In addition to all else he’s done for the world, Ralph Nader started an indie bookstore, the Community Bookstore in Winsted, Connecticut where he and his sister Claire Nader grew up. Both are still a force in the area and were kind enough to come to my reading yesterday. The bookstore is only a few steps away from another institution Ralph founded there: The American Museum of Tort Law. The museum is a fun and fabulous hall of exhibits that educate visitors of all ages about the benefits of trial by jury, including displays of famously outlawed artifacts: flammable PJs, dangerous toys, lethal hand tools and an actual full-size 1963 Chevy Corvair–which Ralph Nader’s book convinced lawmakers was unsafe at any speed. That book which changed the auto industry, and a vast and eclectic collection of others, including his new novel are on display at the bookstore, a great place to browse or hang or to do readings. Best question from my audience came from the Naders’ ten-year-old grand-niece: Is the story the truth?
