Born in Connecticut, Ralph Nader is the son of Lebanese immigrants who emphasized citizenship and democracy and stressed the importance of justice rather than power. Nader earned his bachelor's degree in government and economics from Princeton University in 1955 and his law degree from Harvard University in 1958, having served as editor of the prestigious Harvard Law Record. Nader reads some 15 publications daily and speaks several languages, including Arabic, Chinese, and Russian.

Nader published his first article, "American Cars: Designed for Death," as editor of the Harvard Law Record. He later made his reputation with Unsafe at Any Speed (1965), a condemnation of the American automobile industry's record on safety. The book was initially commissioned by then-assistant secretary of labor Daniel Patrick Moynihan in 1963 as a report to congress, and was then brought out as a trade book by a small...