Heller also hired a Russian research team to find archival material related to Rand's early life in Russia.

[7] In a review for Liberty, Stephen Cox called the book "engrossing" and "objective", although he disagreed with Heller's interpretations in some areas.

[8] In New York magazine, reviewer Sam Anderson said, "A truly neutral biography seems impossible (as) anyone deep enough to be an authority is probably either a true believer or a heretic.

But Heller manages to find a nice middle ground; she seems equally happy exposing admirable and ugly secrets.

Occasionally her tone seems a bit too casually reverential [...] Overall, though, Heller does a remarkable job with a subject who was almost cripplingly complex.