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THE SEVENTEEN TRADITIONS

by Ralph Nader, © 2007 by Ralph Nader
Designed by Kris Tobiassen
Illustrations by David Wolf

To My Parents, Nathra Nader and Rose Bouziane Nader
To Shafeek, Claire, and Laura
And to Young Parents

"Turn your back on the pack," I remember my mother telling me more than once during early childhood. Simple words, but they carried a few meanings in a very concise way. If we wanted to be leaders, we were taught -- if we wanted to think boldly, and to excel at what we did -- that we would have to be willing to be different.

Table of Contents:

Introduction:  The Landscape of My Boyhood

  1. The Tradition of Listening
  2. The Tradition of the Family Table
  3. The Tradition of Health
  4. The Tradition of History
  5. The Tradition of Scarcity
  6. The Tradition of Sibling Equality
  7. The Tradition of Education and Argument
  8. The Tradition of Discipline
  9. The Tradition of Simple Enjoyments
  10. The Tradition of Reciprocity
  11. The Tradition of Independent Thinking
  12. The Tradition of Charity
  13. The Tradition of Work
  14. The Tradition of Business
  15. The Tradition of Patriotism
  16. The Tradition of Solitude
  17. The Tradition of Civics

Afterword
Acknowledgments