Amazon.com: Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America: Barbara Ehrenreich: Books

Review
'In a superb book called Nickel and Dimed, soon to be published in Britain, the journalist Barbara Ehrenreich sets off to find work as a cleaner or waitress in various American cities, and to live off her wages. Of the many disturbing aspects of the book, perhaps the most eerie is her experience of disappearing. In her new role, she can no longer find a reflection of herself on TV or radio or in magazines, and even in real life, people literally cannot see her' Decca Aitkenhead, Guardian 'In this brilliant, gripping and extraordinarily timely book, Barbara Ehrenreich expertly peels away the layers of self-denial, self-interest and self-protection that insulate the rich from poor; the served from the servers, the housed from the homeless. This is a book about collective blindness that will change the way you see' Naomi Klein, author of No Logo 'She is now our premier reporter of the underside of capitalism' New York Times --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

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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Product Details

Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks; Reprint edition (June 24, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0805088385
ISBN-13: 978-0805088380
Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (45 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #663 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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#2 in	Books > Business & Investing > Economics > Labor & Industrial Relations
#2 in	Books > Nonfiction > Politics > Labor & Industrial Relations
#3 in	Books > Business & Investing > Economics > Economic Conditions

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
Mostly out of laziness, I decide to start my low-wage life in the town nearest to where I actually live, Key West, Florida, which with a population of about 25,000 is elbowing its way up to the status of a genuine city. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
The Maids, Key West, Twin Cities, New York Times, Merry Maids, Kathie Lee, Blue Haven, Clearview Inn, African American, White Stag, Park Plaza, Radio Grill, Faded Glory, Sam Walton, Twin Lakes, Old Orchard Beach, Bob Ortega, Star Tribune, Days Inn, Barbara Bush, Best Western, Indian American, Clipper Mart, Hill View

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	94% buy the item featured on this page: Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America 3.4 out of 5 stars (45) $10.98
	3% buy Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America 3.6 out of 5 stars (1,096)
	1% buy Fast Food Nation 4.3 out of 5 stars (1,428) $10.17
	1% buy The Working Poor: Invisible in America 4.2 out of 5 stars (77) $10.17

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Customer Reviews

45 Reviews

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

Average Customer Review

3.4 out of 5 stars (45 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing with few insights, August 28, 2008

By	Maxie (NYC) - See all my reviews

The only reason I gave two stars to this book is because at least Ehrenreich tried to write about an important topic. But her execution falls well below the mark, and the book turns out to be more about a journalist pretending to be a low-income worker than about the lives of the low-income workers she's supposedly studying. It is, by turns, whiny, preachy, self-righteous, facile, and annoying -- much more often than it's insightful, which it is maybe a handful of times (if that) throughout the book. (The footnotes were actually among the most informative parts.) At times she even seems to be making fun of the workers with whom she briefly shared her life. And the "experiment" is flawed from the start, as the author herself more or less acknowledges, in that someone who knows that she can return to her real life any time is very different from someone who works for $7 an hour and has no choice. One also has to question the ethics of a decision to take a job that someone else really needs. Finally, as the book progresses, the author makes some bumbling attempts at humor that just aren't funny -- it feels like the writing of someone who thinks she's being clever but the jokes are flat or obvious, or someone who utters banalities as if they were profound insights. (Please, leave satire to the satirists.) One line in the book stood out for me as a reflection of everything that is wrong with it, and it was hard for me to keep reading after that. In the chapter on her experience in Maine, Ehrenreich asks the reader, "If you hump away at menial jobs 360-days-plus a year, does some kind of repetitive injury of the spirit set in?" Well, DUH. As my partner pointed out, that sounds like the kind of idiotic "wisdom" that might show up on Carrie Bradshaw's computer in "Sex in the City."

So Ehrenreich gets some points for effort and for "humping away" at these jobs for as long as she did, I suppose, but as far as offering any real insights into or solutions for the lives of the working poor, this book leaves much to be desired. In the end, it's a book about Barbara Ehrenreich.

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36 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars From the perspective of a tourist, January 15, 2007

By	Gagewyn (United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Nickel and Dimed: Undercover in Low-wage America (Paperback)

Nickeled and Dimed has an interesting premise: an upper middle class woman tries to live on wages of an unskilled jobs in three different locations in the US. Here Ehrenreich describes her experiences doing just that and tries to relate these experiences to a larger frame of reference by laying out statistics about the US.

From having done this and that over the summers while in college and having spent the past year earning 3.85/hour plus room and board I can sort of compare my experiences in accessing Ehrenreich's book. Two things that made Ehrenreich's experiences harder than they probably would be for a person who was living the life that she was trying to visit are that she moved around frequently and she wasn't as frugal a shopper as she could have been. The moving around means that she was always starting fresh. From my experience after about 2 months in a city I know where to go for this and that and my expenses drop. Also she wasn't the most frugal person. When she had to get khaki pants on short notice for a waitressing job, she spent 40$ on pants with a stain from a discount store. In Florida (the same state) at about the same time I had to get khaki pants on short notice and found them for 15$. I'm kind if fat and so there was less of a selection for me than for someone in a more common size. I doubt that normal people in such jobs would spend 40$ on pants. 15$ felt like alot to me. From Ehrenreich's description she didn't bat an eye at 40$

Ehrenrich's descriptions of co-worker's plights are more realistic. While it isn't so hard to get by at poverty level (unless you get sick like missing work sick) I have trouble imagining how to raise a family on minimum wage. Descriptions of co-workers whose food budget was tiny are common. I kind of wonder how these people felt about being quizzed. I feel that there was too much focus on rent and food. These are big expenses but they are predictable. Once one finds a way to make ends meet that's stable at least.

One aspect of being poor that I feel was neglected was the lack of medical care. Insurance coverage is expensive and if it doesn't come with the job then that is a big budgeting item. Also jobs without benefits are the one that pay less. Also the difficulty in getting sit down work if one gets injured is a huge issue. Ehrenreich kind of touches on these with statistics and concern for a co-worker with a sprained ankle respectively, but she spends most of her time discussing how the nations poor can't buy food or make rent and trying to make poverty an immediate life or death issue. For me poverty is about not having a safety net.

When I was working for 3.85 and room and board (no benefits at all) I had a co-worker with higher pay use this book to explain how easy I had it. At the time I was trying to scrape together enough for a dental visit and pay some work related expenses. (I had switched jobs and underestimated the fees for work related training and equipment.) She was angry that I was having trouble getting cash together because that reflected badly on the company. Which brings me to a point: Everyday you are in contact with someone who is living at poverty level. Because they shower and know how to get by you may not realize this. The starving limping people Ehrenreich describes aren't common, but that shouldn't be used to undercut the problems faced by poor people who are not in an emergency state right now. It seems to me that many of the people I know who have read this book have strange ideas about the poor to begin with. So if you haven't been poor for a while then don't make this your only source for info about it.

I reccommend Nikeled and Dimed, but take it with a grain of salt. Ehrenreich is a tourist of poverty and has a shallow impression not a deep understanding of the issues.

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Revisit, Rehash, Reevaluate, March 19, 2009

By	Annie Moulin - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I first read Barbara Ehrenreich's account of trying to live off minimum-wage and low-paying jobs in college, I was outraged. Clearly my moral high horse has shrunk a bit. I revisited the book after watching a recent interview Ms. Ehrenreich did with John Stossel (who, in my opinion, can sometimes grandstand a bit himself) in which she seemed downright flippant about allegations that she was her own worst enemy, and only through self-sabotage did she fail. Well, I've got to say, Stossel had a point. Reading the book as my adult-self, with a fresh eye, and in the midst of an economic downturn, my opinion changed. In many cases, she did sabotage herself, illustrated by moving all of the time (which means deposits, first and last month, etc), staying in a motel(!), and buying $40 pants. Obviously, there is a way to get by on the wages Ehrenreich was making, lots of people do it, but the key is that Ehrenreich simply lacked the tools to make it happen. I could go to the store right now and purchase a pair of unstained, presentable pants for under $10, but that's because I have the know-how to make that happen -- a wealth of knowledge that comes with an empty bank account. Those topics weren't really explored. Perhaps, she could have gone in depth about the folks who worked along side her, who don't get to go back to what one assumes is Ehrenreich's financially secure lifestyle. So while the lifestyle Ehrenreich was temporarily living might not be ideal for anyone, it certainly is a means to an end -- an end in which gaining job skills, being frugal, saving, and moving up the corporate ladder (yes, even Wal-Mart's) is possible if you make it a priority.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Classic example of one-sided liberal rhetoric
Ann Coulter accurately declares that "liberals live in a world in which everyone is either an oppressor or a victim" and this is exactly the stance Ehrenreich takes. Read more

Published 1 day ago by IndyBlueFan

5.0 out of 5 stars Facinating read.
I didn't grow up with much money and I know how hard it can be to get things started which is one reason I wanted to read this book. Read more

Published 3 days ago by Nicola Lightfoot

3.0 out of 5 stars Nickel & Dimed
Amazon.com performed flawlessly in getting this book to me in a timely manner! I received it sooner than I anticipated. Read more

Published 3 days ago by Tony Cantrell

3.0 out of 5 stars This book could have (should have) been better
Other reviewers have summarized the premise and the topic, so I won't. This book starts with promise and ends disappointingly. Read more

Published 3 days ago by Don McGowan

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
I started Nickel and Dimed with high expectations because I had hear such good reviews. I was in for a major let down. Read more

Published 1 month ago by N. Gundlach

5.0 out of 5 stars What you Get Out of It Depends on What You Bring to it
Barbara Ehrenreich goes undercover as an entry-level worker to determine whether or not she can make it on the wages paid to the majority of American employees. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Graceann Macleod

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Idea!
I think the idea for this book is superb and I love Ehrenreich's witty writing style but there are some negatives I must express. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Kellie Teegarden

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Perspective
As a working-class American, I simply was not aware of how badly we treat those who work long hours in our service. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Dant

2.0 out of 5 stars "Something is wrong, very wrong, when a single person in good health, a person who in addition possesses a working car, can...
...barely support herself by the sweat of her brow."

At her boss's urging, an upper middle-class writer (with a PhD in biology) sets out to see if she can make due on... Read more

Published 3 months ago by Julee Rudolf

4.0 out of 5 stars nickel and dimed
This book gives an insight to how the economically challenged live and it sheds light on what they go through to survive. Read more

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