The best way to assess Ayn Rand and to basically understand Objectivism is to read her speech to the 1974 West Point graduating class. The speech is titled "Philosophy, Who Needs it?", it is the first essay in a paperback of the same name, and it deals with the influence that philosophy has on every individual's life.
West Point people liked the speech so much that they asked for and received permission to use it as chapter one in the Point's Philosophy text book.
Eleven pages, that's it.