Ayn Rand Book summary

 

Alice O’Connor was born in St. Petersburg, Russia on February 2, 1905, to a bourgeoise family. She was educated in Russia and suffered firsthand the atrocities of the communist government of Russia. After the October Revolution by the Bolsheviks, Alice’s family business was seized by the government, which reduced the family to complete poverty. She spent a little time in Crimea, but eventually returned to Petersburg, which was called Petrograd by that time. She studied history and screenwriting while she was in Russia, despite many challenges to her education due to her bourgeois background. Alice journeyed to the US in 1926 and resolved to remain in the country as she strived to become a screenwriter for Hollywood. She married an American actor and received her American citizenship by 1931.

Ayn Rand spent most of her life putting forward a philosophy that she had christened Objectivism. She severely criticized all forms of Collectivism and considered herself more a political figure than a literary figure. She was a staunch supporter of Lassiez-Faire capitalism, as is evident from her most famous literary work, Atlas Shrugged.