‘100 voices’ a big benefit for study of Ayn Rand canon
Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at 4:06PM 
Scott McConnell's book '100 Voices' will benefit those interested in the works of Ayn Rand.What’s the best way to really get to know an author, besides reading her works? Talk to those who knew her personally. That’s what oral historian Scott McConnell did and the result is his book 100 Voices: An Oral History of Ayn Rand. McConnell’s book will offer a big benefit for current and future students of the woman admired by many freethinkers around the world. Hundreds of thousands of copies of Rand’s books still sell and according to the Internet Movie Database, a film of Rand's definitive work Atlas Shrugged is set for release around mid-April, 2011.
To compile and refine interviews with 100 of Rand’s contemporaries talking about the author from a personal and professional standpoint—it’s fair to say McConnell has given a gift to the academic and even the pop culture worlds. After all, Rand transcends both. The book even has its own 100 Voices Facebook page.
There’s an engaging and well-written review of ‘100 Voices’ at Huntington News (W. Va.) by Shelly Reuben. Reuben wrote, “Scott McConnell contacted movie stars, producers, writers, philosophers, brigadier generals, artists, photographers, and others whose lives touched that of author Ayn Rand. Knowing that some of these best and brightest are no longer with us (Mickey Spillane, Robert Stack, Patricia Neal, Julius Shulman, and Louis Rukeyser, to name a few) it becomes woefully evident that McConnell did, indeed, speak to many of them…just in time.”
Not all the interviewees express affection and admiration. Rand and her sister had, as we like to say now, ‘issues.’ Reuben wrote, “Philosophic differences – Eleanora preferred to live under communism and Rand was a passionate capitalist – led to an acrimonious schism, and Eleanora’s resentment of her famous sister (Ah. Family!) resulted in some of the nastiest quotes in the book.”
Reuben said she liked the Mickey Spillane interview best—I think I’d agree with her even though I haven’t read the book yet. But conjure up an image of tough guy-with-a-big-heart Spillane and stately I’m-my-own-woman Rand. You could make a great play or poem out of that image.
Rand’s fiction and philosophy continue to engage people around the world. Progressives may hate her but libertarians and conservatives find much to admire.
McConnell’s ‘100 Voices’ offers insight into one of America’s greatest immigrant authors. For a new level of understanding Rand’s canon, the book will prove invaluable.
Increased book sales, a film, a new book and even a John Galt billboard on a major US highway—there’s an Ayn Rand Renaissance trending. You’d think certain progressive media would’ve found it worthy of talking about. Hello?
Ed. Note: I’ll share additional thoughts on the book once my copy arrives.
Related Articles/Sites
'Atlas Shrugged'... to theaters in 2011 @ The US Report
(Commentary by Kay B. Day/Jan. 19, 2011)