I found this book to on-point. I worked in retail stores, hotels, and call centers. I know that every word of this book is true.
Ehrenreich wrote this book as an expose. She made a conscious decision to not work call centers because she knew she would get slightly or significantly more pay, a type of elite of the working class. (I say better pay with sweatshop characteristics). What do Ehrecreich find out? Working-class people are far from lazy and are instead are overworked, paid inadequately, and are underappreciated. In an era where CEOs are paid more and more millions of dollars, service workers cannot even keep up with the cost of living.
While those of who have worked in the service industry already know all this, this book was written as an expose to help others understand the plight of serviceworkers. I hope more employers will read this book, have their hearts and their wallets opened.

This is Nonfiction/Economics. Even though this was kind of depressing and sobering, I loved the humor that the author wove throughout the book. It had me laughing. I also think it added a greater impact to the author's message.

She takes minimum wage jobs while she was in her 50's and tried to live off of those wages. I don't think she once was all that successful n doing that. It was hard trying to make ends meet and she didn't even have a family to provide for.

I liked the way she pointed out how dehumanizing some managerial practices were and yet employees persevered because they had to. This was sad and depressing especially when talking about the crisis this has become in America. So 4 stars.

I wanted to hate this book. I bought it with the intention of hating it. Overeducated liberal writer slumming it on minimum wage, to prove what? That minimum wage is not livable? Well who ever said it was? And looking at the reviews it’s clear this book is a Rorschach test for poverty, anyone poor enough to relate to the indignities she describes will invariable feel some resentment at the minimum wage martyr act, flagellating herself with your everyday life. And how easy it was for me especially to seethe with anger when the author repeatedly names my job alone as the one position she would simply not consider, no reason ever given, simply that working at the front desk of a hotel was out of the question, and what a shame as I guarantee that it would have provided innumerable opportunities for the sort of dead-end job self-abasement for which she was searching. Ironically I read this entire book at work over the past two days, on U of M graduation weekend, where more than any other time we are just overflowing with demanding self-satisfied yuppies, so needless to say I kept the cover faced down to avoid ironic pity smirks from smug assholes, in retrospect I should have flaunted the cover openly, hoping liberal guilt might bring in some tips.

That the people who actually work these jobs will find Ehrenreich insulting, naïve, and condescending is a given. In the beginning I certainly did, but in the author’s defense at no time did she ever claim this was anything but an experiment, she never pretends to be anything she is not, not to the readers at least. So what’s the alternative then? Actual housekeepers and salesclerks rarely being offered book deals while lunching at French restaurants with editors, the alternative is this book doesn’t get written and this conversation doesn’t happen. Her goal of illustrating the vast income inequality and the nearly inescapable cycle of poverty is laudable and something I agree wholeheartedly with. In the end her failure is her reluctance to follow much of her thoughts to their logical conclusions; she constantly touches on these very powerful moments that ultimately are wasted because she fails to recognize them when they come. In the end I think the scathing reviewer comments at the author’s expense are misplaced. An enjoyable read but sadly it misses its mark quite often.

What she does get right is how the criminalization of marijuana is a means of controlling the population. With the ubiquitous drug test favored by low wage employers geared solely towards marijuana, making one feel like a criminal over a little bit of herb, the result is dehumanizing applicants even before their first day. She routinely acknowledges that the only way she was able to fulfill the demands of these jobs is relying on the store good health built up over a lifetime of upper middle class living, not to mention starting out with a car and sum of money not available to her coworkers. She points out how any health or financial setbacks would ruin her completely. I would have liked to see more of a connection made between our demands for cheaper and cheaper goods and the cost paid by the working poor in America and beyond. And that the failure of public services in America to provide even the most basic standard of living are always paid for in the end by the cost of incarcerating more of our citizens than any western nation. A number of times she touches on the deep ontological angst that come from living in such insecurity, but as an outsider looking in fails to really capture its essence. And her assumptions that because she doesn’t see visible anger that people aren’t angry? They are. But simultaneously there is a real disconnect among the working poor who have been sold on the ‘American Dream’ fantasy and reality. The ugly result of people taking this myth too seriously are quite apparent in the most hideous aspects of the Republican Party for sure, but less obviously so in how the author had so thoroughly disassociated herself the working poor she is only one generation removed from.

At the heart of this book is the impossibility of existing in such manner, but yet people do. People live their whole lives that way. I read a Chekov short story at the same time, of exiles coping with life in Siberia. One man is unable to deal with his losses and yet still makes one attempt after another to carve out a life for himself continually repeated his personal motto “Even in Siberia people live.” Another man gives up, asking for nothing and so wanting for nothing. At the end a judgment is made by a third character against the man who wants nothing, as it’s better to be miserable than to feel nothing. The story ends with everyone crying themselves to sleep. Ehrenreich should have read that story; it speaks more to the condition of the working poor than her book does. Even in America people live.

In her book  Barbara Ehrenreich investigates just how working class people in the United States make ends meet. Ehrenreich goes displaces her self three times, in Key West, Maine and Minnesota, allows herself just over $1000, gets housing and a wage paying job, and tries to live as a wage worker for a month. The result is a sad illustration of what its like for millions of Americans who live at the poverty level, depending on wages.
tEhrenreich’s experiment does have circumstances that make her experience much more bearable than people who are really working for poverty-level wages. She admits that if things get too unbearable she can always dig out her credit card for emergency uses. She also just stays in her test locations for a month, half the time is spent finding work and living quarters. This gives the reader insight to just how difficult it is to find housing if you are poor, and a job that can pay for it. The people Ehrenreich meets while she is on the investigative trips also give the reader an insight into the human side of poverty, and how impossible it can be to overcome your circumstances. While Ehrenreich’s writing definitely has a political message, one cannot help wondering why in a country where everyone is created equal, why many living in poverty often don’t even know where they can get their next meal. Food- a basic human right.
t Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America works. Ehrenreich’s message is clear: those working for poverty-level wages in this country are stuck in a vicious cycle that does not allow for upward mobility. Furthermore, basic luxuries that the rest of the United States takes for granted- health care, food, sleep- are not givens for millions of Americans stuck in this cycle.

Wow, if I could give this book negative stars, I would. This was awful and condescending on so many levels. Ehrenreich seems to be surprised that blue collar workers, and others included in the unwashed masses, can actually read, write, and walk upright. Strangely enough, they don't all bow down to her grand intellect once she announces that she is a *gasp* journalist. And, wow, people who work at Walmart are actually caring towards one another, and the corporate climate encourages a positive attitude - how dare they?? I really found this book inane, particularly in this climate of increased unemployment, and Ehrenreich's constant grumbling and PC labeling of every single person she crossed made it difficult to finish and inhumane. Everyone is a poor, helpless victim to The Man; the worst of the offenders are people who hire cleaning services. In Ehrenreich's eyes, you are a very, very bad person. The best part of the entire book is when a nursing home patient keeps calling her Barbara Bush.

I really enjoyed reading this book. She worked low-end jobs and proved that even though you work hard doesn't mean that you're making the cut. My favorite piece of information that she gave was that most people working at minimum wage with a spouse and a child, can't afford a 2 bedroom apartment and food. This book was eye-opening. Even though it was a great book there was an afterword and an evaluation. These were exceptionally hard to read. Not because of the language but the content is awful. Its everything you just read in a few pages. Overall I did like the book and I love that it has a lexile of 1370!

Nickel and Dimed is a lousy book. Ignoring the fact that the author is a marijuana using egomaniac, the book itself is rather simplistic and overall pointless. Ehrenreich can be commended for making an attempt at showing the world that being poor is a condition terrible beyond imagining, but ultimately her plight is useless. Yes, being poor is bad. More than bad. Unimaginably bad. This is a truth that many, including many Granvillians, can't seem to wrap their heads around. But nonetheless, Ehrenreich's comments on social systems are childish at best. Yes, everyone should be treated to having a middle-class existence. And also, there should be no wars. Ehrenreich offers a timeless paradox (the rich exercising unlimited power over the poor) with no visible solution other than "more cigarette dates". Nickel and Dimed is a book that, although perhaps written with good intent, comes across more as Ehrenreich gloating over her own suffering, and her own, higher vision of the social order in America.

I had to read this for a class, and since I will have to discuss it there more than I ever wish to, this will not be a full, true review. I must say the following however:

This book offended me more than I ever imagined it could. It offended me as a worker. It offended me as a woman. It offended me as a minority. It offended me as a Christian. It offended me as someone who has worked for minimum wage. It offended me as someone who does not have a PhD. It offended my intelligence.

Nickel and Dimed is not without its interesting observation or two, however it is presented in an insulting, faux-scientific way. Ehrenrich set out to show some truths about the low wage work world and only succeeded in showing us her own bigoted, patronizing thoughts on the low wage work world. It's a story, a poor sampling, offers very few facts and relies on very little evidence.

That her grand conclusion was "not having money is hard?" Congratulations, Ehrenreich. We are all astounded by this conclusion.

Barbara Ehrenreich tells her story of working 'undercover' in three jobs for poverty-level wages in an experiment to understand exactly how millions of Americans get by in their daily lives.

Though this book and its experiment is twenty years old, it's depressing that no matter how much has changed, a lot has stayed the same. I've worked minimum wage jobs before, but always as a student. Whatever its flaws, this book is a stark reminder to pay more attention to the people around me and not take them for granted.

Some parts of this book I really liked. The fact that she gave the world a view of how hard it is to make it on minimum wage. I've been there. As a single mom and I know it's almost impossible. Even after going to school it's still hard. One part that stood out for me even now is the fact the employers don't want you talking with other co-workers. They also don't want a minute of your time "wasted." You had better stay busy. Bull crud is what it is.
The parts I didn't like was the fact that she couldn't believe no one figured out she had a PhD. Big whoo. I've worked with people who had degrees and didn't even think twice about the fact that they worked for minimum wage.

i hated this book so much but i can't get into why rn lol i'll tell you later

This book really illustrated what is meant by the "working poor"

The author, in good health, with a car, can barely make ends meet for just a few months. Imagine those who work this way their entire life. What happens if you need dental or medical care? Many low wage jobs offer no inusrance or very poor insurance.

The statement is often made "look for a better job". In what spare time? Get an education? Yes, certainly, IF you can get a loan for tuition.

This book does point out that many people are trapped in poverty. Almost all the women Ms Ehrenreich works with share a rental apartment. Because the number of affordable apartments avialable to low wage workers is a case where the supply available is much less than the demand.

One of the ladies working with MS. Ehrenreich in a maid cleaning job is quoted as saying "It would be nice if I could take a day off--If I had too--and still be able to buy groceries the next day."

Very thought provoking. Well worth a read by anyone.