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Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America Review
The New York Times bestseller, and one of the most talked about books of the year, Nickel and Dimed has already become a classic of undercover reportage.Millions of Americans work for poverty-level wages, and one day Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which promised that any job equals a better life. But how can anyone survive, let alone prosper, on $6 to $7 an hour? To find out, Ehrenreich moved from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, taking the cheapest lodgings available and accepting work as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing-home aide, and Wal-Mart salesperson. She soon discovered that even the "lowliest" occupations require exhausting mental and physical efforts. And one job is not enough; you need at least two if you intend to live indoors.Nickel and Dimed reveals low-wage America in all its tenacity, anxiety, and surprising generosity -- a land of Big Boxes, fast food, and a thousand desperate strategies for survival. Instantly acclaimed for its insight, humor, and passion, this book is changing the way America perceives its working poor. User Submitted Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America ReviewsSeptember 11, 2008 A Small Peek into the world of minimum wage I agree with most people who read this book in saying that Barbara only gave us a glimpse into the world of minimum wage and trying to *live* on it. Skimmed the surface, so to speak. Even though, I enjoyed the book and thought it was well put together. Was there a lot left out that should have been included, YES. Did that make this a horrible book, NO. But delving deeper would have made it a much better book and possibly more respected in the community. We get to see Barb take on 3 minimum wage jobs in 3 towns in the US. Technically it was more jobs because most times she had to take a second job to live. We get to meet her co-workers, but not very indepth. She makes a strong case that I think we all know anyway, which is that it's impossible to live on minimum wage in this country and that often these jobs are the hardest working jobs you may ever hold... Overall I'd recommend it. I'm sure there are some people, who like me, it might open your eyes a little wider and you might judge others less, or have more compassion/understanding for people in these situations. We read it in my book group and I thought it provided EXCELLENT discussion! September 8, 2008 Oh please, Talk about making a mountain out of a mole hill. The number of positive reviews for this book is really truly suprising. I'll spare you my rant. Buy it on the cheap if you must read..either that, or I'll GIVE you my copy. August 31, 2008 Good book. Very interesting Enjoying the book thus far. Really gives practical information about what it is like to try to live on minimum wage. August 28, 2008 Must read for the 'Haves' in this country I have to admit, I grew up as person of privilege. I am from a large home in suburbia and drove a Mercedes SUV to high school every day. I was always taught to appreciate the things you have, and how lucky I am. Being born into wealth doesn't take talent, it takes luck. Even being born in the United States alone takes luck, you only had a 5% chance of being born here. This book reaffirmed my core belief that while hard work and brains can get you places, the effect of the starting hand your dealt cannot be denied. I have to admit I am pretty embarassed to read some of these reviews that blame the poor for their lot in life. Just because hard work can lead to success in this country, doesn't mean it happens 100% of the time. Here's a big lesson I learned: tip everyone. One dollar to you might mean almost nothing, but for the working poor it means a whole lot more. Treat employees with compassion and respect. A lot of the poor conditions Dr. Ehrenreich experiences is because people are too self-absorbed to think of others. For example, when she's working as a maid in Maine, dripping sweat and the woman whose house she is cleaning doesn't even offer a glass of water. Instead, she commands Dr. Ehrenreich to clean floors on her hands and knees. I did find the book to be a bit preachy at times, but really the overarching lessons here I think transcend politics. It's about human decency and compassion for your fellow man. Much of where you end up in life depends on the hand your dealt with from the start. The hand your dealt is all luck. Out of 6 billion people, why did I get to be born to wealthy parents in a great school district while another person of equal intelligence and integrity does not? Anyway, this book is a must read for people of privilege in my opinion because it forces you to take a step back, count your blessings, and become more generous to fellow men and women. July 27, 2008 Great Book I heard about this book through my reading teacher and a student a few months ago. Out of curiosity I decided to buy the book. I really enjoyed it. I loved how it was written in a diary format and how the author was so real and blunt about everyone and everything she came in contact with. Hopefully this book will wake up the country. July 7, 2008 It IS Realistic! This was me! For those who reviewed the book and said that Ehrenreich was "unrealistic", I'm going to share my story. Several years ago my ex-boyfriend and I could have been in the book; we were each working a full-time job and he also had TWO part-time jobs at the same time (one after his full-time job and another on the weekends). Our jobs were in electronic sales at a big chain store and telemarketing which at the time paid $7.50 an hour. Yet we were still unable to make ends meet. After rent on our shoebox-efficieny apartment and utility bills, quarters for laundry and bus fare (we couldn't even afford a car! And even if we could have, we would not have been able to afford insurance AND gas.), we had hardly any money leftover for groceries and certainly NO money leftover for luxuries such as new clothes and new shoes (we did shop at thrift stores, but only when we really needed more outfits). After we ran out of selling our CDs, books, and magazines, which we sold for bus fare to be able to get to and from jobs, we resorted to selling plasma which paid $20 at the time and was enough for two weeks worth of groceries. Everything else that we owned, a mattress on the floor, linen, and kitchen supplies (which we deemed were the necessities) had all been purchased at a Goodwill also with the help of a friend of mine who worked there and used his employee discount for us. I'm sure people would have thought my ex-boyfriend and I were lazy and "slackers" but we were working so HARD and pinching pennies and we couldn't understand why we still couldn't afford a nicer apartment, a car, decent clothes and to eat well. I shudder to think how much more of a hell our lives would have been if we had had children to boot! Unfortunately the strain of our financial situation did our relatonship in. He moved back in with his single mother and I moved back in with my grandparents as we went our seperate ways. Sadly, living with my grandparents rent-free didn't really make my life easier. I was still working a minimum wage job and trying to save money while also helping them with expenses. Then the worst thing happened, I got another job in telemarketing and lost my voice completely two weeks into training which was followed by strep throat; this latest for a month! Needless to say I lost my job because I couldn't even make it through training. Of course I had no health insurance either. I realized there was no way I could ever afford a car to get a better job off the bus route or to move out into my own apartment anytime soon. Finally, I made the desperate decison to enlist in the Army. My life is completely different now that I am out of the Army and a civilian again. From the Army I gained skills and knowledge in a specific field which are marketable and thanks to the Army College Fund and Montgomery G.I. Bill I am currently enrolled in a graduate program. Finanically I am better off now then I ever was in my life, but I never forget for a minute that I can end up again where I was before the Army, (selling plasma for food)...even with a Master's degree. Unfortunately there are countless reasons why some people would not be able to make the same decisions to join the military. For many people that is not an option. So where does that leave them? I LOVE this book because I think it IS realistic and dead-on and I should know, I have lived it! June 29, 2008 Great bookseller Gave the book as a gift...didn't read it but the reviews on it are great. I'm reviewing the bookseller. The book was here very quickly in excellent condition. June 26, 2008 Muddled and judgemental I was expecting this book to make us 'understand' ,not 'know', what it is like to be in a low wage job and more or less at the bottom of the economic chain. This book left a lot to be desired. The author never really 'lets go' and immerse herself in her situation. Rather, she stays high up on her perch, and passes judgment on everything that moves. How do we interpret her musings and thoughts and humor? Was it just to alleviate her pain arising from a situation (she makes fun of the 'rich' folks who employ 'poor' house-maids. While the humor was nice to read, what was she trying to convey in the page after page of sarcastic comments about the boss of the maid service? Wasn't he a product of the economic system as well?) What I was looking forward to was someone who stood back and simply 'described', with the astute observational-eye of a Somerset Maugham or an R.K.Narayan - and let the reader interpret and judge. Instead the author fills the book with pages and pages of sarcasm and humor poked at someone or the other - management, the hotel owner (she even goes to describe problems with an East Indian marriage system !), the rich and even at the English language in Walmart's video material! The author behaves like a 'tourist' having a trip on her expensive car through 'poor town' and thinking that she is experiencing poverty. Poverty is more of a state of mind - of how the mind, in desperation, breaks down and accepts its surroundings without question. For some reason, the author simply finds this hard to understand and keeps questioning 'why the employees at Walmart don't form a union'. Go ahead and the read the book - I do commend the author's courage in leaving her safe surroundings and living in poor conditions. But do not get swept away by the glowing reviews on the cover - they are by affluent reviewers who just want a vicarious peek at poverty. June 18, 2008 Just Plain Bad This book was required summer reading before my freshman year at the University of Missouri. I was appalled to find after the first chapter or so a political undertone of liberals masquerading as journalists yet again. Now I am a middle of the road individual, but my biggest pet peeve is when people are NOT UPFRONT with there intentions. It was the most hypocritical book I have ever read. She does her best to point out how hard it is to get by on minimum wage with minimal education. She stays in these personas long enough to learn about her coworkers and show us how hopeless it is. Our lives are what we make of them not our jobs or money-I certainly hope I can not be reduced to a $ sign. Maybe if she lays off the drugs long enough she will stop blaming society for our problems and realize that it boils down to individual responsibility. June 14, 2008 Politics aside--a book every upper income person should read Author Barbara Ehrenreich spends a year as an experiment living on minimum wage and writing about it as a journalist. The book chronicles her year working in 3 states (Florida, Maine, and Minnesota) as, among other things, a waitress, maid, and Walmart employee. From the beginning she makes two caveats: that she has her own car (many minimum wage workers don't) and she won't go hungry (e.g. she will dip into her ATM before she will starve). I thoughourly enjoyed this book. It was fascinating to see, fully see, another side of life that I thought I knew but really didn't. These people work hard, very hard, are good people, honest people and watch out for each other as best they can with what little they have. Every dollar counts. I remember the Merry Maid who ate hot dog rolls brought from home for lunch because not only did she have no money, but no time since the work schedule was so tight. Decent housing is nearly impossible to find. All this and the author didn't even have to worry about chilcare costs. Everyone on minimum wage has to work at least two jobs to survive at even a subsistence level and live with friends, relatives, share a couch, a trailer. It's bad. This book has changed my outlook toward minimum wage workers, made me a better tipper, and a much kinder and more thoughtful customer. I recommend it to anyone just as an aid to your humanity. For more Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America reviews click here.
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