
and self-contradictory woman, coupling this character study with
literary analysis and plumbing the quirkier depths of Rand's
prodigious imagination." -The New York Times
"Heller does a remarkable job with a subject who was almost
cripplingly complex-a real woman starring in her own propaganda
film." -New York magazine
"[An] outstanding biography that reveals much about a figure who to
this point has been chronicled only by biased disciples."
-Washington Monthly
"Dramatic and very timely." -The New York Times Book
Review
"Offer[s] ammunition for fans and skeptics alike." -The
Washington Post
"A thoroughly researched, immensely readable portrait of a sui
generis thinker who was fiercely committed to her ideals yet whose
life contained fascinating contradictions." -The Wall Street
Journal's Speakeasy
"The champion of individuality who insisted on obedience and
conformity from her followers (including Alan Greenspan), Rand
emerges from Heller's superbly vivid, enlightening, and affecting
biography in all her paradoxical power." -Booklist (starred
review)
"Engrossing and unsparing, an excellent introductory course on Rand
written with a shrewd eye." -New York Post
"The exploits of Ayn Rand-the Sarah Palin of philosophical
fiction-are made more gripping by Anne Heller's refusal to treat
her subject as a joke and to accept her as the force she remains in
politics (tea partiers) and to each successive generation of
selfish undergrads." -Brad Gooch, author of Flannery: A Life of
Flannery O'Connor and frequent contributor to The Daily
Beast
"A comprehensive study, in novelistic detail, of Rand's personal
life." -Time
"One imagines that Rand would have approved of much of what Heller
has written: the balanced tone of her book, its reasonableness, its
respect for what a struggling Russian refugee accomplished and
achieved. And yet having finished the biography, one can almost
hear the impossible Rand railing against Heller's failure to award
her the place she always believed she deserved in the pantheon of
the most glorious, solitary, and self-made literary giants."
-Bookforum
"A thorough recounting of [Rand's] life and the forces that shaped
her philosophy. . . . Fascinating." -Dallas Morning News
"Provides important and meaningful insight into the evolution of
Rand's world view." -Newsweek
"[A] work of historical scholarship that seek[s] to illuminate
Rand's complexities rather than simply to support or condemn her."
-Harper's Magazine
"Heller takes a dispassionate view of Rand and, in this detailed
portrait, seeks to reveal her as a whole person rather than the
cardboard cutout swathed in legend created by the great lady
herself." -Bookreporter.com
"Skillful. . . . [A] detailed and engaging portrait of Rand's
interior life." -The New Republic
"The picture of Rand that emerges from Ms. Heller's book is all the
more damning because the biographer is obviously fair-minded and,
indeed, something of an admirer of her subject." -The New
Criterion
"Worthwhile and engrossing." -City-Journal
"[An] excellent biography. . . . A vivid yet objective portrait of
this gifted, brilliant, ultimately monstrous author. . . . Brings
to life not only Rand but her circle and their milieu, making the
book readable if only for its glimpse into a not-so-distant past
where serious literature was widely influential, the television
new, the railroad a common mode of travel. It's strangely quaint to
read about a world without computers or cell telephones, a world
where typists were a must and people wore hats as a matter of
course. Even more extraordinary is [Heller's] rendition of this
wildly divided woman, who could create some of our most unique
literature yet remain unable to make that most fundamental of
connections: unconditional love for another." -PopMatters.com
There is a scene in Heller's biography where the controversial writer Rand and her husband delight in the fact that they can select from the more expensive items on a cafeteria menu after selling the movie rights of The Fountainhead. The scene illustrates Heller's ability to capture the essence of her subject. Rand, never a fan of the poor masses, was elated to remove herself from the mob. Although Heller was denied access to the Ayn Rand Institute's archives, because she is not an advocate for Rand's ideas, she still performs beautifully. Heller conducted over 50 interviews, including three long interviews with Rand's former lover, Nathaniel Branden. She traces Rand's childhood in Russia; her arrival in America; her unconventional marriage to actor Frank O'Connor; her work as a playwright and novelist; the development of objectivism, Rand's philosophy that embraces capitalist individualism and rejects altruism; and her long-standing extramarital affair. VERDICT An impartial, well-documented, and sweeping biography for fans and scholars of Rand; with a bibliography and 100-plus pages of notes.-Stacy Russo, Chapman Univ. Libs., Orange, CA Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
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