As always, I celebrate Ayn Rand’s birthday, February 2nd, by opening one of her novels to a random page and reading a passage. Here is one of the passages, from The Fountainhead, that I read today (Part 2, Chapter VI). “And, my dear,” asked Kiki Holcombe, “what did you think of that new one, you know, I […]
I am primarily a writer, but sometimes I will edit a book by special request. In 2019 I edited America’s Revolutionary Mind: A Moral History of the American Revolution and the Declaration That Defined It, a landmark book by C. Bradley Thompson. (See my brief review.) This year I edited the forthcoming novel, Variations on a Noble Theme, […]
I celebrate Atlas Shrugged Day (September 2) each year by opening to a random page of Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand, and reading a passage. Here is what I found today, on pages 97–98 of the hardcover book (New York: Random House, 1957), Part I, Chapter V (“The Climax of the D’Anconias”): When Francisco left, that summer, […]
As always, I celebrate Ayn Rand’s birthday, February 2nd, by opening one of Ayn Rand’s novels to a random page and reading a passage. Today, I opened The Fountainhead to this passage (Ayn Rand ([1943] 1994, 191, Part 1, Chapter XV). “Look Peter, I believe you. I know that you have nothing to gain by saying this. I […]
I celebrate Atlas Shrugged Day (September 2) each year by opening to a random page of Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand, and reading a passage. Here is what I found today, on page 790 of the hardcover book (New York: Random House, 1957), Part III, Chapter II (“The Utopia of Greed”): Of any one person, of any […]
As is my custom, I celebrate the birthday of Ayn Rand (February 2) by opening one of her novels to a random page and reading. Here is something I read today, from The Fountainhead, Part Two, Chapter 5: She went out alone for long walks. She walked fast, her hands in the pockets of an old […]
I celebrate Atlas Shrugged Day (September 2) each year by opening to a random page of Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand, and reading a passage. Here is what I found today, on page 362 of the hardcover book (New York: Random House, 1957), Part II, Chapter I (“The Man Who Belonged on Earth”): The young boy from […]
I posted this message on Facebook in August 2018 and again in August 2019. The message is especially important in 2020, with civilization under assault. Are you an artist who loves beauty, not ugliness; virtues, not flaws; heroes, not mediocrities; integrity, not contradictions; clarity, not ambiguity; aspiration, not futility; romance, not promiscuity; eloquence, not vulgarity; […]
First, I am nearly done with my book on epistemology, which has been nearly thirty years in the making. An advance copy is now being read by colleagues. Here is a draft of the cover. While colleagues have been reading, I have sought an alternative to in-person performances of my one-man show, which have been […]
Soul Celebrations and Spiritual Snacks, by my friend Alexandra York, is a book of “secular spirituality.” This new book is a systematic collection of educated, rational, and emotionally evocative exercises and best practices for cultivating one’s love for nature and for the highest elements of mankind—in art and romance—for the purpose of reaping sublime rewards […]