- A provocative examination of Ayn Rand"s ideas and her enormous impact on American culture and politics - from Alan Greenspan to the Tea Party. Thirty years after her death in March 1982, Ayn Rand"s ideas have never been more important. In Ayn Rand Nation, Gary Weiss explores the people and institutions that continue to be heavily influenced by Rand"s work, particularly in the current political and economic climate. He covers a wide range of subjects, including veterans of Rand"s famed Collective of the 1950s; her intellectual heir, Leonard Peikoff, and his adversaries; Rand"s permeation of the Tea Party and Libertarian movements; the celebrities who have become her fans and media personalities who promote her views, among them Glenn Beck, John Stossel and Rush Limbaugh; the Rand standard-bearer Congressman Ron Paul and his son Senator Rand Paul; and most importantly, Alan Greenspan and Rand"s crucial affect on the man who counseled deregulation of financial markets - with lasting consequences for America today. From The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged to Rand"s lesser-known and misunderstood nonfiction books, Gary Weiss examines the impact of Rand"s thinking across our culture.