"This is the first book-length study to explore the historical, literary, and philosophical themes of Ayn Rand's anti-utopia novella Anthem. Written in 1937 in opposition to the totalitarianism of the Soviet Union (and Nazi Germany), published in 1938 in Britain, and subsequently in a revised form in the United States in 1946, Anthem investigates the importance of the ego and freedom and explores the struggles of the individual against the state. Editor Robert Mayhew has collected a variety of essays dealing with such topics as the history behind the novella's creation, publication, and reception; its connection to other anti-utopian novels; and the significance of ego and freedom, which it portrays and defends."--BOOK JACKET.