Told You So: the Big Book of Weekly Columns

“What sets Ralph Nader apart is that he has moved beyond social criticism to effective political action.”—The New York Times

"Nader is at his polemical best inveighing against specific issues from the skyrocketing costs of college education to the Keystone XL pipeline to new traffic safety concerns that harken back to his pivotal game-changing 1965 book, Unsafe at Any Speed. Admirers of Nader will find much to savor here as will anyone seeking to understand the mind of a man who singlehandedly sparked a new era of citizen-driven political and consumer activism." —Publishers Weekly

The column is the most natural literary form for a citizen’s advocate, and Ralph Nader may be its most robust and forceful practitioner. Told You So: The Big Book of Weekly Columns presents a panoramic portrait of the problems confronting our society and provides examples of the many actions an organized citizenry could and should take to create a more just and environmentally sustainable world. Drawing on decades of experience, Nader's columns document the consequences of concentrated corporate power; threats to our food, water and air; the corrosive effect of commercialism on our children; the dismantling of worker rights; and the attacks on our civil rights and civil liberties. Nader also offers concrete suggestions to spark citizen action and achieve social change.

RALPH NADER is America’s leading consumer’s and citizen’s advocate, a lawyer and an author who has co-founded numerous public interest groups including Public Citizen, the Center for Auto Safety, Clean Water Action Project, the Disability Rights Center, the Pension Rights Center, Commercial Alert, the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), and the Center for Study of Responsive Law. 

For the past forty-five years Ralph Nader has challenged abuses by corporate and government officials and urged citizens to use their time, energy and democratic rights to demand greater institutional accountability. In 1965, Nader's landmark book Unsafe at Any Speed changed the face of the automobile industry. The Atlantic Magazine named Nader as one of the hundred most influential figures in American history, and Time and Life magazines honored him as one of the most influential Americans of the twentieth century. As a result of his efforts, cars are safer, food is healthier and our environment is less polluted and our democracy is more robust.