Anthem

Anthem is Ayn Rand's nightmarish story of a dystopian future world in which individuality does not exist. Every human being is identified by a number, not a name, with the personal pronoun “I” strictly prohibited. The “great WE” serve the collective of mankind from birth to death with no rights or personal freedom. Each life is managed, directed, and policed by a society that dictates how each person is raised, educated, and employed. No one is allowed to be alone and personal expression of thoughts, ideas, and desires is forbidden. Any resistance to authority or rule-breaking is punishable, with the worst offenders subject to horrific public execution.

Within this world lives one young man, Equality 7-2521, who longs for a different world. His vague knowledge of the “Unmentionable Times” that preceded his society drives his quest to escape. Anthem is his story of finding the passage back to a past that ultimately holds his future freedom and the promise of a new mankind.

1116684471
Anthem

Anthem is Ayn Rand's nightmarish story of a dystopian future world in which individuality does not exist. Every human being is identified by a number, not a name, with the personal pronoun “I” strictly prohibited. The “great WE” serve the collective of mankind from birth to death with no rights or personal freedom. Each life is managed, directed, and policed by a society that dictates how each person is raised, educated, and employed. No one is allowed to be alone and personal expression of thoughts, ideas, and desires is forbidden. Any resistance to authority or rule-breaking is punishable, with the worst offenders subject to horrific public execution.

Within this world lives one young man, Equality 7-2521, who longs for a different world. His vague knowledge of the “Unmentionable Times” that preceded his society drives his quest to escape. Anthem is his story of finding the passage back to a past that ultimately holds his future freedom and the promise of a new mankind.

3.99 In Stock
Anthem

Anthem

by Ayn Rand

Narrated by Howard Lester

Unabridged — 1 hours, 56 minutes

Anthem

Anthem

by Ayn Rand

Narrated by Howard Lester

Unabridged — 1 hours, 56 minutes

Audiobook (Digital)

$3.99
FREE With a B&N Audiobooks Subscription | Cancel Anytime
$0.00

Free with a B&N Audiobooks Subscription | Cancel Anytime

START FREE TRIAL

Already Subscribed? 

Sign in to Your BN.com Account


Listen on the free Barnes & Noble NOOK app


Related collections and offers

FREE

with a B&N Audiobooks Subscription

Or Pay $3.99

Overview

Anthem is Ayn Rand's nightmarish story of a dystopian future world in which individuality does not exist. Every human being is identified by a number, not a name, with the personal pronoun “I” strictly prohibited. The “great WE” serve the collective of mankind from birth to death with no rights or personal freedom. Each life is managed, directed, and policed by a society that dictates how each person is raised, educated, and employed. No one is allowed to be alone and personal expression of thoughts, ideas, and desires is forbidden. Any resistance to authority or rule-breaking is punishable, with the worst offenders subject to horrific public execution.

Within this world lives one young man, Equality 7-2521, who longs for a different world. His vague knowledge of the “Unmentionable Times” that preceded his society drives his quest to escape. Anthem is his story of finding the passage back to a past that ultimately holds his future freedom and the promise of a new mankind.


Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

The difference between this long-forgotten exercise in paranoia and other futuristic visions of a world controlled by the state, such as Aldous Huxley's or George Orwell's, is the extremist tone of Rand's story. The author lived in a black-and-white world in which things social or communal are evil and things individual and selfish are exalted. This "anthem" culminates in a hymn to the concepts of "I" and "ego," where the rebels are those who resist group action; the oppressors are government officials and others who attempt to provide a safety net for the less fortunate. The production is not improved by the theatricality of narrator Paul Meier, which is reminiscent of a ham Victorian actor intoning an overwrought melodrama. Not recommended.-Mark Pumphrey, Polk Cty. P.L., Columbus, NC

From the Publisher

Kane Classics Edition

All-American Books


"Reading this inspired little story is a rewarding and satisfying experience which no American should deny himself."—All-American Books

Fact Forum News - Joan DeArmond


"In her usage of the English language she combines clarity of expression with prose of poetic grace. Here, indeed, is an anthem-an anthem, not in the idiom of music, but in the more difficult medium of words alone. This is the most beautiful, the most inspiring novel this reviewer has ever read. It is an ethical and philosophical rather than a religious dedication to freedom and the individual."—Joan DeArmond, Fact Forum News

Fact Forum News

"In her usage of the English language she combines clarity of expression with prose of poetic grace. Here, indeed, is an anthem-an anthem, not in the idiom of music, but in the more difficult medium of words alone. This is the most beautiful, the most inspiring novel this reviewer has ever read. It is an ethical and philosophical rather than a religious dedication to freedom and the individual."—Joan DeArmond, Fact Forum News

— Joan DeArmond

Product Details

BN ID: 2940192094914
Publisher: Howard Lester
Publication date: 06/30/2024
Edition description: Unabridged
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews