Most Helpful Customer Reviews
97 of 103 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Gift to Newlyweds of Decency and Traditional Values, February 17, 2007
This review is from: The Seventeen Traditions (Hardcover)
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.
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48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a surprisingly smart autobiography, March 1, 2007
This review is from: The Seventeen Traditions (Hardcover)
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.
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43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Refreshing 10 star read....., March 31, 2007
This review is from: The Seventeen Traditions (Hardcover)
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......
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