Other editions of book ANTHEM

Anthem is a dystopian fiction novella by Ayn Rand, written in 1937 and first published in 1938 in the United Kingdom. The story takes place at an unspecified future date when mankind has entered another Dark Age. Technological advancement is now carefully planned and the concept of individuality has been eliminated. A young man known as Equality 7-2521 rebels by doing secret scientific research. When his activity is discovered, he flees into the wilderness with the girl he loves. Together they plan to establish a new society based on rediscovered individualism.Rand originally conceived of the story as a play, then decided to write for magazine publication. At her agent's suggestion, she submitted it to book publishers. The novella was first published by Cassell in England. It was published in the United States only after Rand's next novel, The Fountainhead, became a best seller. Rand revised the text for the US edition, which was published in 1946.

Anthem is Ayn Rand’s classic tale of a dystopian future of the great “We”—a world that deprives individuals of a name or independence—that anticipates her later masterpieces, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.They existed only to serve the state. They were conceived in controlled Palaces of Mating. They died in the Home of the Useless. From cradle to grave, the crowd was one—the great WE.In all that was left of humanity there was only one man who dared to think, seek, and love. He lived in the dark ages of the future. In a loveless world, he dared to love the woman of his choice. In an age that had lost all trace of science and civilization, he had the courage to seek and find knowledge. But these were not the crimes for which he would be hunted. He was marked for death because he had committed the unpardonable sin: He had stood forth from the mindless human herd. He was a man alone. He had rediscovered the lost and holy word—I.“I worship individuals for their highest possibilities as individuals, and I loathe humanity, for its failure to live up to these possibilities.”—Ayn Rand

Upon original submission of "Anthem" to Macmillan publishing the book was rejected on grounds that "the author does not understand socialism." For the harshest of Ayn Rand's critics this might as well be an analysis of all her work. However, for those who revere Rand's work and subscribe to her particular philosophy of objectivism this novel could be set in the present day instead of some unidentified future in which mankind has entered a dark age characterized by irrationality, collectivism, and socialistic thinking. In this dystopian novella we find a world where technological advancement is now carefully planned and the concept of individuality has been eliminated. The central characters of the story are Equality 7-2521, a free thinking inventor, and his love interest, Liberty 5-3000. Like most dystopian works, "Anthem" describes a strange and unfathomable world which could never exist. It is in the creation of this extreme world the Rand draws a parable to warn us against what she believed were the perils of socialism.

"Anthem" is set in a distant collectivist future, when every form and emblem of individualism has been erased and society has reverted to a preindustrial level. In this novella, as many of her writings, Ayn dramatizes her philosophy of Objectivism in the main character. Its hero is a scientist in a world where the pursuit of knowledge is a crime, and he struggles against the established society to discover the meaning of individual freedom.

The secrets of this earth are not for all men to see, but only for those who will seek them. Do not speak of the Unmentionable Times of the Distant Past. Do not explore the world around you. Do not think of the opposite sex until the annual Time of Mating. Do not question the life role the Council of Vocations assigns you. These are all transgressions that must be purged from society.Equality 7-2521 has always considered himself a school, and a scholar should always be in pursuit of the truth. From one transgression to the next, Equality 7-2521 first begins to explore the forbidden places, and soon, he finds himself conducting science experiments.

Hailed by The New York Times as "a compelling dystopian look at paranoia from one of the most unique and perceptive writers of our time," this brief, captivating novel offers a cautionary tale. The story unfolds within a society in which all traces of individualism have been eliminated from every aspect of life — use of the word "I" is a capital offense. The hero, a rebel who discovers that man's greatest moral duty is the pursuit of his own happiness, embodies the values the author embraced in her personal philosophy of objectivism: reason, ethics, volition, and individualism.Anthem anticipates the themes Ayn Rand explored in her later masterpieces, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Publisher's Weekly acclaimed it as "a diamond in the rough, often dwarfed by the superstar company it keeps with the author's more popular work, but every bit as gripping, daring, and powerful."

Anthem is Ayn Rand’s classic tale of a dystopian future of the great “We”—a world that deprives individuals of a name or independence—that anticipates her later masterpieces, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.They existed only to serve the state. They were conceived in controlled Palaces of Mating. They died in the Home of the Useless. From cradle to grave, the crowd was one—the great WE.In all that was left of humanity there was only one man who dared to think, seek, and love. He lived in the dark ages of the future. In a loveless world, he dared to love the woman of his choice. In an age that had lost all trace of science and civilization, he had the courage to seek and find knowledge. But these were not the crimes for which he would be hunted. He was marked for death because he had committed the unpardonable sin: He had stood forth from the mindless human herd. He was a man alone. He had rediscovered the lost and holy word—I.“I worship individuals for their highest possibilities as individuals, and I loathe humanity, for its failure to live up to these possibilities.”—Ayn Rand

Unabridged version of ANTHEM by Ayn Rand, offered here for chump change. The story set in the dark ages where technology is planned and individuality is not allowed. Rand developed the concept while living in Russia. This work was rejected by Rand’s American publisher as, “the author does not understand…” Read the book and decide for yourself.Table of ContentsPART ONE ........................................................................................................................ 3PART TWO ....................................................................................................................... 9PART THREE ................................................................................................................. 14PART FOUR ................................................................................................................... 15PART FIVE ..................................................................................................................... 16PART SIX ........................................................................................................................ 17PART SEVEN ................................................................................................................. 19PART EIGHT .................................................................................................................. 22PART NINE .................................................................................................................... 23PART TEN ...................................................................................................................... 25PART ELEVEN............................................................................................................... 27PART TWELVE .............................................................................................................. 29

Ayn Rand’s searing portrait of a dystopian future in which all ego has been erased In a world where science and learning are banned and the simple utterance of the Unspeakable Word, I, is punishable by death, a man named Equality 7-2521 struggles with his unquenchable desire to investigate, to think, to know. His instincts are a “curse” that threatens to bring him to the attention of a government dedicated to the elimination of the self. But Equality 7-2521 cannot ignore his true nature, just as he cannot ignore the fruits of his curiosity: the discovery of the mysterious “power of the sky.” His great awakening—in heart, mind, and soul—represents the inevitable triumph of the individual over the collective.A riveting, thought-provoking parable based on the author’s experience of life in a socialist state, Anthem serves as an invaluable introduction to Ayn Rand, her fiction, and her philosophy.