Rating: 
Summary: Honest and Thought Provoking
Review: I recently read "Nickeled and Dimed, on (not) getting by in America". I want to commend the author for her courage to face the unknown and her strength of character. As a twenty six year old single woman with some college experience, but no degree, I find myself in some of the same positions as Ms. Ehrenreich endured on her journalistic adventure. I have, in the last 3 years have only been able to find employers that only offered part time work with no benefits. Sometimes the only reason to go back to work the next day are the good people I've worked with.
I whole-heartedly recommend this book to everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Good idea but lousy book
Review: I was prepared to enjoy this book being firmly in the slightly to the left of center political camp but came away very dissapointed. Without rehashing most of the other extreme reviews:1) I sure hope she writes better fiction than non-fiction. As a professional writer I was amazed at how poorly written this book was. The use of footnotes was carried to the extreme, substituting for proper thought organization and sentence structure. 2) There really was little coherence in her argument. Bad rich people. Buy big houses and don't clean them yourself. Maybe I should fire our housekeeper and the people who maintain our pool and lawn? I'm sure their quality of life will be greatly improved by unemployment. 3) She says up front that she is married to a union organizer and it is clear that her solution to all the problems she encounters is unionization. Perhaps we could see a few pages of footnotes that show that unionization improves the lives of these workers? Maybe it does and maybe it results in companies pulling out and more widespread unemployment? I don't know the answer but for something so central to her argument, it should have been justified. All in all, it was a worthwhile exercise but the book that came out of it was very dissapointing. Don't waste your money.
Rating:
Summary: EVERYONE in America should read this book!
Review: Barbara Ehrenreich has exposed part of America that too many of us neglect to notice. This book may seem like liberal-biased media (as noted by some of these other reviewers, who it seems didn't even bother to read the book before lambasting it,) BUT IT's NOT. It presents one person's experience, for your review. READ IT. Buy it here. Borrow it from a friend. Hey, maybe you could even get it for free from those folks who wrote reviews below that didn't seem to enamored of it. But it's eye-opening and mind-broadening. A quick and easy read that is well worth your time and a few nickels and dimes. Everyone in America should read this book. It's an excellent reminder that not everyone in America (let alone in the other countries)lives in the same social and economic world. And if you're from UNC-CH, be glad that you have a University so concerned with your whole education. If you love it after reading it, that's nice. If you hate it after reading it, that's nice too. But be glad that your educational institution is providing such mind and conversation-stimulating material for discussion. I wish I was a freshman at UNC, about to join discussions (from all sides!) on this thin little book.
Rating:
Summary: Thought-provoking!
Review: Reading other reviews, it appears that some readers expect Ehrenreich to present a condescending, patronizing view of the working poor. She is not pessimistic or hateful, she is HUMAN!
Ehrenreich warns her readers from the beginning that she is not perfect, that she made some mistakes, and broke her own rules during her experiment. But that's not the point here. The point is that Ehrenreich tried to live like millions of Americans are forced to live each day, and she found it nearly impossible. I have passed this book around to many of my friends, and all of them have been affected by it. It is easy to read, and humorous too, so that anyone may enjoy it. Most importantly, this book spurs discussion and raises awareness of social issues surrounding the working poor.
Rating: 
Summary: Socialist propaganda at it's very best.
Review: This book is pure liberal propaganda. I was forced to buy this socialist pamplet by my like minded public university. Unless you are being forced to purchase this book by the University of North Carolina or some other educational institution avoid this book like the plague unless you are a dyed in the world socialist looking for justification to violate individual rights in the name of equality. However if you are a Republican, a Liberterian, or anyone who prefers personal freedom above the supposed good of society this book will leave you either stewing with rage or beating your head on your desk at every page.
Rating:
Summary: I relent....
Review: This edited version of my review comes as a result of the massive negative reaction my former review has recieved.
To that end, I will attempt to be more objective and levelheaded in my comments. Nevertheless, even when you ignore Ehrenreichs vehement anti- religious comments and her bitter diatribes , the flaws in her research are very clear. She offers no plausable solution to the problems of poverty and sideffects of captialism. All I seem to recall is her remarking, "one day we'll all be better off for it." (the problem being solved.) Furthermore,throughout the entire book she seems to really be reaching for things to complain about. Swaking parrots and drug tests, etc. She includes alot of unnecessary information about annoying occurences when she should be concentrating on the human elements of her experiences (eg- the people she meets). She meanders about and doesn't give a coherent view of what it's really like to live in poverty because she's so busy complaining. Of course, a few months of living this way is not really going to give an accurate description of what it's truly like to be poor.(not that I know, either) It would've been better if, instead of entering into the world ,she had remained a more discrete outside observer. She never really goes into detail about her coworkers lives and their experiences, which I'm sure would've been far more revealing then hearing about her own discomfort in adjusting to such an abrupt change in lifstyle. To sum up- the concept of the book is diffcult enough to carry succesfully to any kind of sound conclusion, and Ehrenrichs unnecessary hostlity,and her frequent complaining leaves one sore. Furthermore, her "involved" hands on investigation technique leaves you with a very very isolated and disjointed narrative. This kind of reporting is supposed to leave you feeling compassion and thinking about solutions. Emmerich's anecdotes achieve neither, while remainly surprisingly distant to the overall picture and human elements of her experieces ( did I mention she's complains alot?) To conclude, I'll remark I've been objective as possible, and hope that readers will consider respecting my opnion ,as I respect yours.
Rating: 
Summary: A dose of reality
Review: My reading this book stemmed from a huge debate I had with my mother regarding welfare reform, as the author basically wrote the book as a form of investigative journalism on how people - some who were once on welfare - get by, or don't get by, on minimum wage jobs. This book certainly is a dose of reality for those of us who don't work minimum wage jobs! Ehrenreich takes a journey in Key West, Minnesota and Maine, to work minimum wage jobs and she writes of her experiences in these positions. It truly is amazing to read about the things people do to get by in life, to live day in and day out, on minimum wage jobs. While it gives me some hope that welfare reform actually has the potential to succeed, it also is a disappointment to see such reality in the economical gap, especially in America, between the blue-collar workers and others. Now, when I see janitors, hotel workers, and waitresses, I am more careful not to rush to judgement - instead I am thankful for their perseverance in life. It is a very good book - a modern product of muckraking at its best.
Rating:
Summary: Read this little book- It will change your life
Review: This book has opened up an entire new world. As a member of the upper class, I must admit that I have felt superior to those of the lower class. But, after reading, my view on life has changed. The poor people are good, hard working people who cannot succeed in life because of the unfair abuses of our government that doesn't provide enough support for our poor. If we spent money on feeding the hungry instead of bombing countries for no reason, then our world would be much better off. I recommend Ehrenreich's book to all my friends as she writes with wit her ordeals. Particularly noticeable was her discussion of when she was a maid how she had to clean others wastes in the toilet. Using frank language, which I first thought was grotesque, I realized how awful and degrading it must be for somebody to have to wipe the wastes of another human being. This surmises the book's intent, to show how the rich abuse the poor. I urge you all to read it and if after reading, you are still heartless, you have some serious problems.
Rating:
Summary: Talks About How Illegal Aliens Harm Working Americans
Review: An interesting books that exposes how illegal aliens take jobs from working Americans, drive housing costs through the roof and take away benefits from working Americans. The waitress does not get free health care and housing but the illegal alien does.
Rating:
Summary: I lived it.
Review: Babs worked at a few low wage jobs but she did so as a tourist. I worked as a janitor and a factory worker for years. I dont feel that she really knows anything. I would suggest instead Ben Hampers book Rivethead. I give her credit for looking into the subject, but come on. She is just another Harpers denizen who doesnt' know bupkis about the world if she cant write some nifty article about it. There is alot more to say about blue-collar America than Babara wants to fit in here cute little articles. Too bad. Try Ben Cheevers book. Hes' significantly less flippant, believe it or not. Thanks for nothing Babs.
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