The Fountainhead

By: Ayn Rand

Narrated by: Edward Herrmann

Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

The Fountainhead studies the conflict between artistic genius and social convention, a theme Ayn Rand later developed into the idealistic philosophy knows as Objectivism. Rand's hero is Howard Roark, a brilliant young architect who won't compromise his integrity, especially in the unconventional buildings he designs. Roark is engaged in ideological warfare with a society that despises him, an architectural community that doesn't understand him, and a woman who loves him but wants to destroy him. His struggle raises questions about society's attitude toward revolutionaries. Since this book's publication in 1943, Rand's controversial ideas have made her one of the best-selling authors of all time.

©1943 The Bobbs-Merrill Company, renewed 1971 Ayn Rand (P)1994 Penguin-HighBridge Audio

Critic reviews

"Ayn Rand is a writer of great power. She has a subtle and ingenious mind and the capacity of writing brilliantly, beautifully, bitterly." (The New York Times)

Great story

A good reminder of thing’s almost forgotten. We need more stories like this.

The old idea needs new life.

Amazing.

This book was so beautiful in it's themes and in it's message that i have to read it more than once. Ayn Rand is a genius and more important the creator of something truly magnificent. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone in the hopes that they find as much joy, pain, and love in this masterpiece as I have.

Ayn Rand has become my favorite

The first Ayn Rand book I read was Atlas Shrugged and it was amazing. This is Ayn's next best book and it actually is the one that made me a believer that Ayn is not a one hit wonder but an excellent all around author. the person reading was especially good and really gets on the the characters mood. I love everything about this book.

Feeling whole

Edward Herrmann sealed the deal for me whether to listen to this book. It had been on my TBR list for a while. He brought it to life amazingly.

I’m a fan of AR so I really enjoyed the story and characters. But more so, the subject and philosophy make this so much more than an entertaining read.

Captivating story about architects & Manhattan

What did you love best about The Fountainhead?

The detailed description of a person who is totally and uncompromised to his own ideas.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Howard Roar because he never doubts his choices and dont need the blessing of others.

Have you listened to any of Edward Herrmann’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no.

One of the best books I've ever read

this book was tremendous, downloaded audible version for long road trip, made time fly by!

Tribute

Whether you believe in Ayn Rand’s philosophy of the virtues of individualism and the Capitalist way this is an artfully written novel.

One of the great books, but long.

What made the experience of listening to The Fountainhead the most enjoyable?

This book was narrated very well, with excellent clarity.

What about Edward Herrmann’s performance did you like?

The tone and pitch of his voice was perfect for the story. He really captured the essence of all the characters so well that I could not only picture what they looked like, but felt their attitude as well.

If you could take any character from The Fountainhead out to dinner, who would it be and why?

None of them, they are all completely dysfunctional.

Any additional comments?

I've been trying to read (finish) this book for years. Thanks to Audible, I've finally done it.

Competence

This novel is about competence and the value of that to society. It is close to the same story as Atlas Shrugged, and I live that other title better. But would recommend both.

A pleasant recap of the book

Any additional comments?

The full-length book version is my favorite of Ayn Rand's works (having consumed 4 so far). This abridged audio version was a good listen but misses out on some depth (as expected) and excludes at least one character completely (Catherine Halsey).