The Fountainhead

Instantly easily one of my 5 favorite books of all time. I liked it even more than Atlas Shrugged, since I found it more relatable.

This is one of those books so powerful that it changed something very deep within me, and caused me to begin to see the world differently. Mostly due to the triangle between Roark, Toohey, and Keating. One can see these 3 archetypes in any person in different proportions. It begs me to make many ethical judgements: which of these characters do/should I aspire to be? Is there anything unethical about these characters' actions?

Yes it is pretty long, but it was a good length for the point that it tries to get across. And the story is compelling enough that it doesn't drag on or go into irrelevant details like lots of fiction writing does. That is because this book is an amazing example of “show don't tell”. Mrs. Rand uses the book as a tool to convince you about her philosophy. Not in a subversive subliminal way; she is quite open about it. But she never references the principles of her philosophy within the book. It is a book of political philosophy even though for some reason many modern academics don't believe it belongs in the canon of such works. Instead of being a collection of dense one-liners that take forever to digest like many philosophy books, it is a story full of life, relationships, and career.