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CHAPTER SIX
Big Sister Is Watching You
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when the fountainhead was published Rand was an obscure
author, unknown to the literary world. By contrast, legions
awaited Atlas Shrugged. Buzz had been building about the book. The
Fountainhead’s astounding sales, still strong a decade after publication,
seemed to guarantee that her next work would be a blockbuster.
Rand herself was becoming a mythological fi gure in New York, a vivid
and memorable character rarely seen by those outside the Collective.
Random House fed the beast with a series of teaser ads, a press conference,
and a prominent display window on Madison Avenue. The word
was out: a major new novel was on the way.
Rand and the Collective too were breathless with anticipation. Rand
told her followers she would face criticism: she steeled herself for attack.
The Collective did not take her warnings seriously. Carried away by the
power of Rand’s words, they were convinced it would only be a matter
of years before Objectivism conquered the world. Robert Hessen, a new
member of Rand’s circle, remembered the feeling: “We were the wave
of the future. . . . Objectivism would sweep everything in its path.” 1 With
such a buildup, Rand and those closest to her were utterly unprepared
for the fi erce condemnation that greeted the book. “Is it a novel? Is it
a nightmare?” Time magazine asked in a typically snide review. 2 A few
right-leaning magazines and newspapers praised Atlas Shrugged, but
taken as a whole the harsh verdict was clear. Rand was shattered. More
than anything else, she wanted a defender, an intellectual equal who
would trumpet her accomplishment to the world. None appeared.
As it turned out, there was not one Atlas Shrugged, but many. Hostile
critics focused relentlessly on Rand’s treatment of human relationships,
her anger, her bitterness. Business owners and capitalists saw
instead her celebration of industry, her appreciation for hard work and
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