• Anthem

  • By: Ayn Rand
  • Narrated by: B. J. Harrison
  • Length: 2 hrs and 16 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (1,878 ratings)

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Anthem  By  cover art

Anthem

By: Ayn Rand
Narrated by: B. J. Harrison
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Publisher's summary

“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.” Deep issues of conscience are explored in Ayn Rand’s dystopian tale of a man who dares to fight against a system that invades his very mind and identity.

Public Domain (P)2009 B.J. Harrison

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What listeners say about Anthem

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Triumphant! A beautiful molding of the mind.

I'm writing this a week later and have already started another book. Though I must say this short book is still ringing in my head. We all know that moment in a good movie, the explosion the bridge brings in a powerful song and the whimsical climax of a well written book.. This book gave me that. Is it for everyone, probably not. If you struggle getting out of your bubble and are so gripped by your own understanding and way of thought.. Find another book. If you can appreciate where this character is in time, where he is coming from and where he ends up.. If you can understand that without the teachings of a god, this is the most precious gift. Understanding ones self. It's beautiful; the explanation of love, friendship, hate, ego and reason you breathe. I can go on and on, but why should I? It's all in this book. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

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16 people found this helpful

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Great read!

I was really surprised. The students were highly engaged from first words! Excited to teach it again.

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11 people found this helpful

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I’m speechless. Must listen. High quality

I listened to this at 1.75x speed and had the accompanying book with it and followed along. This book is absolutely incredible. If only everyone in America would read this as we approach an election where we are openly considering socialism. The last few chapters were damn chilling. I near loosed a tear.

The narration at that speed was INCREDIBLE. B.J. Harrison nailed this. Im actually going to try and listen to more from him! Also, my first Ayn Rand text. I’ll be reading all her works next.

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10 people found this helpful

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Very captivating

Intelligent and life changing. Shows just how important individual liberty is in society. I was moved and inspired

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9 people found this helpful

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Can't believe I slept on this in highschool

Excellent book, in today's climate this book hits especially deep where more and more people are starting to believe in the collective and discouraging others from becoming exceptional. Its a nice reminder of what could happen if everything was done in the efforts of equality through mutual destruction.

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Test your tolerance for Ayn Rand

Anthem is a good starting point for Ayn Rand's novels.
Dip your does into Objectivism with Anthem to see if you agree with her preachings.
It is short enough to tolerate if it does not sit well with you but will leave you wanting more if it does, especially with Anthem's strong ending.

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6 people found this helpful

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Love

Starts off super confusing but if you try to understand then your mind will be blown.

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Too short but powerful!

It had everything I needed in a small bite sized package with a great moral and lesson to the story.

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Skip to the last chapter if you want philosophy

Bit o' a slog, but the last chapter summarizes Rand's philophy with concision. Listened to this just to find out more about her worldview.

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Nietzsche on steroids

There's not really a story in this book. Sure there's something about a light bulb, and a street cleaner and other odds and ends that unfold in a Spartan like world similar to what Plato laid out in his Republic. The story is only there to bring out Rand's absolutist (Objectivism) worldview.

Love at first sight is the only love she seems to recognize, equality is bad and liberty (freedom) is the only pure good, the ego rules supreme, our lives must have work in order to be happy, and a variation of the Galtism "I swear by my life and love of it, that I will never sacrifice for another and neither expect some one to do the same for me". All of Rand's themes that pop up in her other books, pop up within this short book. At first one loves that kind of talk, but then one realizes she really means it. Freedom as a goal in itself for just the sake of freedom is sort of silly. Sometimes equality matters sometimes we feel like hugging that horse when it gets beaten (Nietzsche's last sane act). To think otherwise is to always remain a fifth grader.

This book was Nietzsche on steroids. Their premises are different but their conclusions definitely overlap. Both clearly have a post-modern and anti-humanist take on the world and each dislike major aspects of the Enlightenment. Nietzsche, of course, is not an absolutist, but his 'will to power' is a primal scream returning us to our true instincts for the value of the individual over the group and Rand would embrace that part of his philosophy as well as a lot of other things within Nietzsche's philosophy.

The nicest thing about this book was that it was mercifully short.


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