THE PASSION OF AYN RAND

by Barbara Branden (422pp, hdbd., $17.95, Doubleday 1986) is a book I was goaded into reading by Dr L. Peikoff, who wrote he had not read it, did not plan to read it, and did not recommend that his readers read it, either.

The book is certainly not hostile to Ayn Rand's work, or even, in my opinion, to her person. I find the biography very credible: Ayn Rand the woman was not an infallible goddess, but a human being with human frailties, and the frailties described in the book jibe well with those that must surely be apparent to any observant reader of her newsletter and other writings: she was irritatingly conceited and despotically intolerant of the slightest deviation from her opinion.

Which has nothing to do with her work. Ayn Rand revealed the morality of capitalism to the world, and with her unique gift of putting her finger on the critical issues, she pointed to the irrationality of individuals sacrificing themselves for each other or for some abstract collective. That is what makes her a classic of capitalism, and it cannot be changed by the shortcomings of her personal life. Although not explicitly stated, this also seems to be the attitude of the author, who, at any rate, keeps herself admirably in the background.

That is nonsense. Franz Schubert was one of the great composers, and might have become the greatest of them all, had he not died at age 31 - - an age at which Beethoven had not yet written any of his major works, and Mozart had not yet written his three greatest symphonies. He died of syphilis after a somewhat parasitic life on hand-outs by his friends. Thomas A. Edison, one of the greatest inventors, behaved dishonorably toward Nicola Tesla and George Westinghouse. And G. B. Shaw, whom I regard as one of the world's great playwrights, admired Stalin, apologized for Hitler, and behaved abominably toward his former lover when she was in dire need.

Pretending that Schubert died of pneumonia contracted while trying to rescue an orphan in a blizzard denigrates his music, because it denies that it towers above his person, and implies that it is in need of such cover-ups. Quite similarly, Ayn Rand's work is denigrated by attempts to canonize her as a person. Moreover, it will only split her numerous admirers into further factions (in this case, rational and religious).

I, for one, like the book and recommend it to all who know Ayn Rand's work. Those who don't know it will be largely disappointed if they just hope to find some juicy gossip.