Ayn Rand's analysis of the New Left "student rebellion" in the 1970's exposed a movement by students, acting on the worst of philosophical ideas being taught in the university classroom, to introduce force as a legitimate expression of political ideas. And so universities around the country were halted by student sit-ins and teach-ins, political conventions were surrounded by swirling riots, and the militant Weather Underground and Black Liberation Army picked up guns and bombs to express their disagreement with capitalism.
The arresting three-part article in which Ayn Rand exposed every premise, every root, and every hypocrisy and contradiction of the New Left movement was "The Cashing-In: The Student Rebellion." This gave a whole generation of Objectivists on campuses around the country the ammunition to move into opposition to the so-called rebellion. At the time, this inspired me to write a novel, "The Way The Wind Blew: Battling America's First Terrorists."
Given the times, however, no publisher was interested in a novel written in the heroic, Romantic tradition, and dealing within the context of a thriller with the true nature of the violence underway--and the complicity in it by many faculty members, including the Old Leftists. Now, with the ability to publish independently on Amazon, these gatekeepers no longer can block novels that don't fit their politics and philosophy. And so, I have revised, refined, and re-ignited the novel and published it on Amazon to some wonderful reviews.
The novel came out at a fortunate time, since the new movie starring Robert Redford has hit the theaters with a full-blown attempt to dramatize the courage and idealism of the Weather Underground bombers and stick-up guys and to put their violence "in context" to excuse it. Many articles and reviews by libertarians and Objectivists have exposed the lies in this movie; these reviews are easily found by Googling. But "The Way The Wind Blew" casts the story into the form of a thriller driven by the full drama and interplay of the street violence with the moral fervor on campus and the love affair of faculty members with such groups as the Black Panthers. Surrounding it all, of course, is the atmosphere of "sexual liberation" that became such dogma that the Weather Underground forbade any one-on-one relationships among its troops. Let communal sharing begin!
I have an author page on Amazon that presents all my novels, books of poetry, short story collection, and a polemic about the Second-Amendment rights entitled, "Nothing But A Gun." Thanks for listening and if you decide to try the novel, but all means let me know how you like it.