Rolling Stone magazine approvingly called him "the most dangerous man in America." Owners of GM stock had less favorable epithets for him after his Corvair exposé. So did many voters, convinced that Al Gore lost only because of Ralph Nader"s disruptive presence on the ballot.Nader, Justin Martin writes in this meticulous biography, has "always taken everything to the extreme." Famed as the founder of the Nixon-era consumer-advocacy group Nader"s Raiders, Nader has reveled in his gadfly role and has not been shy of using the courtroom to press his points, from auto safety to electoral reform. Inflexible, fiercely private, and single-minded, Nader seems not to care about being liked--which has lost him many potential allies among his natural constituency, Martin suggests. But he also gets things done, as even his detractors acknowledge.Martin"s book reveals Ralph Nader"s many sides, admirable and otherwise. It makes thought-provoking reading for contrarians, would-be crusaders, and students of contemporary politics, no matter how they view Nader"s role therein. --Gregory McNamee