5 of 5 stars *****
The shallow, intelligent characters who lack a moral compass are prominent in this story about America in the early to mid 1900's. Life through architecture, high society, and human ambition weaves a story fraught with success and loss in business, art, love, and personal integrity. The many are manipulated by the few who use their shrewdness to sway mass opinion and public policy. These characters are the major people who define society as independent or collective. Freedom, sovereignty, dignity, respect, and liberty are the qualities found in a couple of characters but consistently in only one man who stands alone with his deep convictions until the end.
The ability of Ayn Rand to foresee the future in many ways is evident in The Fountainhead. Socialism, particularly Communism, brings this brilliant author to America as a young girl. The restrictions and harsh treatment of the citizens under Communism are well known to Rand. She even changes her name to avoid her family being tortured because of her writings.
The Fountainhead views America as heading in the same direction which led to Communism in her home country. Her excellent prose and storytelling show that the weakness of mankind, taking handouts and becoming dependent on them, can lead a society into single-minded slavery stuck by a massive population of followers who are indoctrinated into how to think and behave. The hero, and those like him, show hope for the future but it comes at a cost that few are willing to make.
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