Anthem
by Ayn Rand
published
September 1st 1961
(first published 1938)
by Signet
edit
binding
Paperback
isbn
0451078462
(isbn13: 9780451078469)
description
Ayn Rand's powerful, thought-provoking novel.
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of this book.
discuss this book
| topics | replies | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Next Best Boo...: OFFICIAL FALL CHALLENGE | 355 | 258 | 41 minutes ago | |
| The Next Best Boo...: OFFICIAL FALL CHALLENGE | 355 | 258 | 41 minutes ago | |
| The Next Best Boo...: OFFICIAL FALL CHALLENGE | 355 | 258 | 41 minutes ago | |
| books for a buck: Borders Bargain Blow-Out and MORE!!! | 7 | 16 | 10 days ago, 12:43AM |
groups with this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
Where's the love? Add this book to your favorite list.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 8591)
Read in February, 2008
recommended to Jason by:
Sean Fransonrecommends it for: Everyone
I have recently become interested in the writings of Ayn Rand. Following my completion of “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie, I read “Anthem” since it was free on the internet and I would not have to wait to check it out from the library.
My first impression of the story was one of horror. The world that Rand describes where humanity exists as a collective without individuals is from my nightmares, and close to the ideas I had after reading “The Naked Communist” by W. C...more
My first impression of the story was one of horror. The world that Rand describes where humanity exists as a collective without individuals is from my nightmares, and close to the ideas I had after reading “The Naked Communist” by W. C...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1990
This book really helped me get my self esteem back together. This was my mantra going into college.... I think it got me through a lot of BS. It is not bad to remind yourself of the following things every once in a while.....
"I am. I think. I will.
My hands . . . My spirit . . . My sky . . . My forest . . . This earth of mine. . . . What must I say besides? These are the words. This is the answer.
I stand here on the summit of the mountain. I lift my head and I spread my arms. ...more
"I am. I think. I will.
My hands . . . My spirit . . . My sky . . . My forest . . . This earth of mine. . . . What must I say besides? These are the words. This is the answer.
I stand here on the summit of the mountain. I lift my head and I spread my arms. ...more
Like this review?
yes
(2 people liked it)
add a comment
Read in November, 2007
The book is about human identity and freedom, and how one can degrade under the chains of collectivism.
A lot of reviews on this book, which are posted on this site, use the word “futuristic” events. I intentionally put the quotes around this word as I tend to totally disagree with the choice of this word. I used to live under socialist regime, a collectivistic society. So I can relate and completely understand the events described in the book, where the word “I” doesn’t exist, when...more
A lot of reviews on this book, which are posted on this site, use the word “futuristic” events. I intentionally put the quotes around this word as I tend to totally disagree with the choice of this word. I used to live under socialist regime, a collectivistic society. So I can relate and completely understand the events described in the book, where the word “I” doesn’t exist, when...more
Like this review?
yes
(4 people liked it)
1 comments
Read in June, 2008
Another Librivox recording.
This is my first taste, so to speak, of Rand's work. And it was interesting, unnerving and better than I thought.
Official summary:
Anthem is a dystopic science fiction story taking place at some unspecified future date. Mankind has entered another dark age as a result of what Rand saw as the weaknesses of socialistic thinking and economics. Technological advancement is now carefully planned (when it is allowed to occur, if at all) and the concept of individu...more
This is my first taste, so to speak, of Rand's work. And it was interesting, unnerving and better than I thought.
Official summary:
Anthem is a dystopic science fiction story taking place at some unspecified future date. Mankind has entered another dark age as a result of what Rand saw as the weaknesses of socialistic thinking and economics. Technological advancement is now carefully planned (when it is allowed to occur, if at all) and the concept of individu...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
My colleagues seem to like this book. It would be politically correct for me to smile and nod in agreement, but I gather from their reviews of this novel, the dystopic assertions made by Ms. Rand through her numerically-monikered protagonist gives me the shelter I need to speak curtly my opinion of this effort. Therefore, I will risk the possibility of an ironic shunning for saying that this book did not do a dang thing for me.
It's not that the themes that Rand so blatantly and starkly conv...more
It's not that the themes that Rand so blatantly and starkly conv...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in February, 2007
recommends it for:
young adult lit fans, teachers,
I would recommend this book to teachers and 7th – 10th graders (There is an essay contest for 9th & 10th graders)
Quotation:
-- It is a sin to write this. It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon a paper no others are to see. It is base and evil. It is as if we were speaking along to no ears but our own. And we know well that there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone.
The Concept:
The novella Anthem starts with Equality 7-252...more
Quotation:
-- It is a sin to write this. It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon a paper no others are to see. It is base and evil. It is as if we were speaking along to no ears but our own. And we know well that there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone.
The Concept:
The novella Anthem starts with Equality 7-252...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
Ayn Rand wrote this in the author's forward in the United States release of Anthem. I find it amazing how potent these words are not only when she wrote them, but also today.
The greatest guilt of today is that of people who accept collectivism by moral default; the people who seek protection from the necessity of taking a stand, by refusing to admit to themselves the nature of that which they are accepting; the people who support plans specifically designed to achieve serfdom, but hide behind the empty assertion that they are lovers of freedom, with no concrete meaning attached to the word; the people who believe that the content of ideas need not be examined, that principles need not be defined, and that facts can be eliminated by keeping one's eyes shut. They expect, when they find themselves in a world of bloody ruins and concentration camps, to escape moral responsibility by wailing: "But I didn't mean this!" ...more
The greatest guilt of today is that of people who accept collectivism by moral default; the people who seek protection from the necessity of taking a stand, by refusing to admit to themselves the nature of that which they are accepting; the people who support plans specifically designed to achieve serfdom, but hide behind the empty assertion that they are lovers of freedom, with no concrete meaning attached to the word; the people who believe that the content of ideas need not be examined, that principles need not be defined, and that facts can be eliminated by keeping one's eyes shut. They expect, when they find themselves in a world of bloody ruins and concentration camps, to escape moral responsibility by wailing: "But I didn't mean this!" ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2000
recommends it for:
all
Sorry I tell the ending:
Ayn Rand’s Anthem takes place in the undated future – where individuality is non-existent. The word “I” does not exist, people talk only as the collective "we" and are identified by numbers. The short novel is about one man who is able to escape this society. It starts with a recounting of his childhood and how he was the smartest and quickest of his peers. Although he wanted to be a part of the scholars – he is sent to be a street sweeper - he views...more
Ayn Rand’s Anthem takes place in the undated future – where individuality is non-existent. The word “I” does not exist, people talk only as the collective "we" and are identified by numbers. The short novel is about one man who is able to escape this society. It starts with a recounting of his childhood and how he was the smartest and quickest of his peers. Although he wanted to be a part of the scholars – he is sent to be a street sweeper - he views...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
2 comments
The sky is like a black sieve pierced by silver drops that tremble, ready to burst through.
There is fear hanging in the air of the sleeping halls, and the air of the streets. Fear walks through the city, fear without name, without shape. All men feel it and none dare speak.
I stand here on the summit of the mountain. I lift my head and I spread my arms. This, my body and spirit, this is the end of the quest. I wished to know the meaning of all things. I am the meaning. I wished to find a ...more
There is fear hanging in the air of the sleeping halls, and the air of the streets. Fear walks through the city, fear without name, without shape. All men feel it and none dare speak.
I stand here on the summit of the mountain. I lift my head and I spread my arms. This, my body and spirit, this is the end of the quest. I wished to know the meaning of all things. I am the meaning. I wished to find a ...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in May, 2008
May's book club selection is Anthem by Ayn Rand. I was surprised at how short the book was - the edition I ordered actually has 2 versions in it (one edited for reprint in America and the original w/ markings from the author), so it looks twice as long as it really is. I finished the book in 2 workouts - now that's my kind of book :-)! No, but really it was quite interesting, offering a glimpse into how a society in which the individual means nothing and the good of the group is priority would b...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Neither a science-fiction masterpiece, nor a futuristic predicament, ANTHEM is a personal reaction to the collectivist system, dominant in Soviet Union and its modernized colonies for more than seven decades. Assumed too much reactionary by leftist intellectuals for rather a long time, it depicts the apocalyptic chaos in a world ruled by collectivist thoughts in the same way that Orwell’s 1984 builds it (for instance, you can think of a world after a nuclear crisis and then come to the meaning...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in June, 2005
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2006
I’d been meaning to read some more Ayn Rand ever since I finished Sewer, Gas, and Electric: The Public Works Trilogy, which includes a 6-page synopsis of Atlas Shrugged. Oh, and one of the characters is a virtual Ayn Rand that exists inside an electronic lantern. Anthem trumpets a familiar Randian theme: Everything good about the world derives from individuality and personal freedom. There is nothing particularly noteworthy about Anthem, but it does smell a bit like Corporate America. And it c...more
Like this review?
yes
(3 people liked it)
add a comment
Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
people who believe in uniqueness
I loved this book because it showed the importance of being an individual. In a world where the word "I" is non-existant, the Golden One and Equality 7-2521 strive to find a way to seperate themselves from the monotonous world around them. It showed how are society could become if we all continue to try to be "normal." In discovering the tunnel he discovers education and this leads him to the ever important trait of individuality. This shows the importance of education and ho...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Reading this novella was like reading "dystopian-lite" literature, if there were such a thing. Having read plenty of dystopian lit in my life, I was disappointed at how stark and on-the-nose was Ayn Rand's treatment of the horrors of collectivism. Frankly, I think Orwell, Atwood, and even Lowry have done a better job discussing the impact of these "futuristic" societies on their characters, and perhaps that's why I enjoyed them more. Equality-whatever the numer was did not...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Has a copy to sell/swap
recommended to Krystal by:
Sam Ankenbauerrecommends it for: anyone
Anthem is the perfect introduction to Ayn Rand and her wonderful, almost lyrical way of writing. Throughout the (very short) novel, nuggets of insight and quotables pop up frequently out of the blue, and the last 30 pages are some of the best I've ever read. The novel concerns Equality 7-2521, who, in step with Ayn Rand's philosophical system of Objectivism, has no purpose, other than to street-sweep, and has no sense of being an individual. As the novel goes on, Equality 7-2521 does unthinkable...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1995
recommends it for:
oblivious egotists
The real tragedy of this book is that the billions of copies that have been printed could have been more appropriately used to build homes for people in third world countries. This book could not be more self indulgent if it came with a bottle of Absynthe and a membership to MENSA. Not only is it impossibly boring to read, the characters are so one dimensional that they put V.C. Andrews to shame. Do yourself a favor: set this on fire and use the fourteen hours that it burns to read Martin's Song...more
Like this review?
yes
(4 people liked it)
8 comments
Read in April, 2006
recommends it for:
individualists and free spirits
Ayn Rand has a very distinctive personal philosophy, and it really shows in this book. If you don't want to read the massive, 3000+ page <i>Atlas Shrugged<i> or <i>The Fountainhead<i>, this brief novel is a good introduction to her way of thinking.
Basically, <i>Anthem<i> is set in a dystopian future where individuality is banned (everyone must refer to him/herself in the first person plural), electricity is not used (everything that happens is done by man...more
Basically, <i>Anthem<i> is set in a dystopian future where individuality is banned (everyone must refer to him/herself in the first person plural), electricity is not used (everything that happens is done by man...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in January, 1993
One of my all time favorites!!! Very realistic (in my opinion) and terrifyingly beautiful.
Anthem tells the story of a man who rediscovers the individualism and his own "I" - in a world of absolute collectivization, a world where sightless, joyless, selfless men exist for the sake of serving the State; where their work, their food and their mating are prescribed to them by order of the Collective's rulers in the name of society's welfare - a world which has lost all the achiev...more
Anthem tells the story of a man who rediscovers the individualism and his own "I" - in a world of absolute collectivization, a world where sightless, joyless, selfless men exist for the sake of serving the State; where their work, their food and their mating are prescribed to them by order of the Collective's rulers in the name of society's welfare - a world which has lost all the achiev...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment