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BIG SISTER IS WATCHING YOU 181
the fi rst course to twenty-eight New Yorkers in a rented hotel room.
Confounding the opinions of almost all who had weighed in on the
topic, he discovered a ready market of people willing to spend time and
money on philosophy lectures given by an unaccredited, newly established
institution. Undoubtedly Rand was the primary draw. In the
beginning she attended the question-and-answer session at the end of
each lecture. The Brandens soon discovered additional demand. Barbara
began offering a similar course in Philadelphia, with Rand an occasional
visitor, and developed her own curriculum on “Principles of Effi cient
Thinking.”
It was Barbara who suggested the tape transcription idea that led to
the rapid expansion of Nathaniel Branden Lectures, soon incorporated
as the Nathaniel Branden Institute (NBI). The idea seemed preposterous
at fi rst: Branden would record his New York lectures and send them
to approved representatives across the country. These representatives
would then charge an admission fee for the twenty-week series. Enrolled
students would gather around a tape recorder to listen to Branden and
take notes. Again, the unlikely idea had wings. Soon Barbara had quit
her publishing job and was working full time for NBI.
These new ventures strained the already stressful relationships in
Rand’s inner circle. Despite their new business partnership Nathan and
Barbara’s marriage was deteriorating fast. Weepy and lethargic, Rand
called an effective stop to her sexual relationship with Nathan. She had
no appetite for love but hoped their affair might resume in the distant
future. The return to platonic relations was a relief to Nathan, whose
ardor for Rand had dimmed considerably. No longer her lover, he now
became her psychologist. Swamped by melancholy, Rand turned to
Nathan as her lifeline. Following her own philosophy she strained to
rationally understand the source of her negativity. John Galt wouldn’t
have felt this way, she was sure. More often Rand focused on the defi -
ciencies of the culture around her, working with Nathan to fi nd explanations
for the state of the world. She was in a state of crisis, her home a
“hospital atmosphere,” as Nathan remembered it. 25
Unable to help Rand shake off her darkness, Nathan compensated by
becoming her bulldog. He began answering Rand’s correspondence from
persons who offended or attacked her, making himself a buffer between
her and the world. He wrote angry letters to magazines and newspapers
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