The Fountainhead (1943), railed against the dragon forces of boorish "collectivisim" and conventional aesthetic standards in this country as concerned citizen Rand determined to save America from "dying."… (p. 325)

Howard Roark, an architect-genius, persists in designing great buildings without sacrificing an inch of his integrity to the inevitably compromising demands of professional peers, opinion-makers, the public taste, and his clients…. Throughout the book he is implicitly compared with pusillanimous Peter Keating, college roommate and then fellow architect, whose overriding desire for commercial success makes him willing to accommodate anyone who promises to further his career.

The general principle upon which the book is based—that the mass of mankind is talentless, without creativity or originality, and bitterly jealous of those few who are different—is manifested most strongly in the character of Ellsworth Toohey…, an architectural critic for a mammoth newspaper chain. Through his highly influential intellectual position, Toohey...