This is a recommended reading list / study material for those interested in obtaining a basic, somewhat more than introductory, grounding in the subjects of reason, individualism, Objectivist ethics, capitalism and the role of government. Only 3 full books are listed; the others are essays, excerpts from books, and audiotapes. Going at a leisurely pace, one could easily absorb these works in under a year.
1. Essay: Philosophy: Who Needs it?....by Ayn Rand. Essay in book of same name. Available also as speech given before West Point cadets; order cassette from The Ayn Rand Bookstore.

2. Novel: The Fountainhead....by Ayn Rand. Dramatic presentation of the individualist vs the collectivist mentality.

3. Novel: Atlas Shrugged....by Ayn Rand. Dramatic presentation of the power of man's mind--and what happens to the world without it.

4. Excerpt: Chapter 1--Reality in Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand...by Leonard Peikoff.

5. Essay: For the New Intellectual....by Ayn Rand. Essay in book of same name.

6. Excerpt from Aristotle's Ethics, Book IX, Is Self-Love Justifiable? Penguin Classics paperback edition, pages 300-301.

7. Essay: The Objectivist Ethics....by Ayn Rand. Essay in Virtue of Selfishness.

8. Lecture: The Objectivist Virtue Of Selfishness...by Peter Schwartz. Presented at Harvard College with 2 Q&A sessions; Available in 2-cassette package from The Ayn Rand Bookstore.

9. Lecture: Religion vs America...by Leonard Peikoff. Available in print in The Voice of Reason and on cassette from The Ayn Rand Bookstore.

10. Chapter 5 (The Nation of the Enlightenment): of The Ominous Parallels...by Leonard Peikoff.

11. Address: Jefferson's First Inaugural Address. Also available in The Portable Thomas Jefferson, (among many other compilations).

12. Address: Jefferson's First Annual Message to Congress.

13. Essay: Man's Rights....by Ayn Rand in The Virtue of Selfishness or Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal.

14. Lecture: Ayn Rand and the History of Individual Rights...by John Ridpath. 2-cassette package available from The Ayn Rand Bookstore.

15. Essay: The Nature of Government...by Ayn Rand in The Virtue of Selfishness or Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal.

16. Essay: What is Capitalism?....essay by Ayn Rand in Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal.

17. In Book I, Chapter 1--The Division of Labour: in The Wealth of Nations...by Adam Smith.

18. Book: Economics in One Lesson....by Henry Hazlitt.

19. Article: The Sanction of the Victims...by Ayn Rand. In The Voice of Reason. Also was speech delivered at the Ford Hall Forum; order video tape from The Ayn Rand Bookstore.

+ For reference: The Ayn Rand Lexicon. A-Z "dictionary" of Objectivism.
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