My Years with Ayn Rand

NATHANIEL BRANDEN With a Ph.D. in psychology and a background in philosophy, Nathaniel Branden is a practicing psychotherapist in Los Angeles and a corporate consultant. Branden is the best-selling author of The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem, Self-Esteem in the Workplace, and A Woman's Self-Esteem.

• Author's NoteDedicationIntroductionPart OneChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Part TwoChapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 11Chapter 13Part ThreeChapter 13Chapter 14Chapter 15Chapter 16Chapter 17EpilogueThe AuthorIndex

"Dr. Branden's account of his complex relationship with theliterary great . . . allows us a fascinating glimpse into thepassions of their lives--intellectual and personal. . . . [It is]not only a memoir of a mythic woman . . . but a chronicle of astirring intellectual commitment to a political morality thatindivudally could only fail." (NAPRA ReView) "What a story! It's heroic, romantic, deadly, horrifying,tender-and I couldn't put it down." (George Leonard, author of TheTransformation and Education and Education and Ecstasy) "Relentlessly revealing. . . the myth of Ayn Rand gives way to afull-sized portrait in contrasting colors, appealing and appalling,potent and paradoxical. . . . it takes a special kind of nerve towrite such a book." (Norman Cousins, author of Head First and TheHealing Heart) "Non-stop theater. All the ingredients are there: conflict,colorful characters, suspense, and a Greek inevitability of tragedyborn of hubris. There's a nexus of sex nearly dizzying in itspermutations." (Dale Wasserman, playwright and screenwriter, Man ofLa Mancha and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) "Branden plots his relationship with Rand from a psychologicalvantage point, with devastatingly articulate results. . . . Afascinating portrait of Rand and her disciples." (KirkusReviews) "Do you know my greatest reward for 'The Fountainhead?' You." (AynRand to Nathaniel Branden)