negative, and even the longer reviews paid little attention to the details of Rand's aesthetic theory. From then until the late 1990s, The Romantic Manifesto and Rand's aesthetic theory in general received little attention, leading Rand scholar Chris Matthew Sciabarra to refer to it as "a nearly forgotten book in the Randian canon". One of the few exceptions was a 1986 journal article by literature professor Stephen D. Cox, in which he contrasted Rand's formal aesthetic theory from the book with her own practices as an author of fiction, arguing that her practice contradicted some of her theoretical points. Another exception was a chapter on Rand's aesthetics in Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, a detailed presentation of her ideas by her friend and heir Leonard Peikoff. Overall this period was described by one later critic as a time of "benign neglect", when even Rand's admirers wrote little about her ideas on art. Mimi Reisel Gladstein described the book as "perhaps the most unified and coherent of Rand's nonfiction works." However, the historian James T. Baker contrasted the book with Rand's approach in her book Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, most of which was written as a single work. Baker described The Romantic Manifesto as lacking the "systematic" approach of the other book. Barry Vacker said that while the book "offers unique and valuable insights", it fails to "present a complete philosophy of fine art". As of 2008, the book had sold over 350,000 copies. References Works cited 1969 non-fiction books American essay collections Art manifestos Books about writing Books by Ayn Rand English-language books Objectivist books Philosophy books New American Library books