1. The Ayn Rand Institute’s Elan Journo interviewed Harry Binswanger about Alexandra Popoff’s new biography of Ayn Rand, Ayn Rand: Creating a Gospel of Success. The biography of Rand is part of Yale University Press’s Jewish Lives series. While I think Popoff goes a little too far in finding Jewish influences on Rand and her works, Binswanger can’t even concede it’s metaphysically possible. Binswanger thunders: “Rand was not influenced!” Apparently, it’s all or nothing for Binswanger. (How this is consistent with the Objectivist view that it’s ultimately a handful of intellectuals who drive the benighted masses is beyond me.) Binswanger takes a jab at Barbara Branden’s 1986 biography of Rand, The Passion of Ayn Rand. He doesn’t name Branden but concedes the author knew Rand. He then takes a jab at the 2009 biographies of Rand by Jennifer Burns and Anne Heller. They want to describe Rand as crazy (none of them does) and want to find heightened influence on Nietzsche on Rand “because they want to.” Apparently, no take on Rand other than Binswanger’s can be made in good faith. At the end of the interview Binswanger takes exception to Popoff’s claim that Rand’s husband Frank was “meek.” Binswanger gives a couple examples of Frank’s supposed assertiveness. I don’t think these examples undercut the portrayal of Frank by other biographers. In any event, since ARI associated writers have contested over the years that Frank consumed alcohol to excess in his sad, final years why doesn’t Binswanger attack Popoff for confirming this (she had complete access to Rand’s archives, a fact never mentioned by Binswanger or Journo)? Journo asks Binswanger about how Popoff quotes him but doesn’t acknowledge that Popoff corresponded with him.
2. Yaron Brook was asked about David Harriman’s editing of The Journals of Ayn Rand. There has been controversy about this for a long time, in particular when Jennifer Burns published her 2009 biography of Rand, Goddess of the Market. Burns reported that Harriman rewrote sentences where Rand was tentative to be more emphatic to conform with her later thinking. Harriman even moved paragraphs around. (Similar editing plagued 5 other posthumous works.) While Brook doesn’t mention Burns or discuss the nature of the changes, he says that while someone could quibble with this or that editing decision, the editing was supervised by Leonard Peikoff and Peikoff approved the work. Brook also says one can always compare the book with the originals, which is untrue. The Archives are open for the most part only to supporters (but see above and below).
