# Ayn Rand: An Introduction **URL:** **By** Eamonn Butler **Published:** April 16, 2018 --- A short primer on the life and thought of novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand, author of _Atlas Shrugged_ and _The Fountainhead_. Few 20th century intellectuals have been as influential—and controversial—as the novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand. Her thinking still has a profound impact, particularly on those who come to it through her novels, _Atlas Shrugged_ and _The Fountainhead_—with their core messages of individualism, self-worth, and the right to live without the impositions of others. Although ignored or scorned by some academics, traditionalists, progressives, and public intellectuals, her thought remains a major influence on many of the world’s leading legislators, policy advisers, economists, entrepreneurs, and investors. Why does Rand’s work remain so influential? _Ayn Rand: An Introduction_ illuminates Rand’s importance, detailing her understanding of reality and human nature, and explores the ongoing fascination with and debates about her conclusions on knowledge, morality, politics, economics, government, public issues, aesthetics, and literature. The book also places these in the context of her life and times, showing how revolutionary they were, and how they have influenced and continue to impact public policy debates.