The Seventeen Traditions

The author of this book succeeds here on several levels. First, Ralph Nader explains himself well: who he is, and how he got to become who he is. Second, the author explains how growing up in a low-media, high intensity household gave him lifelong advantages, insights, and commitments--things he might not have had he been enmeshed in movies, television shows, video games, rap music, etc. Third, the author details the family traditions from Lebanese parents that were especially useful to him during his 45 years or so of national leadership of various causes. Fourth, the author provides a warm evocation of a Christian Arabic family that can aid in improving understanding of Arab speaking people in and outside the United States. The seventeen traditions that the author discovers in mining his family history are the traditions of listening, the family table, health, history, scarcity, sibling equality, education and argument, discipline, simple enjoyments, reciprocity, independent thinking, charity, work, business, patriotism, solitude and civics. These are traditions, he demonstrates, that his family lived, not just ideals that they mouthed. Had this book been published the year before the 1992 Presidential election, when the author was toying with seeking the Democratic Presidential nomination, he could well have been a serious candidate for that nomination and changed both his political future and the direction of our country. Without pretentiousness, it shows him to be a man of depth, understanding and roots in small-town America. The author sketches memorable portraits of his restaurant-owner and politically outspoken father; his wise, loving, and community active mother; his older brother, an attorney and community college founder; his sisters, Ph.Ds with enviable records of scholarship and academic leadership; his nephew, who has a doctorate and ecology, and two nieces, a lawyer and a Ph.D. in infectious diseases. The author certainly has a family committed to education and the welfare of us all. Elements of the author's crusading zeal are submerged but very much present here. He refers to "these times of widespread conformity and self-censorship." Speaking of his hometwon of Winsted, Connecticut, he notes that "The air and the water became clearer after the factories closed, but the toxic soils and hollowed-out remained, economic tripwires to any new development in the area." "Today," the author notes, "children everywhere are deprived of expsoure to nature in the same way (as only big city children used to be); they grow up with their eyes, ears, tastes and other senses trained on a corporate world of sensual visual reality--removed, as no generation in human history, from the daily flow and rhythm of history." The book jacket notes that author was recently named by the Atlantic magazine as one of the 100 most influential figures in American history. This customer reviewer does not dispute that rating and hopes that the aut

This "big, little book" is a must-read for parents of young children. To those who harbor a lingering resentment against Ralph Nader for erroneously believing that it was he alone who handed George W. Bush the presidency in 2000, I strongly urge you to get over it. Future historians will appraise this man's good deeds for the American common person in a far more positive light than today. That Nader took the road less traveled is clearly explained in this gem of a work. The answer is quite simple: his parents, Nathra and Rose. Role models for how to raise children with love for each other,their parents and Nature; and later,to extend that childhood ambience to become caring adults whose main focus in life is concern for others--the human family, the global family, the environment---all under the banner of social justice. A four-hour read that is sure to change your perspective on family life.

Must read for anyone who is seriously interested in the man and how he became such a great man, even with all the challenges auto makers and others gave him. Having read about his Mothers cooking in the past I knew he came from a great family with ethical beliefs that were far from the me me me mentality so many Americans came and come from. Appreciate his views on Patriotism in a time when putting a flag on the front porch or lapel passes for patriotism when in fact as he notes so eloquently it requires something called sacrifice starting at the local level. And solitude. In an era when it seems most kids cant live without text messaging or some computer on when they aren't sleeping, it was so refreshing to read that Mr Naders family was like ours when it comes to appreciating silence and things like reading or playing outside. And independent thinking which is what makes a leader not a follower, and the fact the being independent thinking may be hard at times, but not when one considers the big picture. Makes one wish he would run for President again......

This is the first book I have ever read by Ralph Nader. I never expected to buy and read this book, but I heard a very short interview with Nader on TV in which he mentioned something about his book that caught my attention. On a whim I bought it and I was quite impressed by the simple intelligence that went into writing it. Nader's writing is smart without being in any way pretentious. We all know (or think we know) who Ralph Nader is, and might be inclined to expect a "cause" book from him. But there is much at work here. This is a smart autobiography written by a private man who is looking back on his childhood. But rather than construct a temporal narrative ("I was born in ..."), Nader tries to recall 17 memorable traditions, values, or ethical practices that were a part of his childhood (family meals, learning to listen, education, discipline, etc) and describes how he learned each one and how it contributed to his moral formation. While this is not a political book, Nader has a strongly hinted view about where we have come from, who we are, and where we appear to be headed. Nader observes, with a lifetime of experience and insight, that, in the moral, inner life of American society, we have not only not succeeded entirely in defeating the evils of Nader's childhood, but we are also in danger of abandoning or losing so much of what was good. This short reflection on a life lived is a significant contribution in the conversation that leads to stopping and reversing that trend. Anyone who is concerned about our moral substance as citizens in communities and as a society would enjoy this book.

This is an absolute gem of a book, and the PERFECT GIFT for newlyweds. I read it in an afternoon, and I confess to it's being a long afternoon of nagging dismay, as I reflected on how many of these lessons we have not taught our three cyber-era teenagers. The seventeen lessons cover listening, family table, health, history, scarcity, equality, education, discipline, simple enjoyments, reciprocity, independent thinking, charity, work, business, patriotism, solitude, and civics. While very heavily leavened with autobiographical reflections, this absolutely beautiful, moral, intelligent, well-written book is a gift to us all. For many of us it is too late--if I were starting over my kids would be banned from computers much of the time, and I would have refused the grandparents gifts of a personal TV to each child. Bottom line: this is a keep-sake book with an enormous amount of common sense and tranditional values with none of the pontifical sanctimony usually found in such books. This is a first rate piece of work and reflection, ably presented in elegant language, and the absolutely perfect gift for all newlyweds you know. Buy ten copies. This kind of decency does not come available very often.