Anthem Mass Market Paperback – March 1, 1996

I've read The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, and now this one. As someone who was born in communism I can relate to the every word. She should be studied in Schools

In this dystopian society, one man stands alone. He believes in a better world. One where it is not a crime to love a woman. One where stating your idea is not a death sentence. In the dark world he lives in he is looking for a way to make it light again.The short novella, Anthem by Ayn Rand was published in 1938. Ayn submitted it two an American and an English publishing firm, but in the end the publishing firm Cassell located in England published the book. This book contains 52 pages. This book follows the life of Equality 7-2521 as he tries to survive in the dystopian society he was born into.Equality 7-2521 is the main character of the book. He has two friends, Union 5-3992 and International 4-8818. They found an entrance to an old tunnel in their assigned work area. Equality 7-2521 is a street sweeper. He is a very intelligent man, however he learned things too quickly and asked too many questions. As a result, the Council of Vocations assigned him the job of street cleaner as a punishment for his intelligence. With this newly discovered tunnel, he started preforming scientific experiments. He stole some paper and started writing his findings in a journal. While cleaning the streets Equality 7-2521 meets a woman with the name, Liberty 5-3000. The two discover that they love each other, however in their society you do not love each other, man and woman cannot even talk to each other. In his experiments Equality 7-2521 rediscovers electricity. He decides to take his finding to the World Council of Scholars, in the hope they will be impressed and amazed by his discovery. However, this is not the case. They sentence him to death. Before they could catch him, he runs into the Uncharted Forest, where he is joined by Liberty 5-3000. They live their lives together in the forest and discover what they can about life before their dystopian society.Throughout most of the people refer to themselves as “we” instead of “I.” In this society they removed the words “I,” and “You.” They believed that individuality was a sign of ego. The fact that the society, thought referring to yourself with “I” would get rid of a person’s individuality is absurd. A person’ individuality comes from the way a person acts. For example in the book, Equality 7-2521 expressed his individuality through his scientific experiments. Yes, he could not state that he, himself accomplished his experiments. But he still did it himself. It was not a group of people doing these experiments. Therefore, he was still expressing his individuality. The society did not successfully take away a person’s individuality, just by removing the words, “I” and “You.” Equality 7-2521 still found a way to express himself in his own way.This book was an enjoyable read. I liked the dystopian society. I would recommend this book to young adults. I liked that this dystopian society took a way the words “I” and “You.” While they thought that this would take away a person’s individuality it did not. I liked that the viewpoints switched from First Person to Third Person throughout the story. It provided a unique perspective. Also, I liked that the focused of the story stayed on Equality 7-2521. Yes, he feel in love with a woman, but it did not become a love story. The book stayed focused on the dystopian society and the issues that Equality 7-2521 found wrong in the society.

A very good story on the importance of individuality. Would certainly recommend this Rand book over even The Fountainhead. Much easier for someone just getting into Objectivism or philosophy in general to digest while still getting the key message across.

This is the first Ayn Rand book for me, now I want to read more of her work. It is a short but powerful book. A lot of ideas feel like they were written about modern society. 5 stars!

In 1962 I wrote a paper for a social science class at the University of California, Berkeley, in which I quoted from "Anthem". The teaching assistant gave me an "F' on the paper and a "B" in the class. She explained that (although I should normally get an "A") she could not reward a student who would dare to quote from Ayn Rand. Of course, the TA was a Communist, who proudly explained that she was the third generation of her family to bear that honorable distinction.I was conservative even then, but Anthem was like a bright light showing me the way out of the dark shadows of socialism that blighted Berkeley. Of course, it led me to read "Atlas Shrugged" and other works by Ayn Rand, but it is always "Anthem" that I remember as a turning point in my thinking life.This is a short book that concisely expresses the ideal of the individual. I feel sorry for all those humanists and socialists who think of themselves as mere cells in a larger organism. As I have matured and grown older, I realize more than ever that it is the individual, exercising his free will, that moves and improves society. The secret is to have a collection of individualists that form a unit without subordinating that individuality to the desires of the unit.Ayn Rand was an Utopian, and never (to my satisfaction) explained how her highly individualistic vision could be implimented without anarchy. In fact, her ideas remind me of the concept of a well-regulated organization of anarchists, each willing to give up his freedom to act in the sacred cause of anarchy. I know that saying this will offend the true believers.But even with these reservations, I consider "Anthem" to be my own personal lodestone, by which I judge and expect to be judged. It is an ideal, perhaps unrealistic, but a great ideal at that.

If you’re new to Ayn Randy’s works then this is a quick way to learn the basics of Objectivism. The story and characters aren’t great, but then they’re not really the point: the point is to make you think about the role of an individual in society, and whether society is capable of making the individual’s life better or if individuals make life better for all society.I give it three stars because it just get sort of average, but to be honest I’m not entirely sure what I expected from such a short book she wrote so early in her career.If you’ve never read any of her other works then perhaps this book could serve as a quick introduction her philosophy to see whether or not you like it before reading “The Fountainhead” or “Atlas Shrugged.” If you’ve read either of those already, however, then it’s unnecessary for you to read this as well.