Many thanks to Rita Robison for naming Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation as one of the top 10 consumer books in 2009.

Just in time for the new revised and expanded 2010 edition which goes on sale today.

Dave Lieber's book, Dave Lieber's Watchdog Nation, was named one of the top 10 consumer books of 2009. Is this the Oscars of consumer reporting?

Here’s her list:

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Did you read any helpful or inspiring consumer books during 2009?

Below are my choices for the best consumer books of the year. You can order them through my blog by clicking on the Amazon.com ad in the right column.

1. “2009 Action Plan: Keeping Your Money Safe and Sound” by Suze Orman. A plain-talking guide on how to take care of yourself during the recession and beyond.

2. “The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care” by T.R. Reid. The Washington Post foreign correspondent traveled to Japan, Germany, France, Britain, and other countries to gather information on health care systems, using an old shoulder injury as a way to compare treatment plans.

3. “Other People’s Money: The Corporate Mugging of America” by Nomi Prins. The former investment banker describes how America got into its historic financial mess and how long it’s going to take to recover.

4. “Is America Driving You Crazy?” by Stephen Bezruchka, M.D. The University of Washington professor and emergency room physician says antidepressants are making Americans worse not better.

5. “Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth” by David Korten. Korten, cofounder of the Positive Futures Network which publishes Yes! Magazine, believes in the new economy, Wall Street will be shut down.

6. “Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression” by Morris Dickstein. A survey of the economics, politics, arts, daily life, and social legacy of the 1930s.

7. “Watchdog Nation: Bite Back When Businesses and Scammers Do You Wrong” by Dave Lieber. An award-winning guide to help you protect yourself as a consumer.

8. “Food Alert: The Ultimate Sourcebook for Food Safety” by Morton Satin. A guide to foodborne illnesses and how to prevent them.

9. “Our Daily Meds: How the Pharmaceutical Companies Transformed Themselves into Slick Marketing Machines and Hooked the Nation on Prescription Drugs” by Melody Petersen. The former New York Times reporter examines the pharmaceutical industry, and its influence on America’s medical system.

10. “Beyond Work: How Accomplished People Retire Successfully” by Bill Roiter. The psychologist and executive coach describes how people can transition from the 40-plus years as a career-focused adult and build new adult lives in which they evaluate their options and determine how they can develop personally fulfilling lives outside of work.

Add these consumer books to your library to improve help you improve your consumer choices.

Disclosure: When you order books through my blog on Amazon.com, I receive a small commission.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

A pal of mine just wrote me that he hasn’t been scammed since 1975. He said he wasn’t greedy, so he didn’t look for easy money. That’s why, he said, that he isn’t victimized.

I’m happy for him.

However, I don’t consider myself greedy. And I’ve been victimized eight times this year with annoying stuff that takes time to sort out. It doesn’t have to do with me being greedy. It’s about the inefficiencies, poor customer service and culture of greed that swirls around us.

I listed all the scams that penetrated my life this year in the second edition of my book that comes out next week — Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation (2nd edition, Revised and Expanded.)

Below is a sneak preview from the book — a double winner with two national book awards for social change in 2009. And I just noticed that this new page appears on page 13. Fitting.

We are pleased to announce that the book, Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation: Bite Back When Businesses and Scammers Do You Wrong, has won its second national book award for social change.

The hardcover is the winner of The National Best Books 2009 Award for Social Change.

Earlier this year, the book won the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Award for Social Change.

The book is going into its second printing. The second edition, revised and expanded with 40 new pages of the latest information, should be released by late December 2009.

Here’s a listing of all the winners and finalists.

A big thank you to readers of Fort Worth Weekly for picking Dave Lieber, the Star-Telegram’s Watchdog columnist as BEST WATCHDOG.

See the listing here.

Plus, a big congratulations to community activist Don Young, who was “Critic’s Choice.”

The weekly wrote:

The old phrase “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog” applies perfectly to community activist Don Young, a small guy with a lot of fight in him.

Young has been looking over the shoulder of the gas drillers in Tarrant County since they first arrived, constantly letting news media and the public know what’s going on. He’s tireless in his efforts to protect Fort Worth from the negative impacts of urban drilling. The town could use more like him.

Way to go, Don. We can always use more watchdogs.

My Watchdog columnist colleague, George Gombossy, formerly of the Hartford Courant, has kept his promise and filed a lawsuit against his former employer, The Hartford Courant Company and its owner, Times Mirror Co.

But what makes this so unusual is that Gombossy didn’t go the predictable route — a wrongful termination lawsuit seeking damages.

George Gombossy

No, Gombossy’s lawyer, Joseph D. Garrison, has gone a different route — one I’ve never heard of before in more than three decades of daily newspapering.

Let Mr. Garrison explain:

“This lawsuit is not only important to my client, it is vital to the people of Connecticut. The suit is brought under the state’s Free Speech statute, which protects workers from being fired or punished for exercising their First Amendment rights in the workplace.

“It’s the very essence of being an American, having the right to speak out in the workplace, especially on issues vital to the public.”

Garrison said in a statement that while this statute has been used by other workers who were punished for speaking out in the workplace, this is the first time a journalist has used it in Connecticut to contest his firing for acting on behalf of the public to protect the consumer, and at the same time keeping his own newspaper trustworthy.

Frankly, I’m stunned that this attorney chose to go this route because if he is successful, it could fundamentally alter the publisher-editor-reporter relationship on American newspapers, at least those in Connecticut.

That’s why this lawsuit is worth watching.

Gombossy was The Watchdog columnist at The Courant for three years before he was fired in a dispute with editors. Read Watchdog Nation’s original report about his firing by Dave Lieber in this previous blog post.

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Disclosure: WatchdogNation.com is a sponsor/advertiser of Gombossy’s new Web site, Connecticut Watchdog.

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Links:

Gombossy’s new Web site

The legal papers in the lawsuit

Statement by Hartford Courant after the suit was filed

Relevant state employment law