Ralph Nader â55 has been many things in his five decades of public life -- a consumer advocate, an environmental activist, a best-selling author of nonfiction, and a frequent presidential candidate. This month, he added "novelist" to the list. Nader's fiction debut is a 733-page story of "practical utopia," titled
Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us
, in which a cadre of wealthy individuals sets out to solve America's problems, from big business to the federal government.
The novel, published by Seven Stories Press, has earned kudos from a few high-profile readers. Warren Beatty (in the book, a California gubernatorial candidate) said the story "shows us how good [Nader] thinks things could be," and Princeton professor Cornel West *80 hailed the book's "moral substance." Ted Turner, one of the novel's super-rich heroes, said he was happy to be included, according to the
Washington Post
.
Victor Navasky, publisher emeritus of
The Nation
, told the
Associated Press
that he was skeptical about the chances of seeing Nader's vision in the real world. "But Ralph is a prophet," Navasky added. "He has been right about so many things the rest of us couldn't imagine."
(Photo courtesy Seven Stories Press)
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