Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America | Barbara Ehrenreich

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America | Barbara Ehrenreich | Telling the truth

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Nickel and Dimed: ...

	Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America Barbara Ehrenreich Holt Paperbacks, 2008 - 240 pages average customer review:based on 20 reviews view larger image
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The bestselling, landmark work of undercover reportage, now updated

Acclaimed as an instant classic upon publication, Nickel and Dimed has sold more than 1.5 million copies and become a staple of classroom reading. Chosen for ?one book? initiatives across the country, it has fueled nationwide campaigns for a living wage. Funny, poignant, and passionate, this revelatory firsthand account of life in low-wage America?the story of Barbara Ehrenreich?s attempts to eke out a living while working as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing-home aide, and Wal-Mart associate?has become an essential part of the nation?s political discourse.

Now, in a new afterword, Ehrenreich shows that the plight of the underpaid has in no way eased: with fewer jobs available, deteriorating work conditions, and no pay increase in sight, Nickel and Dimed is more relevant than ever.

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Excellent, Unbiased, well written and documented

I originally read this book when it was first published! I found it hard hitting, have quoted from it frequently and have recommended it to numerous indivduals.
I feel her book does not go far enough because, let us be honest, she knew she would "get out" of the circumstances it was an experiement for her, so that kept her form hitting the despair, total desperation, and fear that her children would never have full tummies; this si the plight of the working poor everywhere in America. To say it is not is to close ones eyes and live in ignorance

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Telling the truth

This book tells the reality for too many Americans, who don't qualify for the Bush/McCain tax cuts. Sad, and scary, reading.

Inside experience of the agony of minimum wage

The most unsettling aspect of Barbara Ehrenreich's eye-opening foray into the world of the working poor is that the situation hasn't improved. In fact, it's gotten worse. The U.S. economy was booming in the late 1990s when she began her project, working anonymously in various minimum-wage jobs and reporting about the experience. Though she steps in and out of the lives of the minimum-wage workers who befriend her, she is a very powerful, effective advocate for them. In her book, she shows that living decently on about $7 an hour (still the minimum wage in most states) is impossible. However, Ehrenreich gives it a try in three cities, working as a waitress, housekeeper and Wal-Mart clerk. She reports from the front lines, where the working poor eat potato chips for dinner and sleep in fleabag motels, and she does the same. She finds that minimum-wage workers lead a dreary existence, toiling away in obscurity day after day with little hope, just getting by as long as they don't fall ill, need dental work or get in a car wreck. The terribly sad part is that many see no light at the end of the tunnel. getAbstract finds that Ehrenreich is a gifted writer with keen perceptions and a wry sense of humor. Her narrative flows effortlessly as she enlightens, educates and entertains. If only she had a magic wand.

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nickel and dimed