Return to Sender: Unanswered Letters to the President, 2001-2015

by Ralph Nader

In letters addressed to Presidents George Bush and Barack Obama, Ralph Nader provides incisive critiques of more than a decade of American policy decision and indecision. Each letter offers frank advice and shines light on government mishaps and missed opportunities for progress. With his signature dry wit, Nader holds these Presidents to their campaign promises. He also boldly points to the ignoble and sometimes heinous decisions made in pursuit of party platforms and misguided ideals. Covering a range of still-current topics--including the Iraq war, torture, the Crimean annexation, the minimum wage, worker's health legislation, and corporatism--these letters were wholesale ignored on receipt. Here they are reproduced to refute that fate in the spirit of true and healthy democracy.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics

304 pages, Hardcover

First published April 7, 2015

About the author

American attorney, author, lecturer, political activist, and candidate for President of the United States in five elections, including the last election 0f 2008, with his role in the 2000 election in particular being subject to much debate.

Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer rights, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government. Nader is the first Arab American presidential candidate in the U.S.

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was the first book I felt the urge to grab a pencil to underline and write in the margins with.

Ralph Nader shares all of his letters to President Obama and Bush, 99% of them received no reply. He demands answers and questions many political moves and the lack there of. Some of the topics in the letters were real eye openers for me. Nader doesn't dodge reality, he lays it all out and demands justice for us average American citizens. These sorts of books should be required reading for citizens - its rewarding to know that there is some politicians out there that are actually fighting for our best interests.

I would love to read Nader's letters to previous presidents, as I am sure they would be equally enlightening.

The only thing I did not enjoy about this book was the way the letters were arranged. They were arranged in reverse chronological order. So, I read the Bush letters the way they were arranged in the book but read the Obama letters backwards. It was easier to follow because sometimes Nader refers back to previous letters, only with the order reversed - you haven't read the previous letter yet, so you don't know what he's talking about. I found that annoying and so I knocked down the rating for that.

[Robert Pinto · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book, Ralph Nader chronicles dozens of letters he wrote to Presidents Bush and Obama. All of the letters he wrote are reprinted in this book. The entirety of the book are letters that Ralph Nader wrote. Reading the letters, there is a strong and necessary sense of urgency to both presidents. Ralph conveys messages to these presidents the vital importance of looking after the American people, especially those harmed and killed on the job and those who earn a paltry minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, which still stands as the federal minimum wage rate in 2019 at this writing. Ralph Nader makes a point that if the federal minimum wage were raised to $10.50 per hour, it would add an extra 200 billion dollars to the United States economy in purchasing power for consumers. The numbers outlined throughout this book are vital and should be taken very seriously. Having read several of Ralph Nader's books I found this one to be very enjoyable to read while also being reminded of the unfortunate reality that millions of Americans face in this day and age. Here in the United States, it is evident that a lot of progress needs to be made. In one letter, Ralph humorously writes from the perspective of a strain of E.coli urging president Obama to take the necessary action to provide money to the World Health Organization and CDC for research funding on the spread of diseases. This book is provides the critique of American presidents that is rare in this day and age.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Odd chronology.