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Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America | 
 enlarge | Author: Barbara Ehrenreich
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy Used: $4.97
You Save: $9.03 (64%)
New (53) Used (48) from $4.97
Avg. Customer Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 5503
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0805088385
Dewey Decimal Number: 305.569092
EAN: 9780805088380
Publication Date: June 24, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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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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| Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...
 Everyone should read this. March 14, 2006
18 out of 23 found this review helpful
It should be noted that this book is not, nor does it claim to be, a definitive and expansive report on the plight of the working poor. It functions as a personal memoir and a slice-of-life, an undercover view of a life that is intentionally made invisible to most members of the middle-to-upper classes.
And the view it offers is harrowing.
Ehrenreich allows herself a safety net not available to many of the places she lives among, including a car and a way out if things become threatening to her basic safety. That despite these allowances she finds it difficult to survive causes one to truly wonder about those who, for example, have to rely on systems of public transportation.
Her co-workers live in hotels and trailers, unable to make the first and last month plus deposit that would allow them to move into more cost-efficient, safe, and comfortable housing on their hand-to-mouth wages. This effects everything else in their lives: how close they are able to live to their workplaces is dictated by economy, which in turn effects the time and cost of their commute and how much sleep they can often expect to get in a night. The lack of a stove or refrigerator means they lack nutritious food and are forced to live on overpriced fast foods and processed foods, often on the edge of starvation.
Yes, Ehrenreich is an educated liberal. No, she doesn't miraculously come up with easy solutions. Given the material, she shouldn't have to apologize to anyone with a conservative bias for either of these facts. The information she gives has not been covered at this level and in this detail anywhere else, and that alone is commendable. "Nickel & Dimed" allows the realities of the invisible people who handle our food, clean our homes, and ring up our purchases to be brought to the attention of those who might want to look away.
honest but flawed yet provocative July 22, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
It is rare that a book would get me riled up as *Nickel and Dimed* did. I truly appreciated Ehrenreich's honesty about certain things before initiating her undercover investigation on whether people on minimum wage could survive on life (basic necessities).
Ehrenreich, well-educated, goes undercover by working various minimum wage jobs just to see if her meager salaries could carry her through life. She worked as a waitress, a maid and an "associate" at Wal-Mart, among other jobs.
Granted, her parameters or criteria did not accurately reflect those of the working class. First, she came into this research with some money, which she was able to afford uniforms, secure a temporary home and get some food. In addition, she had a laptop. Lastly, she went alone, without a family. I truly believe that her struggles/reports would be drastically different if she had no start-up money for these "luxuries".
However, the meat and potatoes of her research are the employers and their practices in employment, business and benefits/wages. I've once worked in the food & beverage industry and it's a tough place to work. However, the working conditions that she experienced as a waitress are appalling. Don't get me started with Molly Maid. I was literally this close to calling the company and giving them a piece of my mind. I certainly hoped that this book helped launched an investigation into the company. And Wal-Mart already had a bad reputation prior to my reading this book. After reading Ehrenreich's accounts, Wal-Mart is just the worst in terms of employment.
Anyways, the whole point of this research is to see if the working class are "too lazy" to "move on up to the East Side" (if you like The Jeffersons, you should have caught that phrase of the theme song). It turns out that it's not so simple. The working class are out there and pounding the road for a better life by getting a better job that can cover basic necessities, along with adequate benefits. They're also out there looking for suitable and affordable homes for their families. However, they faced obstacles by their employers' lack of provisions, shady practices (including drug testings) and hourly pays. In addition, they're not getting adequate services for housing or food assistance. They are literally forced to stay within that economic class.
I found Ehrenreich's book to be informative even if it riled me up. *Nickel and Dimed* helped raised an enhanced consciousness of those trying to live the American dream, just like everyone else.
Important page-turner July 7, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I loved it. It was a page turner. It was a nice balance of serious ... very serious stuff about working lives of the full-time, barely-making-it workers ... mixed in with Ehrenreich's sense of humor. Oh, and it brought back memories of all those jobs (I've had a million of `em!) that paid terribly and humiliated you at least 8 times a day. Highly recommended.
Worth a couple of readings July 28, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I was curious about this book after hearing Ms. Ehrenreich interviewed on radio. She took a sabbatical from her reporting career and spent three months or more to see if she could live on minimum-wage employment.
First she describes how she lived in Key West trailer park, Florida, waitressing in a pancake house. She then moved to Maine, working in a nursing home as well as with a franchised cleaning service. For her third experience, she moved to Minneapolis to work at Wal-Mart.
The result was three failed attempts to live on hourly wages, but great insight on what many dismiss as the "working poor". That category leaves out a word; it should be "working poor people". Ehrenreich's book takes you into some of those lives. It is a must read, and a short book, so you might want to read it twice.
Excellent, Unbiased, well written and documented September 30, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
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 experiment for her; and that kept her from sinking into despair. Total desperation, and fear that her children would never have full tummies. This is the plight of the working poor everywhere in America. To say it is not is to close ones eyes and live in ignorance.
This book is best read without the snacks, without the liquid refreshment within arms reach. Let your stomach be a little empty, so you can permit your body to feel the book as well.
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