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The Fountainhead Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

4.6 out of 5 stars 11,552 ratings

One of the 20th century's most challenging novels of ideas, The Fountainhead champions the cause of individualism through the story of a gifted young architect who defies the tyranny of conventional public opinion. The struggle for personal integrity in a world that values conformity above creativity is powerfully illustrated through three characters: Howard Roarke, the genius who is resented because he creates purely for the delight of his own work and on no other terms; Gail Wynand, the newspaper mogul and self-made millionaire whose power was bought by sacrificing his ideals to the lowest common denominator of public taste; and Dominique Francon, the devastating beauty whose desperate search for meaning has been twisted, through despair, into a quest to destroy the single object of her desire: Howard Roarke. Dramatic, poetic, and demanding, The Fountainhead remains one of the towering books on the contemporary intellectual scene.

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Product details

Listening Length 32 hours and 5 minutes
Author Ayn Rand
Narrator Christopher Hurt
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date November 02, 2007
Publisher Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B000Z7FH38
Best Sellers Rank #4,252 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#86 in Classic Literature
#264 in Classic Literature & Fiction

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
11,552 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this book to be a must-read classic with an eloquently written, compelling narrative and rich characters that come back to life. They appreciate its sound philosophy of life and consider it a precursor to Atlas Shrugged, with one customer noting how it represents human behavior found in every single person. While some customers say it reads fairly quickly at 700 pages, others find it too long.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

607 customers mention "Readability"541 positive66 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as a must-read classic and a stunning novel that is a joy to read.

"...This is a very enjoyable way to read books and the transition between reading and listening is so seamless that it begins to feel very natural...." Read more

"...Still, there is so much good in this beautiful book that I consider it one that everyone should read." Read more

"...1. Roark stands up for his artistic vision and is a hardworking, self-made man...." Read more

"This is a delightful and surprisingly humorous book...." Read more

289 customers mention "Thought provoking"277 positive12 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking and compelling, with one customer noting how the philosophical concepts are made tangible.

"...34;IT is a sense of enormous expectation, the sense that one's life is important, that great achievements are within one's capacity, and that great..." Read more

"...I also love the idealism of Roark...." Read more

"...5. The book is thought-provoking and technically well written. It also seems to have gotten me riled up enough to write a review haha...." Read more

"...Whether you love the book or you hate it, it will give you much to ponder about, especially if you value Freedom and Individuality in any way shape..." Read more

232 customers mention "Writing quality"165 positive67 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, describing it as eloquently and highly readable, with one customer noting its elegant timeless dialogue.

"...I can read this book on my kindle, on my iPhone while waiting in line, on the PC on my desktop, and even listen to the audible version while I..." Read more

"...scenes, no irrelevant characters and no ad nauseum descriptions of sunsets and waterfalls...." Read more

"...and other parts that were too obtuse and opaque for me to easily comprehend...." Read more

"...2. Some of the descriptions about the time period are vivid. 3. The interesting love affair between Roark and Dominique. 4...." Read more

224 customers mention "Story quality"203 positive21 negative

Customers praise the compelling narrative and masterful plots of the book, with one customer describing it as a one-of-its-kind epic.

"...34;The Fountainhead's lasting appeal: it is a confirmation of the spirit of youth, proclaiming man's glory, showing how much is possible."..." Read more

"...Although it is long, it is very tightly written. There are no unnecessary scenes, no irrelevant characters and no ad nauseum descriptions of..." Read more

"...And I like the ideas of upholding personal integrity, as well as the commentaries about how people behave in ways that ultimately work against their..." Read more

"...sense, she is rather unique because not only did she create an amazing story, as many authors have, but she went a step beyond and used the book..." Read more

146 customers mention "Character development"110 positive36 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, noting that the characters are rich and come back to life, with one customer highlighting how they represent human behavior found in every person.

"...There are no unnecessary scenes, no irrelevant characters and no ad nauseum descriptions of sunsets and waterfalls...." Read more

"...Howard Roark is an amazing character, far better than Francisco D'Anconia, John Galt or Henry Rearden...." Read more

"...My belief in how to write an amazing book: create an amazing world and characters, and then let the story unfold naturally...." Read more

"...Yes, the characters are unrealistic caricatures of the philosophies they represent. The book is an allegory - it's supposed to be that way...." Read more

71 customers mention "Individualism"63 positive8 negative

Customers appreciate the book's sound philosophy of life, with one customer describing it as a great study in human nature and another noting it as a novel look at the struggle between selfish autonomy.

"...This is a book for those who love themselves, who love the best in human nature and who want to celebrate this. It is the American Dream." Read more

"...Fascinating for its ideas about self determination and great if you are becoming interested in architecture--as I am...." Read more

"...of the twentieth century, giving rise to the libertarian and conservative movements...." Read more

"...Rand, who, in objectivism, champions logic over emotion, rationality over irrationality...." Read more

49 customers mention "Pacing"39 positive10 negative

Customers praise the pacing of the book, finding it comparable to Atlas Shrugged, with one customer noting it's less ranty.

"...she is one with the devil, "The Fountainhead" is a powerful and moving book that I highly recommend...." Read more

"...has an incredible sarcastic way of viewing her villians and it is so spot on and wonderful to reread because as you get older you can truly identify..." Read more

"...Collectivism that drives the Obama Regime, THE FOUNTAINHEAD is hard to put down from page one and well worth the time spent to savor this novel for..." Read more

"...The protagonist (Roark) has become somewhat predictable and other characters depressing...." Read more

75 customers mention "Length"28 positive47 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's length, with some finding it a quick read of about 700 pages, while others consider it too long.

"...Although it is long, it is very tightly written...." Read more

"...is a very enjoyable way to read books and the transition between reading and listening is so seamless that it begins to feel very natural...." Read more

"...The book is long, and with a full course load in college it took about four months to read...." Read more

"...It required a real commitment. It is lengthy and it was not always a fun read. It did provide much fuel for thought...." Read more

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1 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2015
    For the review:

    The ability to read this book across devices is invaluable! I can read this book on my kindle, on my iPhone while waiting in line, on the PC on my desktop, and even listen to the audible version while I stand on a crowded subway. The WhisperSync feature is nearly perfect and the only glitch that occurs is when there is no coverage in the subway. This is a very enjoyable way to read books and the transition between reading and listening is so seamless that it begins to feel very natural. You can read a long book like this much more quickly this way.

    The novel is one of ideas, ways of looking at life, and a story of characters who live those ideals.

    Quotes:

    First, from the introduction:
    "This is the motive and purpose of my writing: the projection of an ideal man."

    "IT is a sense of enormous expectation, the sense that one's life is important, that great achievements are within one's capacity, and that great things lie ahead."

    "The Fountainhead's lasting appeal: it is a confirmation of the spirit of youth, proclaiming man's glory, showing how much is possible."

    "It does not matter that only a few in each generation will grasp and achieve the full reality of man's proper stature - and that the rest will betray it. It is those few that move the world and give life its meaning. The rest are no concern of mine, it is not me or The Fountainhead that they will betray: it is their own souls."

    First sentence:
    "Howard Roark laughed."

    "My dear follow, who will let you?" "That's not the point. The point is, who will stop me?"

    Roark:
    "I can find the joy only if I do my work in the best way possible to me. But the best is a matter of standards - and I set my own standards."
    "I don't propose to force or be forced. Those who want me will come to me."
    "You've made a mistake already. By asking me. By asking anyone. Never ask people. Not about your work. Don’t you know what you want? How can you stand it, not to know? How can you let others decide for you?"
    "One can't collaborate on one's own job. I can co-operate, with the workers who erect my buildings. But I can't help them to lay bricks and they can't help me to design the house."
    "I don't believe in government housing. I don't want to hear anything about its noble purposes. I don’t think they're noble."
    "The only thing that matters, my goal, my reward, my beginning, my end is the work itself. My work done my way."
    "When you suspend your faculty of independent judgement, you suspend consciousness."
    "Every form of happiness is private. Our greatest moments are personal, self-motivated, not to be touched. The things which are sacred or precious to us are the things we withdraw from promiscuous sharing."

    On Dominique Francon and her first relations with Roark:
    "the sensation of a defiling pleasure."
    "the exaggerated fragility of her body against the sky."
    "He stood looking up at her; it was not a glance, but an act of ownership."
    "She thought of being broken- not by a man she admired, but by a man she loathed. She let her head fall down on her arm; the thought left her weak with pleasure."
    "He did it not as love, but as defilement. And this made her lie still and submit."
    "The act of a master taking shameful, contemptuous possession of her was the kind of rapture she had wanted."
    "She had found joy in her revulsion, in her terror and his strength. That was the degradation she had wanted."
    "Through the fierce sense of humiliation, the words gave her the same kind of pleasure she had felt in his arms."
    "when they were in bed together it was - as it had to be, as the nature of the act demanded - an act of violence. It was surrender mad the more complete by the force of their resistance."
    She even wrote: "Howard Roark is the Marquis de Sade of Architecture."
    "He defeated her by admitting her power."
    "She felt no thrill of conquest; she felt herself owned more than ever."

    Roark's apartment:
    "His new home was one large room in a small, modern apartment house on a quiet street. His room contained a few pieces of simple furniture; it looked clean, vast and empty; one expected to hear echoes from its corners."

    Roark's office:
    "His staff loved him. They did not realize it and would have been shocked to apply such a term as love to their cold, unapproachable, inhuman boss. But working with him, they knew that he was none of these things, but they could not explain, neither what he was nor what they felt for him."
    "He responded only to the essence of a man: to his creative capacity. In this office one had to be competent. But if a man worked well, he needed nothing else to win his employer's benevolence: it was granted, not as a gift, but as a debt. It was granted, not as affection, but as recognition. It bred an immense feeling of self-respect within every man in that office."
    "They knew only, in a dim way, that it was not loyalty to him, but to the best within themselves."

    Ellsworth Toohey:
    "Reason can be fought with reason. How are you going to fight with the unreasonable?"
    "To write a good play and to have it praised is nothing. Anybody with talent can do that- and talent is a glandular accident. But to write a piece of crap and have it praised - will, you can't match that."

    Gail Wynand:
    "The man humbled his own wealth."
    "When I look at the ocean, I feel the greatness of man."
    "I would give the greatest sunset in the world for one sight of New York's skyline."
    "The sky over New York and the will of man, made visible. What other religion do we need? Is it beauty and genius they want to see? Do they seek a sense of the sublime? Let them come to New York, stand on the shore of the Hudson, look and kneel."
    "I never meet the men whose work I love. The work means too much to me. I don’t want the men to spoil it. They usually do. They're an anticlimax to their own talent."
    "Anger made me work harder."
    "The walls of Wynand's office were made of cork and copper paneling and had never borne any pictures."
    12 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2005
    Whether you agree with the ideas Rand presents or think she is one with the devil, "The Fountainhead" is a powerful and moving book that I highly recommend. Although it is long, it is very tightly written. There are no unnecessary scenes, no irrelevant characters and no ad nauseum descriptions of sunsets and waterfalls.

    There are several reasons I love this book, none having to do with the controversial philosophies of the author. The first is the amazing characterization. There were several people in the book that could have been drawn directly from people in my life: the social worker who works more out of self-righteousness than pure altruism, the over-blown academic who can read meaning and symbolism in tripe, the professional who cares more about where his work takes him than the quality of the work itself. Rand doesn't draw these as flat characters. Instead we actually see their flaws and motivations in all their beauty and terror.

    I also love the idealism of Roark. Several previous reviews have termed him "egotistical" with a "superiority complex", but that isn't how I see him at all. Would a professional who meets those descriptions lower himself to working as a common laborer at a quarry? Roark doesn't care if his work is good or not, let alone that it is superior. All that matters is that it pleases him. He might work a menial job, but he wouldn't debase himself to produce anything but the kind of art that pleases him, whatever anyone else says about its quality.

    The insight of the book into the power of the press and the country's growing socialization is another drawing point. I crack up whenever I read the Banner's editorial on parenthood in modern times. It describes how parents need to be just as loving toward and concerned about other children as they are of their own. It reads remarkably like Hillary Clinton's "It Takes a Village". In an age where talentless performers are at the top of the chart because of the right buzz, I can understand the idea that he who controls the media, controls the tastes of the masses.

    A common criticism of "The Fountainhead" is the rape of Dominique by the hero. Like so much of the book, it is not something that can be understood if you only view it in a vacuum. Roark and Dominique have an almost transcendental bond. Throughout the book they start in the middle of conversations and understand each other as if they were one. Their violent first sexual encounter is not indicative of Roark's character or of their relationship.

    There are some simplistic parts of the book: all capitalists are good, all socialists are bad, wanting to help people and do good is described as an excuse, not a noble motive. Still, there is so much good in this beautiful book that I consider it one that everyone should read.
    31 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Carlos Ruivo
    5.0 out of 5 stars Essential to understand life
    Reviewed in Italy on July 1, 2021
    Do you want to be a creative independence individual or a person who just lives by being afraid of what others might think of him?

    This book brilliantly describes these kind of attitudes towards life and its consequences.
  • Cliente Amazon
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very entertaining
    Reviewed in Spain on January 17, 2025
    Quite well written, captivating. One wonders if there could be anyone on this planet living as Howard Roark does in the book, or if he listened to La Ley Innata to get in the zone for drafting his best designs. L'Arschitect.
  • Francisco Danconia
    5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone must read
    Reviewed in Brazil on March 10, 2025
    Uma obra prima.
    Report
  • Benito
    5.0 out of 5 stars Un libro que eventualmente todos debíamos leer
    Reviewed in Mexico on September 29, 2021
    El libro no es de fácil lectura, algunos personajes son complicados, pero este antagonismos lo que le da esencia al libro y la profundidad de los diálogos y monólogos de y entre los personajes llevan al lector a comprender la filosofía del Individualismo y su valor Vs su antagónico Colectivismo
  • avatrade
    5.0 out of 5 stars 大作にして・・・
    Reviewed in Japan on July 6, 2016
    「面白かった」「勉強になった」「この本と出会えて良かった」「また読み直したい」という本は、そこそこあります。「こんな本ともっと早くに出会えていたら自分の人生は変わっていたかもしれない」とまで思わせる本は少ないです。この小説はそんな小説です。日本語訳が出ているかも知れないけれど、確か、原書が出版されてからずいぶん遅れてのことだったような記憶があります。主人公の男(女)の生き方が、日本ではなかなか受け入れられないのだろうと思います。