Ralph Nader: A Bibliography, 1960-1982

Alvan Bregman Ph.D., M.L.S. lived in Toronto.

When the first edition of this bibliography was published in April 1973, Ralph Nader was indisputably having a major influence on North American consumer affairs. This updated edition shows that Nader’s importance can hardly have faded, though we may be more used to his presence. The number of entries has at least doubled, and one section, on Nader’s testimony before Congressional committees, has tripled in size.

The bibliography is organized into four separate sections, with alphabetical listings by author, of monographs and periodical articles by and about Nader. As well, there is a section of “Select Reviews on Some Monographs by and about Ralph Nader and His Study Groups,” though the criteria for inclusion are not given. Lastly, there is a listing, organized chronologically by date of appearance, of Nader testimony before Congress. There is occasional inconsistency in the names of the government bodies (the “Joint Economic Committee” is presumably the same as the “House-Senate Joint Economic Committee”), and sometimes Subcommittees appear without references to their parent Committees. Testimonies of other members of Nader’s groups have been dropped from this edition, and some annotations have been shortened or changed.

On the whole, this is an attractively produced work, but there are still too many typographical errors and inconsistencies. The lack of indexes drastically reduces the usefulness of the bibliography, and it would have been nice to see Canadian references separately noted.