or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
More Buying Choices
44 used & new from $2.93

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Cheap Motels and a Hot Plate: An Economist's Travelogue
 
 

Cheap Motels and a Hot Plate: An Economist's Travelogue (Paperback)

~ Michael D. Yates (Author) "In 2003, U.S. Census data showed that Johnstown was the city in the United States least likely to attract newcomers . . . ."(Wikipedia)..." (more)
Key Phrases: including associated costs, United States, New York, Miami Beach (more...)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

List Price: $15.95
Price: $11.96 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $3.99 (25%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Want it delivered Tuesday, November 17? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
24 new from $3.96 20 used from $2.93

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
  Hardcover, March 31, 2007 $49.00 $45.00 $45.00
  Paperback, March 31, 2007 $11.96 $3.96 $2.93

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with A Power Governments Cannot Suppress by Howard Zinn

Cheap Motels and a Hot Plate: An Economist's Travelogue + A Power Governments Cannot Suppress
  • This item: Cheap Motels and a Hot Plate: An Economist's Travelogue by Michael Yates

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • A Power Governments Cannot Suppress by Howard Zinn

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details


Special Offers and Product Promotions


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Workin' on the Chain Gang: Shaking Off the Dead Hand of History (Class : Culture)

Workin' on the Chain Gang: Shaking Off the Dead Hand of History (Class : Culture)

by Walter Mosley
4.2 out of 5 stars (11)  $13.16
Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq

Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq

by Stephen Kinzer
4.7 out of 5 stars (119)  $11.56
Coyotes: A Journey Across Borders With America's Illegal Migrants

Coyotes: A Journey Across Borders With America's Illegal Migrants

by Ted Conover
4.7 out of 5 stars (32)  $10.17
More Unequal: Aspects of Class in the United States

More Unequal: Aspects of Class in the United States

by Michael Yates
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  $11.21
Six Theories of Justice

Six Theories of Justice

by Karen Lebacqz
$14.39
Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The road trip is a staple of modern American literature. But nowhere in American literature, until now, has a left-wing economist hit the road, observing and interpreting the extraordinary range and spectacle of U.S. life, bringing out its conflicts and contradictions with humor and insight.

Disillusioned with academic life after thirty-two years teaching economics, Michael D. Yates took early retirement in 2001, with a pension account that had doubled during the dot.com frenzy of the late 1990s. He and his wife Karen sold their house, got rid of their belongings, and have moved around the country since then, often spending months at a time on the road. Michael and Karen spent the summer of 2001 in Yellowstone National Park, where Michael worked as a hotel front-desk clerk. They moved to Manhattan for a year, where he worked for Monthly Review. From there they went to Portland, Oregon, to explore the Pacific Northwest. After five months of travel in Summer and Fall 2004, they settled in Miami Beach. Ahead of the 2005 hurricane season, they went back on the road, settling this time in Colorado.

Cheap Motels and a Hotplate is both an account of their adventures and a penetrating examination of work and inequality, race and class, alienation and environmental degradation in the small towns and big cities of the contemporary United States.



From the Author

MICHAEL D. YATES is associate editor of Monthly Review. He was professor of economics at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown for many years. He is the author of Naming the System: Inequality and Work in the Global Economy and Why Unions Matter. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Monthly Review Press; illustrated edition edition (March 19, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1583671439
  • ISBN-13: 978-1583671436
  • Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #249,246 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category: (What's this?)

    #41 in  Books > Travel > Specialty Travel > Budget Travel

More About the Author

Michael Yates
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Visit Amazon's Michael Yates Page

Inside This Book (learn more)

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Cheap Motels and a Hot Plate: An Economist's Travelogue
93% buy the item featured on this page:
Cheap Motels and a Hot Plate: An Economist's Travelogue 4.2 out of 5 stars (13)
$11.96
Why Unions Matter
3% buy
Why Unions Matter 4.5 out of 5 stars (6)
$12.21
America's Best Cheap Sleeps (Open Road Travel Guides)
1% buy
America's Best Cheap Sleeps (Open Road Travel Guides) 4.0 out of 5 stars (3)
$12.78

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

 

Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
5 star:
 (8)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, April 11, 2007
By A. Yates (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
Not your regular travel guide. Not only does it include beautiful descriptions of the many places Michael Yates and his wife visited throughout the United States - particularly out West - but this one delves into how the economy has affected the lives of the regular, every-day people Michael Yates and his wife encountered along the way. They include the sometimes "invisible" people - cleaners, clerks, etc. - who work to make visitors more comfortable during their stays at the various state parks and other tourist attractions. This book held my interest from beginning to end.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Read !, May 5, 2007
By tara (arlington, va) - See all my reviews
This book is thought-provoking as well as an easy read. It deals with serious issues like race, class and labor in an interesting, readable way. Although it is very educational, it was the perfect book for me to read poolside on vacation. Cheap Motels and a Hot Plate provides an in-depth look at many popular travel destinations that will make you think twice about what goes on behind the scenes the next time you visit a National Park or stay in a hotel.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A road less traveled, April 26, 2007
By Robert Klaput (Ford City, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
The author's look at leisure travel through the lens of the economist is a refreshing change from travelogues that tell you to go-to-this-beach or visit-this-restaurant. The picture of material excess in Miami Beach and the despoiling of nature for profit is revealing of our profit-driven world. Having graduated from the same high school as the author, I can attest to the accuracy of his portrayal of his home town. I do find some irony in the book sale profits the author makes in an economic system he castigates. Over-all, though, an educational and enjoyable drive through the topography of our society: the beautiful, the bad and the ugly.
Comment Comments (3) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars boring
Boring
Need better editing. Good nuggets of writing buried in pompous blather.
Need more concise editing
Published 17 months ago by Blah

2.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your time and money
I had to read this book for class and it was a complete waste of time. I don't understand why this guy is driving around the U.S. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Leroy Landry

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Reading
This book focuses on specific areas of the country, giving personal views of the beauty or ugliness of each place and of how income and lifestyle affect them. Read more
Published on October 7, 2007 by P. Eftink

5.0 out of 5 stars HOT TRAVELOGUE AND A CHEAP CULTURE
Michael Yates has discovered America and its not the glossy, star-spangled, fantasy-culture blasted at you 24/7 by the corporate infotainment state. Read more
Published on August 5, 2007 by SOUTHERN MAN

5.0 out of 5 stars A highly enjoyable read from cover to cover.
Cheap Motels and a Hot Plate: An Economist's Travelogue is the memoir of economics professor Michael D. Yates, who set off together on a journey across America. Read more
Published on August 4, 2007 by Midwest Book Review

4.0 out of 5 stars An Opinionated Liberal Economist's Travel Diary
I had the pleasure of taking two classes from the author in the 1970s, so I was not surprised by his liberal viewpoint. Read more
Published on July 23, 2007 by William E. Rogers

3.0 out of 5 stars Left Wing Perspective on 21st Century Workforce
I hate to denigrate someone's hard work. In an effort to be objective, however, I have to say I was disappointed in this book. Read more
Published on June 14, 2007 by Michael H. Frederick

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Read
We traveled right along with the author - hot plate in tow! (No kidding - we brought our own food on our most recent vacation, ate and felt better and actually LOST weight... Read more
Published on June 7, 2007 by Nancie N. Svensen

5.0 out of 5 stars not at all ironic
This book is about how people SHOULD be able to make a decent and honest living from their work in this country, and how much harder that is becoming for the average person - but... Read more
Published on June 6, 2007 by Judy Watt

5.0 out of 5 stars hey i liked this book
I thought this book was a "must-read" (cliche-sorry) for anyone who is interested in exploring the country in a more non-conventional way... Read more
Published on May 21, 2007 by Siyufy

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
Greetings from the author 4 January 2009
See all discussions...  
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
   



So You'd Like to...


Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject

 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.