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The Fountainhead. An American Novel
by Douglas J. Den Uyl
Twayne Publishers * 1999 * 123 pages * $32.00
Reviewed by Tibor R. Machan
"But of course, if individualism really is central to Americanism, then The Fountainhead is the quintessential American novel." This is the concluding sentence of Douglas Den Uyl's wonderful discussion of Ayn Rand's great novel, which has been at the center of the resurgence of interest in the philosophy of individual freedom. Den Uyl shows that Rand's book is not only inspiring, as art ought to be, and philosophically meaty, as many classic novels surely are, but also that it is a literary masterpiece.
The tone of Den Uyl's book is important. It is one of understated respect and admiration for Rand's accomplishment, one of thoughtful analysis rather than fawning praise. Sadly, we have come to expect works on Rand, including the recent movie, A Sense of Life, to be either uncritical pleading on her behalf, with little attention to any possible problems in her philosophy, or angry denunciation, giving her credit for nothing at all, let alone acknowledging...