Books about selfishness

Craig Biddle: Loving Life; The Morality of Self-Interest and the Facts that Support it. Loving Life demonstrates that morality is a matter not of divine revelation or social convention or personal opinion—but, rather, of the factual requirements of human life and happiness. Biddle shows how a true morality is derived logically from observable facts, what in essence such a morality demands, and why it is a matter of pure self-interest. “…challenging, informative, thoughtful…. Loving Life is a fresh voice of reason…. Very highly recommended reading….’ —The Midwest Book Review. “…clear, simple, and…succinct…. The author performs effectively the difficult task of taking abstract moral principles and concretizing them for intelligent individuals who have little or no prior knowledge of philosophy.” —The Intellectual Activist. “From start to finish, Loving Life engages the reader with its lively conversational style.” —The Ayn Rand Bookstore

Nathaniel Branden:  Honoring The Self; Self-Esteem and Personal Transformation. Self-concept is destiny. What is the most important judgment you will ever make? The judgment you pass on your self. Self-esteem is the key to success or failure. “Tell me how a person judges his or her self-esteem,” says pioneering psychologist Nathaniel Branden, “and I will tell you how that person operates at work, in love, in sex, in parenting, in every important aspect of existence—and how high he or she is likely to rise. The reputation you have with yourself— your self-esteem—is the single most important factor for a fulfilling life.” How to grow in self-confidence and self-respect. How to nurture self-esteem in children. How to break free of guilt and fear of others’ disapproval. How to honor the self— the ethics of rational self-interest.

Rachael & Richard Heller: Healthy Selfishness – Getting the Life You Deserve Without the Guilt. It´s time to claim what everyone deserves: ”A life in which you are appreciated, given consideration, understanding, and support—and most of all, a life in which you are free,” according to Drs. Richard ad Rachael Heller, best-selling authors, professors, and counselors. “We are not advocating selfishness; we are advocating healthy selfishness, a self-concern for those of us who are tired of spending our time and energy indulging others.” Are you uncomfortable asserting such a reasonable right? Many people are. Caught up in a culture of self-denial, they trudge through life without joy or hope. Healthy Selfishness serves as a personal coach for the self-sacrificing, a guide to help release you from feelings of emotional isolation, devaluation, and silent anger by taking you step-by-step up the ladder of change and self-reclamation.

Michael J. Hurd: Grow Up America. Do you want somebody to fawn over you, and feel your pain? Then put this book back on the shelf, and pick most any therapist out of the phone book. But if you’re ready to live the happy, responsible life—this book is for you! Forget the tired clichés about “self-esteem.” Forget the excuses you hear on daytime talk shows. Ignore the cries for endless government programs headed by corrupt politicians. Grow Up America! tackles everyday life from a provocative—and ruthlessly honest—point of view. Find out why love is (and should be) selfish…Why public schools are beyond reform…Why competence, not compassion, creates self-esteem…Why Attention Deficit Disorder is a myth…Why it’s evil to preach volunteerism to kids…and much more!

Ayn Rand: Atlas Shrugged. The astounding story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world – and did. Tremendous in scope, breathtaking in its suspense, ATLAS SHRUGGED is unlike any other book you have ever read. It is a mystery story, not about the murder of a man’s body, but about the murder – and rebirth – of man’s spirit. With this acclaimed work and its immortal query “Who is John Galt?”, Ayn Rand found the perfect artistic form to express her vision of existence. This is the book that made her not only one of the most popular novelist of our century, but also one of its most influential thinkers.

Ayn Rand: The Fountainhead. When it was first published in 1943, The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand’s daringly original literary vision and her groundbreaking philosophy, Objectivism, won immediate worldwide interest and acclaim. This instant classic is the story of an intransigent young architect, his violent battle against conventional standards, and his explosive love affair with a beautiful woman who struggles to defeat him. As fresh today as it was then, here is a novel about a hero – and about those who try to destroy him. “A writer of great power. She has a subtle and ingenious mind and the capacity of writing brilliantly, beautifully, bitterly…This is the only novel of ideas written by an American woman that I can recall.” – The New York Times

Ayn Rand: The Virtue of Selfishness. AYN RAND here sets forth the moral principles of Objectivism, the philosophy that holds man’s life—the life proper to a rational being— as the standard of moral values and regards altruism as incompatible with man’s nature, with the creative requirements of his survival, and with a free society. AYN RAND wrote Atlas Shrugged, philosophically the most challenging bestseller of its time. Her first novel, We the Living, was published in 1936. With the publication of The Fountainhead in 1943, she achieved a spectacular and enduring success. Miss Rand’s unique philosophy, Objectivism, has gained a worldwide audience.

Tara Smith: Ayn Rand’s Normative Ethics – The Virtuous Egoist. Ayn Rand is well known for advocating egoism, but the substance of that egoism’s instruction is rarely understood. Far from representing the rejection of morality, selfishness, in Rand’s view, actually demands the practice of a systematic code of ethics. This book explains the fundamental virtues that Rand considers vital for a person to achieve his objective well-being: rationality, honesty, independence, justice, integrity, productiveness, and pride. Tracing Rand’s account of the naturalistic ground of value and the harmony of human beings’ rational interests, Tara Smith examines what each of these virtues consists in, why it is a virtue, and what it demands of a person in practice. Along the way, she addresses the status of several conventional virtues within Rand’s theory, considering traits such as kindness, charity, generosity, temperance, courage, forgiveness, and humility. Ayn Rand’s Normative Ethics thus offers an in-depth exploration of several specific virtues and an illuminating integration of these with the broader theory of egoism.

Leonard Peikoff: The Ominous Parallels. Ayn Rand chose Leonard Peikoff to be her successor as the spokesman for Objectivism. And in this brilliantly reasoned, thought-provoking work we learn why, as he demonstrates how far America has been detoured from its original path and led down the same road that Germany followed to Nazism. Self-sacrifice, Oriental mysticism, racial "truth," the public good, doing one's duty - these are among the seductive catch-phrases that Leonard Peikoff dissects, examining the kind of philosophy they symbolize, the type of thinking that lured Germany to its doom and that he says is now prevalent in the United States. Here is a frightening look at where America may be heading, a clarion call for all who are concerned about preserving our right to individual freedom. "If you do not wish to be a victim of today's philosophical bankruptcy, I recommend The Ominous Parallels as protection and ammunition. It will protect you from supporting, unwittingly, the ideas that are destroying you and the world....This book and its author will be part of tomorrow's cultural mainstream....If you like my works, you will like this book." - Ayn Rand

David Seabury: The Art of Selfishness. A modern classic that will help you get the most out of life and the world off your back. A practical book, with an arresting and powerful theme, that has proved its worth by helping hundreds of thousands. “The Art of Selfishness kicks the martyr’s crown into a crocked hat....Self-sacrifice is neither noble nor necessary, and the sooner the human race destroys the fetish of abnegation the better off its members will be.” – New York Herald Tribune