BASIC PRINCIPLES BOOK ANNOUNCED


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Okay, maybe everybody here knows this, and I'm just chronically behind the curve....but David Kelley announced in a email/letter for TAS membership solicitation, that Nathaniel Branden's Basic Principles of Objectivism (the original 20 lecture course offered by NBI and with minor revisions in 1969, on records by Academic Associates) will be published (yes!...in print form!!!) by the International Society for Individual Liberty (ISIL) in September, and offered through their book outlet, Laissez Faire Books. The book will be titled, The Vision of Ayn Rand ("Basic Principles of Objectivism" is part of the sub-title), by Nathaniel Branden.

and here is the link: http://www.lfb.org/product_info.php?products_id=292

Roger Bissell is primarily responsible for bringing this project to fruition. Also Robert Campbell, and (of course!)Nathaniel Branden and Barbara Branden.

Apparently there will be an initial release of 150 signed, numbered, leather-bound copies (at premium prices, but take a look!) and also, an economical paperback edition, apparently at the same time!

I have only waited for this for...oh...FORTY years!

OUTSTANDING!

Edited by Jerry Biggers
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Jerry:

Wow. Thanks. I will enjoy it.

Thanks to everyone who brought this to fruition.

We are reaching a tipping point. Now is the time to push the ideas.

Michael has done phenomenal work in my opinion with the technology.

However, we are a little difficult to assemble into a the finely tuned philosophical

weapon we are, but I am working on a working model.

It is working locally.

Again thanks for the heads up.

Adam

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  • 3 weeks later...

Yes, I think this is a miscalculation, doing it this manner, with an overpriced leather copy, claiming the proceeds would then enable a lower priced paperback of it to be produced - smacks too much of pretentiousness, which does not serve well with what it is all about... paperback would do fine, to be alongside the collection of discs...

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You missed this:

The Vision of Ayn Rand: The Basic Principles of Objectivism (Paperback) $22.95

The Original NBI Lectures in print! Reserve your paperback copies now.

For ten years--from 1958 to 1968--Mr. Branden’s lectures on “Basic Principles of Objectivism” were given at Nathaniel Branden Institute in New York City and, via tape transcription, to groups in over eighty cities throughout the United States and abroad. More than 35,000 students have attended these lectures. Until now, this course has never been available in book form.

The Basic Principles of Objectivism is a detailed, systematic exposition of the philosophy defined by Ayn Rand and introduced in her novels, Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. The lectures are devoted to a presentation of Miss Rand’s philosophy—and to Mr. Branden’s application of Objectivism to his own field, psychology. Special emphasis is given to the concepts of human nature, mental health and personal development.

With the exception of Lecture Six, which is given by Barbara Branden (lecturer, writer and formerly Administrative Director of NBI), all of these lectures are delivered by Nathaniel Branden. These are the same lectures as originally presented by NBI under the supervision of Ms. Rand.

1. The Role of Philosophy. What is philosophy?—The historical role of reason—The bankruptcy of today’s culture—Objectivism—Objectivism vs. subjectivism.

2. What is Reason? The process of abstraction and concept-formation—The subconscious—Reason and emotions.

3. Logic and Mysticism. Identity and causality—The validity of the senses—Reason vs. mysticism.

4. The Concept of God. Is the concept meaningful? —Are the arguments for the existence of God logically defensible? —The destructiveness of the concept of God.

5. Free Will. The meaning and nature of volition—The fallacy of psychological determinism—Free will as the choice to think or not to think.

6. Efficient Thinking. The nature of clear thinking—Pseudo-thinking—The nature of definitions—Common thinking errors. Guest lecture by Barbara Branden

7. Self-Esteem. Why self-esteem is man’s deepest psychological need—The consequences of the failure to achieve self-esteem.

8. The Psychology of Dependence. The independent mind vs. the “socialized mind”—Social Metaphysics—The revolt against the responsibility of a volitional consciousness.

9. The Objectivist Ethics. Foundation of the Objectivist ethics—Man’s life as the standard of value—Rationality as the foremost virtue—Happiness as the moral goal of life.

10. Reason and Virtue. Independence, honesty, integrity, productiveness—Their relation to survival and mental health.

11. Justice vs. Mercy. The nature of justice—The importance of passing moral judgments—The virtue of pride.

12. The Evil of Self-Sacrifice. The ethics of altruism—Altruism as anti-man and anti-life.

13. Government and the Individual. The principles of a proper political system—Individual rights—Freedom vs. compulsion.

14. The Economics of a Free Society. Basic principles of exchange—Division of labor--The mechanism of a free market—Profits and wealth—”The pyramid of ability.”

15. Common Fallacies About Capitalism. Monopolies—depressions—labor unions—inherited wealth.

16. The Psychology of Sex. A person’s sexual choices as the expression of his deepest values—Sex and self-esteem.

17. Romanticism, Naturalism and the Novels of Ayn Rand, Part I. Naturalism and fatalism—Romanticism and free will—The literary method of Ayn Rand.

18. Romanticism, Naturalism and the Novels of Ayn Rand, Part II.

19. The Nature of Evil. Why evil is impotent—What makes the “victory” of evil possible—”The sanction of the victim.”

20. The Benevolent Sense of Life. Why many human beings repress and drive underground, not the worst within them, but the best—A benevolent vs. malevolent sense of life.

A Laissez Faire Books exclusive. This paperback volume includes transcripts of all the original NBI lectures on Objectivism. This edition was prepared under the direct supervision of Dr. Branden.

This is a prepublication offer. Copies will be shipped as soon as they arrive from the printer. Estimated delivery dates September, 09.

This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 23 June, 2009.

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  • 1 month later...

Since this book had been listed as possibly being available in September, I just phoned Laissez Faire Books for an update as to when The Vision of Ayn Rand - The Basic Principles of Objectivism book would be available. Their answer - the book has just gone to the printer and "should be available in late October."

The title is not currently listed at all on Amazon.com (their search engine pulls up other older titles on Ayn Rand and Objectivism, but has no reference to this title).

The spokesman for ISIL/Laissez Faire Books alluded to some "past difficulties" in their dealings with Amazon (he did not elaborate). So, it is unlikely that this book (or any others published by ISIL/LFB) will be listed as available through Amazon There may, however, be a link elsewhere on Amazon to connect directly to the Laissez Faire Books site, but that is not the same thing.

The absence of this book on Amazon is unfortunate, given that many/most people at least look-up information on available or forthcoming books through Amazon, whether they order from them or not.

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Since this book had been listed as possibly being available in September, I just phoned Laissez Faire Books for an update as to when The Vision of Ayn Rand - The Basic Principles of Objectivism book would be available. Their answer - the book has just gone to the printer and "should be available in late October."

The title is not currently listed at all on Amazon.com (their search engine pulls up other older titles on Ayn Rand and Objectivism, but has no reference to this title).

The spokesman for ISIL/Laissez Faire Books alluded to some "past difficulties" in their dealings with Amazon (he did not elaborate). So, it is unlikely that this book (or any others published by ISIL/LFB) will be listed as available through Amazon There may, however, be a link elsewhere on Amazon to connect directly to the Laissez Faire Books site, but that is not the same thing.

The absence of this book on Amazon is unfortunate, given that many/most people at least look-up information on available or forthcoming books through Amazon, whether they order from them or not.

Seems a lot of Randian related material is being published in October - guess there goes my Xmas budget, huh... ;-)

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Subject: Endless Libertarian-to-Objectivist ScrewUps

"The spokesman for ISIL/Laissez Faire Books alluded to some "past difficulties" in their dealings with Amazon (he did not elaborate). . . . The absence of this book on Amazon is unfortunate, given that many/most people at least look-up information on available or forthcoming books through Amazon, whether they order from them or not."

Jesus H. Christ! Example number #28765 of libertarians (as well as so many Oists) managing to screw something up in the 'real world', marketing-wise or in terms of reaching a wider public. Every other publisher, even small ones, seems to manage to have a working relationship with Amazon. Having visibility through Amazon, given that it's unlikely to be in the big bookstore chains, would probably double, triple, quadruple sales!

Example #28700 is the LP never being able to crack 1% in presidential elections when somewhere between a quarter and a third of the American public describes itself as socially liberal and economically conservative.

Example #27000 is focusing on endless debates whether government should have a 0% role (anarchism) or a 5% role in some far off future that has no imminent chance of happening and is incomprehensible to the general public.

Example #26598 is the bitter name-calling and factions and schisms and perpetual 'circular firing squads'

Example #26200 is speaking and writing in jargon all the time.

Example.....................................

..................................................

Edited by Philip Coates
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Phil:

Have you organized your election district where you lived for the libertarian party in any of those elections?

Have you gotten a list of registered voters and gone door to door and spoken to your neighbors, friends and new members of your election district who you do not know?

Adam

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Phil,

I sympathize with your exasperation about LFB/ISIL not being able to work with Amazon.

Any book that is listed on Amazon gets additional publicity that I should think is worth the expense and the hoop-jumping (whatever these are for a small outfit like LFB).

The publisher of my Sun Ra discography couldn't get along with Amazon either, and I wish they'd found a modus vivendi.

Robert Campbell

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> The publisher of my Sun Ra discography couldn't get along with Amazon either

Robert, what does not being able to "get along" with Amazon mean in your case on in the LFB case? Are they asking for 90% percent of the revenues? Have a say in the contents of the book itself? Preclude marketing through other means?

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All fussing aside - I've been wanting this transcript since I first bought the not so great CD copy of the original tapes, on which BB's efficient thinking lecture is practically inaudible. So, just getting that is going to be majorly great. You know what? I thought that when Nathaniel Branden sent out the announcement about this transcript to his newsletter list, that it was in answer to my request to him to "help us save the country" that I had sent in just a couple of months earlier. Guess, that was kinda dumb, huh? Still, the timing sure couldn't be any better.

Now, when is Barbara's lesson series on Efficient Thinking going to be published in book form? That would sure be icing on the cake. Beside, I think, somehow, I need it.

Edited by Mary Lee Harsha
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Phil,

I don't know what the bones of contention are when small publishers can't agree with Amazon.

My guess would be how big a cut Amazon wants from sales of the book through their site, and what kinds of shipping arrangements Amazon wants.

I don't see how Amazon could try to get publishers not to advertise elsewhere; most publicity outlets for books were well established before Amazon came into being, and the only one that seems to be diminishing is visits by the author to small bookstores.

Robert Campbell

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You missed this:

The Vision of Ayn Rand: The Basic Principles of Objectivism (Paperback) $22.95

The Original NBI Lectures in print! Reserve your paperback copies now.

For ten years--from 1958 to 1968--Mr. Branden’s lectures on “Basic Principles of Objectivism” were given at Nathaniel Branden Institute in New York City and, via tape transcription, to groups in over eighty cities throughout the United States and abroad. More than 35,000 students have attended these lectures. Until now, this course has never been available in book form.

The Basic Principles of Objectivism is a detailed, systematic exposition of the philosophy defined by Ayn Rand and introduced in her novels, Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. The lectures are devoted to a presentation of Miss Rand’s philosophy—and to Mr. Branden’s application of Objectivism to his own field, psychology. Special emphasis is given to the concepts of human nature, mental health and personal development.

With the exception of Lecture Six, which is given by Barbara Branden (lecturer, writer and formerly Administrative Director of NBI), all of these lectures are delivered by Nathaniel Branden. These are the same lectures as originally presented by NBI under the supervision of Ms. Rand.

1. The Role of Philosophy. What is philosophy?—The historical role of reason—The bankruptcy of today’s culture—Objectivism—Objectivism vs. subjectivism.

2. What is Reason? The process of abstraction and concept-formation—The subconscious—Reason and emotions.

3. Logic and Mysticism. Identity and causality—The validity of the senses—Reason vs. mysticism.

4. The Concept of God. Is the concept meaningful? —Are the arguments for the existence of God logically defensible? —The destructiveness of the concept of God.

5. Free Will. The meaning and nature of volition—The fallacy of psychological determinism—Free will as the choice to think or not to think.

6. Efficient Thinking. The nature of clear thinking—Pseudo-thinking—The nature of definitions—Common thinking errors. Guest lecture by Barbara Branden

7. Self-Esteem. Why self-esteem is man’s deepest psychological need—The consequences of the failure to achieve self-esteem.

8. The Psychology of Dependence. The independent mind vs. the “socialized mind”—Social Metaphysics—The revolt against the responsibility of a volitional consciousness.

9. The Objectivist Ethics. Foundation of the Objectivist ethics—Man’s life as the standard of value—Rationality as the foremost virtue—Happiness as the moral goal of life.

10. Reason and Virtue. Independence, honesty, integrity, productiveness—Their relation to survival and mental health.

11. Justice vs. Mercy. The nature of justice—The importance of passing moral judgments—The virtue of pride.

12. The Evil of Self-Sacrifice. The ethics of altruism—Altruism as anti-man and anti-life.

13. Government and the Individual. The principles of a proper political system—Individual rights—Freedom vs. compulsion.

14. The Economics of a Free Society. Basic principles of exchange—Division of labor--The mechanism of a free market—Profits and wealth—”The pyramid of ability.”

15. Common Fallacies About Capitalism. Monopolies—depressions—labor unions—inherited wealth.

16. The Psychology of Sex. A person’s sexual choices as the expression of his deepest values—Sex and self-esteem.

17. Romanticism, Naturalism and the Novels of Ayn Rand, Part I. Naturalism and fatalism—Romanticism and free will—The literary method of Ayn Rand.

18. Romanticism, Naturalism and the Novels of Ayn Rand, Part II.

19. The Nature of Evil. Why evil is impotent—What makes the “victory” of evil possible—”The sanction of the victim.”

20. The Benevolent Sense of Life. Why many human beings repress and drive underground, not the worst within them, but the best—A benevolent vs. malevolent sense of life.

A Laissez Faire Books exclusive. This paperback volume includes transcripts of all the original NBI lectures on Objectivism. This edition was prepared under the direct supervision of Dr. Branden.

This is a prepublication offer. Copies will be shipped as soon as they arrive from the printer. Estimated delivery dates September, 09.

This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 23 June, 2009.

As discussed in this thread, this book has been announced on the Laissez Faire Books website (www.lfb.org) and in their print and online catalog for a print publication date this September (now likely to be late October).

Those of us who have listened to the recorded lectures or have attended the "live" presentations at NBI, are looking forward to their appearance in book format. However, it appears that the distribution of this book may be impaired by the seeming reluctance of Laissez Faire Books to offer the book through the world's largest bookseller, Amazon.com (where it currently does not appear at all in querying their search engine), even though LFB is listed as an "associate store" and has links to their own site through Amazon.

This book deserves to be exposed to the widest possible distribution, including Borders, Barnes & Noble (the world's largest chain of book stores), and, of course, college bookstores. At present, however, it may only become available through the lfb website. I'm all for LFB and ISIL reaping their just rewards for publishing this book, but availability only through their website is too restricting.

OL members and readers who feel that Laissez Faire Books should consider expanding their distribution plans for The Vision of Ayn Rand: The Basic Principles of Objectivism, may wish to address their concerns to the following:

James Elwood (publisher of LFB's Laissez Faire! magazine and President of the International Society for Individual Liberty);

James Peron, editor;

Mark Pickens, assistant editor (all of the above can be reached at askus@lfb.org or call them at 1-707-8796.

Nathaniel Branden can be reached at nathaniel@nathanielbranden.com

Barbara Branden (who contributed one of the lectures and who wrote a Foreward for this new edition) can be reached through the member mail system here on Objectivist Living

OR...we can let OPAR be the de facto "general survey" on Objectivism as a philosophical system, or at least the only one that most bookstore browsers will ever see. Let's not let that dismal situation continue.

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Subject: Similar to the Oral Tradition Lunacy: Keeping the Movement Small, Poorly Versed, and Ill-Educated

> it may only become available through the lfb website. I'm all for LFB and ISIL reaping their just rewards for publishing this book, but availability only through their website is too restricting. [Jerry B]

It sounds like the same mistake that was made in keeping lectures and courses available only on tape (or now CD or mp3) in the first place (all the Peikoff courses, much of the stuff on the ARI/Aynrand Bookstore): In that case, you sell them for several hundred dollars for every single individual lecture series instead of twenty-thirty as a book or transcript. You restrict the number of people who are exposed to the ideas.

Even if 'oral tradition' were the best way to learn complex ideas, relatively few people can afford those prices ten times as high, certainly not repeatedly -- especially among the young, who are the target audience open to ideas for any movement or set of new ideas.

1. Revenues: Short range 'make a killing' thinking is that you make ten times as much per unit. But if you only sell 1/10 as much you don't make more money. And if you had made them into printed form decades ago, you would spread knowledge of Objectivism, make it durable, make it quoted. And generate "repeat customers" - for other courses/lecture series, so that increases your total sales. Plus, as the author: you publicize your own work and accomplishments, you have more credits and credibility, you make it easier to get a book contract in the future, if your stuff is good, or get a better publisher or one who will market the hell out of your book(s)or other work.

2. Power and Impact: Having things in printed form gives the ideas you worked so hard to formulate a permanence, an impact, and allows more people to consider them and learn from them. The Oist movement would be much larger if its leading intellectuals and think tanks had ever heard of a man named Gutenberg. Christianity spread and had much greater reach because of the enormous impact of the Gutenberg Bible. For the first time, people could hold the ideas in their hands and study them or read them slowly.

--Hand it to someone.

--Copy a short part.

--Bookmark it.

--Reread, view it afresh.

--Don't have to rely on memory for exactness of formulation or supporting argument or evidence.

,,,,,

Imagine hundreds of years from now, after the leftist/christian/muslim censorship of pro-freedom and pro-reason - and, crucially, Objectivist - ideas --- which were never fully written out and/or not fully developed or applied and therefor couldn't compete with their very articulate, well-published opponents --- people whispering around campfires about Peikoff's lecture series on Education, Great Plays, Understanding Objectivism, and many other topics. Will be short whisperings soon concluded because old granddad had Alzheimer's and could only remember a couple paragraphs and precious few CD's were sold and those have been beat up or lost. It seems what Peikoff was advocating, at least as it was handed down, was the existence of unicorns and education through repeated beatings.

Edited by Philip Coates
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The above post was mostly on the oral tradition mistake (still being made in many ways after 30, 40, 50 years). And by analogy, limiting the sales or reach of a book has many of the same disadvantages. Both financial and in terms of impact.

Business 101. Spreading and Marketing Ideas 102. Publishing 003.

Edited by Philip Coates
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Peikoff's excuse to me years ago for not publishing those lectures was that it would have been enormous work, just a transcript wouldn't do.

Weigh that ( a year out of your life when you were 35 - or, better, immediately after each course was fresh in your mind, having just been delivered ) against all the points I made in post #17.

Against the assuredness that you words on those topics you considered important enough to create entire courses would never have impact because they were never written down.

Edited by Philip Coates
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I suggested earlier in one of the Objectivist forums (perhaps this very one) that the practice of selling high-priced audios instead of books (dating back to the founding of NBI in 1958) is a matter of elasticity of demand. The audience is the hard-core, low-elasticity customers who will pay handsomely to stay up to date on everything Objectivist. I can't get serious about the notion that a huge public is (or ever was) out there waiting to snap up this material if only it were available more cheaply. These people are going to read Rand's books, and if they get interested they'll eventually find the audios.

The publication of Branden's lectures will put this to an empirical test. Perhaps the publishers won't do as good a marketing job as they should, but, even if they do, I predict that we won't see the book on the bestseller list or the front table at Borders.

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I suggested earlier in one of the Objectivist forums (perhaps this very one) that the practice of selling high-priced audios instead of books (dating back to the founding of NBI in 1958) is a matter of elasticity of demand. The audience is the hard-core, low-elasticity customers who will pay handsomely to stay up to date on everything Objectivist. I can't get serious about the notion that a huge public is (or ever was) out there waiting to snap up this material if only it were available more cheaply. These people are going to read Rand's books, and if they get interested they'll eventually find the audios.

The publication of Branden's lectures will put this to an empirical test. Perhaps the publishers won't do as good a marketing job as they should, but, even if they do, I predict that we won't see the book on the bestseller list or the front table at Borders.

How much of a market exists for any unpublished material? We don't find out until it is published - and then it depends on the publishers and their publicists, the design of the book cover, the title used (does it attract attention? is it provocative?, or is it bland and or boring-sounding?).

How many copies of Rand's The Virtue of Selfishness and Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal would have sold, if instead, they had been named respectively, "Essays on Morality," and "Collected Essays on Politics and Economics?" With Rand's name on the cover, they probably would have done well, but it is doubtful that they would have sold nearly as many copies as they have using their more provocative titles.

How many copies will The Vision of Ayn Rand sell? All the above factors apply. But let's use this hypothetical example (which I am sure occurs many times): a college student reads The Fountainhead and/or Atlas Shrugged. He becomes exhilarated with the radical vision that her philosophy provides. After reading her other novels and nonfiction works, he is eager to find other works by authors expanding or applying Objectivism. He walks into the college book store (or Borders, or Barnes & Noble, etc.) to find their collections on philosophy. Other than a few minor introductory surveys (e.g., by Gotthelf or Bernstein), all he finds is Peikoff's OPAR (which, as everyone knows, is a revised version of the audio lecture set, The Philosophy of Objectivism).

I maintain that it would be much more beneficial and useful for this hypothetical student to be able to pick up Branden's Basic Principles of Objectivism - as a complement to Peikoff's OPAR. Even better, if he could pick up Kelley's Logical Structure of Objectivism (which is yet another conundrum). There are certainly many people curious about Rand's philosophy that would like to learn more about it. Some (the great majority, I dare say) are not (yet) "hard-core" enough to drop multiple hundreds of dollars at the ARI online bookstore for sets of CDs and/or tapes (which is a spectacularly un-scholarly and inefficient method to promote a new philosophy - particularly if one is trying to create a whole class of "New Intellectuals" in the universities - which is clearly a goal that Ayn Rand would have wanted).

Is it likely that we will see The Vision of Ayn Rand "on the bestseller list or the front table at Borders"? No. The last time I was in Borders in Columbia a few days ago, what I found on the front table and near the Politics and History aisles, were huge stacks of Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States," a predictably Marxist condemnation of this country. Its prominent placement, along with other equally odious tomes, was probably the result of being a "favorite" of the Border's staff.

The Borders staff, not withstanding, I don't think we can accurately estimate what effect the promotion and publication of Branden's BPO would have, in the long run. But having it widely available in print (assuming that it is done correctly) is better than having only OPAR as a general survey.

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I suggested earlier in one of the Objectivist forums (perhaps this very one) that the practice of selling high-priced audios instead of books (dating back to the founding of NBI in 1958) is a matter of elasticity of demand. The audience is the hard-core, low-elasticity customers who will pay handsomely to stay up to date on everything Objectivist. I can't get serious about the notion that a huge public is (or ever was) out there waiting to snap up this material if only it were available more cheaply. These people are going to read Rand's books, and if they get interested they'll eventually find the audios.

The publication of Branden's lectures will put this to an empirical test. Perhaps the publishers won't do as good a marketing job as they should, but, even if they do, I predict that we won't see the book on the bestseller list or the front table at Borders.

It's good to see a realistic assessment of this issue for a change. The overwhelming majority of Rand's readers never move on from her novels to her nonfiction, irrespective of the form that nonfiction takes. Millions have read her novels. Tens of thousands (at most) have read her essays and those of her associates and colleagues.

JR

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I suggested earlier in one of the Objectivist forums (perhaps this very one) that the practice of selling high-priced audios instead of books (dating back to the founding of NBI in 1958) is a matter of elasticity of demand. The audience is the hard-core, low-elasticity customers who will pay handsomely to stay up to date on everything Objectivist. I can't get serious about the notion that a huge public is (or ever was) out there waiting to snap up this material if only it were available more cheaply. These people are going to read Rand's books, and if they get interested they'll eventually find the audios.

The publication of Branden's lectures will put this to an empirical test. Perhaps the publishers won't do as good a marketing job as they should, but, even if they do, I predict that we won't see the book on the bestseller list or the front table at Borders.

It's good to see a realistic assessment of this issue for a change. The overwhelming majority of Rand's readers never move on from her novels to her nonfiction, irrespective of the form that nonfiction takes. Millions have read her novels. Tens of thousands (at most) have read her essays and those of her associates and colleagues.

JR

While I own BPO records I haven't listened to them in nearly 40 years (1972-1973). I also took the course about half by tape in Tucson the rest in NYC (1968). I find NB's style of speech too difficult to listen to now and it's in considerable contrast to most of his post-break recorded talks. I long suspected if I were to read the material I'd go through it much, much faster and better than listening to it and I'm soon going to find out.

--Brant

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I suggested earlier in one of the Objectivist forums (perhaps this very one) that the practice of selling high-priced audios instead of books (dating back to the founding of NBI in 1958) is a matter of elasticity of demand. The audience is the hard-core, low-elasticity customers who will pay handsomely to stay up to date on everything Objectivist. I can't get serious about the notion that a huge public is (or ever was) out there waiting to snap up this material if only it were available more cheaply. These people are going to read Rand's books, and if they get interested they'll eventually find the audios.

The publication of Branden's lectures will put this to an empirical test. Perhaps the publishers won't do as good a marketing job as they should, but, even if they do, I predict that we won't see the book on the bestseller list or the front table at Borders.

Reidy,

I agree with your perceptive prediction.

I noticed that Ron Paul's new book appears on a best seller list in the business section of the Wall Street Journal as number 6 in the business book listings.

End The Fed is number 35 on the Amazon best seller list after 138 days in the top 100.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/ref=pd_ts_pg_2?ie=UTF8&pg=2

There are over one hundred reviews by customers as well.

We are not quite in a dictatorship yet so there just may be enough time to enlighten the electorate. Yes that is what i am hoping for. In addition to working full time plus to make ends meet I do pass various torches e.g. Atlas Shrugged, Branden's works, and the ever popular: www.campaignforliberty.com link 217,342.

My prediction is that there will be tens of millions who are new to the pro freedom movement because of the efforts of Objectivists, libertarians, Mises and Rothbard readers, subscribers to the various publications of the think tanks, CATO, FFF, FEE, ARI etc but mostly because of the Ron Paul supporters, his books and his Campaign For Liberty.

As a consequence the dialog in the upcoming and all future elections will be flavored by such advocates of the free market and adherence to the Constitution.

There is no guarantee that their efforts will win or result in perpetual freedom. That will take Eternal Vigilance!

At least the antidote is known.

www.campaignforliberty.com 217,342

gulch

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