"Preserving the People's Post Office" by Christopher W. Shaw exposes how numerous forces are intent on undermining an essential government agency's public service commitment. "The book demonstrates the crucial importance of the Postal Service's historic role as the one universal means of communication," said Consumer Advocate Ralph Nader. "The Postal Service also fulfills other functions vital to our society," Nader added. Christopher Shaw, the book's author said, "Through preferential postage rates for nonprofits the Postal Service facilitates civic involvement and a healthy democracy." Nader also noted, "Postal employees are fairly remunerated in an increasingly low-wage, low benefit 'Wal-Mart' economy." According to Nader, "Post offices serve as the heart of community life in neighborhoods and towns nationwide and the presence of postal workers on community streets make them safer, as the many beneficiaries of their frequently heroic efforts attest." "The lack of citizen-consumers' involvement in the recently passed postal reform legislation has highlighted the need for a public dialogue about the future of our postal system. The book provides a starting point for that conversation," stated Nader. Nader said, "Instead of focusing on new ways for our government to serve its citizens through the Postal Service, service reductions - such as closing post offices, removing collection boxes, and ending door delivery - have shifted emphasis to business practices that fracture public service policies of equity and fair cost allocations." "The Postal Service is further threatened by promoters of a corporate postal system who would ultimately like to steal the Postal Service from its owners, the American people," he added. Nader and Shaw want to provide residential postal patrons with a mechanism to facilitate the organized and skilled consumer participation required to protect their Postal Service. Shaw said, "An independent nonprofit Post Office Consumer Act "This book highlights what Middle America already knows: the post office is the core of the community in rural areas and provides an anchor for many of our small towns. Christopher Shaw speaks for the millions of Americans who live in those rural places." --Senator Byron L. Dorgan, North Dakota "The US Postal Service is a little like Social Security. It works because it serves everyone, regardless of status or income …. Try to hand it over to private business interests and a popular firestorm is sure to follow. This book is a warning bell for citizens." --William Greider, Washington correspondent for 'The Nation,' and author of "The Soul of Capitalism: Opening Paths to a Moral Economy" "Christopher Shaw's readable and important book about the Postal Service, … not only dissects how corporate mailers dominate our current postal system, but recommends how consumers can regain a voice in its future direction by joining together in a simple way." --Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen "This is not a 'small' book. It has an enormous reach for the American future and immediate relevance to the present moment." --Lawrence Goodwyn, Professor Emeritus of History, Duke University, and author of "The Populist Moment: A Short History of the Agrarian Revolt in America" "Such farsighted leaders as Benjamin Franklin created our universal postal service for the Common Good of all Americans. But -- Lookout America! -- here comes a cabal of greedheads and boneheads to plunder and corporatize this essential public resource. Shaw's book alerts us to this thievery, and shows us how to stop it." -- Jim Hightower, national commentator and editor of "Hightower Lowdown" "This book should be essential reading for anyone who thinks that privatizing the postal service is a good idea, or that privatization of public services always leads to gains in efficiency." -- Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research Christopher W. Shaw is a project director at the Center for Study of Responsive Law. He received his A.B. from Cornell University, and is a graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley. Shaw had done work on issues related to the privatization of government services, health and safety regulations, and electoral reform. The Center is a nonprofit organization founded by Ralph Nader in 1968. The Center supports and conducts a wide variety of research and educational projects to encourage the political, economic and social institutions of this country to be more aware of the needs of the citizen- consumer.