Crashing the Party

From Barnes & Noble

Ralph Nader, the 2000 Green Party candidate for president, shares his thoughts on the state of politics in America. Long considered a maverick, Nader lashes out at both the GOP and the Democrats (indeed, he even lumps them together, as "Republicrats," since he essentially sees no difference in their respective philosophies) and defends his third-party run (one that many feel may have thrown the election to George W. Bush). He takes the reader through each step of his campaign, showing how this perennial "loose cannon" wound up playing a key role in the election.

Publishers Weekly

This jaunty, provocative and entertaining on-the-road memoir/manifesto maps out Nader's political philosophy and provides the Nader take on the contemporary U.S. political scene. Whether it is what he sees as the corruption of the national media "I can't overemphasize the influence of The New York Times and Washington Post in setting the scene for the rest of the media" or the need to resuscitate the town meeting as he did repeatedly during his campaign tour, Nader presents a strong case that national politics is run more by money than issues and that there is a "democracy gap" that "discourages people from shaping the future for our country." Like a plucky protagonist in a Frank Capra film, Nader insists on speaking up for the little people and backs his arguments and decent sentiments with hard facts: an appendix of stats on affordable housing needs, "corporate welfare," personal bankruptcies, uneven distribution of wealth and the current minimum wage (which, adjusted for inflation, is lower than it was in 1979) is an impressive indictment of the state of the national economy. Holding up last November's squalid election bickering as the end result of a fatigued system "To tell you the truth, I think they [the people] never really liked either one of them," he quotes Gore's own campaign manager as saying Nader, ever optimistic, ends his book with a pragmatic 10-point "First Stage Goals for a Better America." (Jan.) Forecast: Despite the general shift of interest away from last year's election, Nader's faithful and other opponents of two-party domination will undoubtedly seek this out. It should do well in areas where he has strong support. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Buyers be warned Nader's account of his 2000 Green Party presidential run has serious defects of repetition and woodenness and often fails to rise above the rhetoric of a political rally. On the other hand, Nader can be quite funny, especially in his observations on media in politics and on the campaign of Al Gore; and his firsthand report on barriers facing third parties offers a viewpoint seldom encountered. Nader says he ran because our stifling two-party "duopoly" sustains "the corporatization of our society beyond any and all boundaries established by previous generations." Critics have labeled Nader's longtime consumer advocacy narrow and class-bound, and he takes pains to establish credentials on a lengthy list of other issues, from child poverty to matters such as feminism, school reform, civil rights, the family farm, and even industrial hemp. While not a great read, this book is a broad statement of today's progressive agenda and a significant accounting from a man who has influenced us for a generation. A worthwhile purchase for public and academic libraries. Robert F. Nardini, Chichester, NH Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

The story of Nader's 2000 presidential bid, told with his trademark wooden verve and his equally trademark clarity and passion for the civic good.