It Usually Begins With Ayn Rand

In It Usually Begins With Ayn Rand, Jerome Tuccille takes the reader on a “hilarious romp through the wild and kooky reaches of the libertarian right,” according to Publisher’s Weekly. Along the way he explodes many myths surrounding leading right-wing heroes, including Ayn Rand, Barry Goldwater, William F. Buckley, Jr., Ronald Reagan, and many others. He doesn’t spare himself from the satirist’s pen either, describing in detail his comic run for Governor of New York in 1974—an adventure that ended in near bankruptcy and personal turmoil.

“[Tuccille] is damned funny. His book is a quick read; its pages turn quickly. This is pop history, not deep theory, so most of the pauses in the reading are caused by sudden bouts of laughter. What are we to make of a book that, when discussing Rand's comments about pollution, adds, ‘Ayn, you sweet, lovable, crazy bitch’? David Friedman wrote in his foreword to the 25th anniversary edition of this book: ‘If you are looking for a careful scholarly history of the libertarian movement... you had better look somewhere else. But for a vivid and entertaining picture of the early years of libertarianism, Tuccille's book has no equal.’”