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Nickel and Dimed

On (Not) Getting By in America

By Barbara Ehrenreich

(35)

| Hardcover | 9780805063882

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Book Description

Our sharpest and most original social critic goes "undercover" as an unskilled worker to reveal the dark side of American prosperity.

Millions of Americans work full time, year round, for poverty-level wages. In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhContinue

Critics

'Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America' Is, Sadly, Still Relevant

In 1998, writer Barbara Ehrenreich embarked upon a journey through a series of unskilled jobs to discover how the working poor of America existed on such meager wages. She began as a waitress in a family restaurant in Florida, for $2.43 an hour plus ... (read full critics)

popmatters published on Tue, 18 Oct 2011

Wage slaves

Nickel and Dimed: Undercover in Low-wage USA by Barbara Ehrenreich 240pp, Granta, £8.99 Below the Breadline: Living on the Minimum Wage by Fran Abrams 192pp, Profile Books, £6.99 "You thought it would be simple; it is extraordinarily complicated. You ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

4 Reviews

Ehrenreich gives a new voice to the over-worked and under-paid. Everyone should read this, whether you have waited tables or not.

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TaraS said on Jan 20, 2009 | Add your feedback

A thorough examination of the problems of low wage workers, and the dilemmas they are forced to to face everyday. Great analysis, and much learned

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Samantha Chan said on May 8, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

Nickel and Dimed

This was a really interesting read. I did learn a lot, although much of the time I found the author's overall attitude highly annoying. Regardless, I will never look at the people in these low wage jobs the same way as I did before. And I will NEVER, EVER hire a cleaning service to clean my home! (y ... (continue)

This was a really interesting read. I did learn a lot, although much of the time I found the author's overall attitude highly annoying. Regardless, I will never look at the people in these low wage jobs the same way as I did before. And I will NEVER, EVER hire a cleaning service to clean my home! (yuck!)

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Readingrat said on Nov 27, 2007 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

America, where your dreams come true? Blah.
In fact, the phenomenon described in this book is a general occurrence in most developed and developing countries. Our society, it seems, is going back to the medieval way, where whose child you are matters a lot more than what you are capable of. ... (continue)

America, where your dreams come true? Blah.
In fact, the phenomenon described in this book is a general occurrence in most developed and developing countries. Our society, it seems, is going back to the medieval way, where whose child you are matters a lot more than what you are capable of. Gone are the days when you can work your way up the social ladder purely by the combination of your talent/hard work.
Somehow people from the older generation don't appreciate this change. I still have these debates/arguments with my father occasionally; he thinks the youth today are far less motivated and quite underachieving. Well, including myself. But the way I view it, it is simply much harder to achieve the same magnitude of success now.
Should quit my own complaining here. Let's just say that the author has provided me with some very strong support for my argument. Read the book, and you will be amazed how much America today is different from the old perceived "land of opportunity".
BTW, it is also very interesting to compare this book with "My Freshman Year" by Rebekah Nathan, which is also an "undercover" type book, written by an anthropologist. Just to see how many academic taboos Nathan avoided at all cost were broken by the journalist Ehrenreich.

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pthow said on Apr 9, 2007 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback