For the New Intellectual (Presentation Copy)

New York: Random House, 1961. First edition. Near Fine/Near Fine. Original black publisher's cloth binding. Small bump to top front corner. Dark blue endpapers with mild offsetting. Near Fine in a like jacket, which is unclipped and shows only slight creasing and wear to corners. Inscribed and signed by Rand on the half title in the year of publication: "To Bob -- my invaluable 'executive secretary,' assistant and lieutenant commander-- Gratefully, Ayn. April 1, 1961." Robert Hessen, to whom this copy was inscribed, was Rand's trusted personal assistant.

Rand's chronicle crediting Aristotle with the rise of Western civilization and calling for the present generation of intellectuals to prevent civil destruction by continuing to value and promote abstract ideas and individuality. "In response to the practical problems of the 1960s many public figures were calling for a retreat from intellectual concerns in favor of blind tradition or range-of-the-moment pragmatism. Ayn Rand rejected this approach...For the New Intellectual is Rand's manifesto on the fundamental producers and their enemies in Western civilization, the philosophical ideas responsible for this conflict, and the philosophy necessary to lead Western civilization to new heights" (Ayn Rand Lexicon).

Bonhams lot 3187 (2005). Provenance: From the private collection of Jay T. Snider. Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket.