Free Sets of Ayn Rand’s We the Living Now Available

In 1936, Ayn Rand published her first novel: We the Living. Set in Soviet Russia as Rand experienced it before her escape to America, We the Living tells the story of Kira Argounova, a fiercely independent young woman who struggles to pursue career and love in a communist state that demands the sacrifice of the individual for the sake of the collective. The novel’s working title was “Airtight,” Rand’s metaphoric concept for the smothering effect of a dictatorial social system that denies citizens the freedom to pursue individual success and happiness.

“It is a novel about Man against the State,” Rand wrote in her Foreword. “Its basic theme is the sanctity of human life . . . . It is a story about Dictatorship, any dictatorship, anywhere, at any time . . . .” As philosopher Leonard Peikoff observed in his Introduction to the 75th Anniversary Edition, “Totalitarian states may differ in every detail, but not in their nature and cause. And in regard to details, what difference do their differences make? What does it matter to the victims if the infallible leader claims messages from the supernatural or from an unperceivable dialectic? If he demands sacrifice for Corpus Christi or for the proletariat?” Consistent with this universal theme, the book’s publisher illustrated the 75th Anniversary Edition not with an image from Soviet Russia, but with a detail from a statue of Chinese communist dictator Mao Zedong (at right).

In recognition of the novel’s 75th anniversary, the Anthem Foundation for Objectivist Scholarship is offering free book sets (up to 25 copies) to professors who will use them in classrooms, extra-curricular study groups, or other suitable venues. Supplies are limited. If you are interested, please fill out our Resource Request Form and indicate your planned use in the “Additional Comments” section. (Complimentary books feature the cover shown in the illustration at left.)

In case of requests for large quantities, the Anthem Foundation may be able to secure volume discounts in lieu of or in addition to free copies. We would be happy to discuss ideas for using the book with your students, and especially encourage professors with original or unusual ideas for encouraging student readership to start a dialog with us.

Classroom Suggestions: We the Living is applicable in many disciplines, including literature, history, political science, and economics. An engrossing read of approximately 450 pages, many professors have remarked to us that We the Living serves as an excellent introduction to Rand and is easily accommodated into a syllabus.