Rating: 
Summary: HELLO, HELLO, HELLO?????
Review: I read the first ten pages of this book online and I couldn't believe Ms. Ehrenreich made such a big deal of having to take a urine test.. that really shows how out of touch with reality she is. When was the last time she worked a 9-to-5 job before she wrote this book???? Does she even have regular middle class friends who work 40-hour weeks?? I paid 36% of my income in tax this year and I had to take a urine test to earn that privilege, both on my current job and my previous job. People in her social-economic level tend to see others through tainted glasses. I give it three stars because I have not read the entire book.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your nickel and time
Review: The idea of this book sounded like a good idea and I was excited to read it, having worked in low-paying retail for many years. I was very disappointed, though. The "experiment" was poorly done. She gave up in each location she was at, not because she was forced to, but just because she felt like it. People in the real world can't do that. Also, waaaaaay to many simile and metaphors that are way to extensive. Her writing is way too froofy for this kind of subject. She'll describe something and compare it to something else to be humorous, but goes off on such a tangent, you forget what she was talking about or what it has to do with. She needs to tone it down. She'd be good for poetry, maybe? But, unfortunately, this book is a bust. Don't bother. I want my nickels and dimes back. This book is not what you think it will be, unfortunately. It's a snore...
Also--Barb's a raging liberal lefty. Big surprise. I should've sniffed that out before I even opened the book. My mistake.
Rating: 
Summary: The Essential Capitalist
Review: I would like to be able to read this book to every single person who truly believes that it just takes "hard work" to "make it" in America. Also for those who actually think that the "trash" in this country who are just "lazy" should just "get a job". This is an unvarnished, utterly honest look at what it means to have to work for minimum wage in this country and what unrelenting slavery is meant by that polite political term "working poor". The next time a poor corporation bemoans it will be put out of business by a union, or a few cent raise in the minimum wage, or health care, or any of the truly civilizing and humanizing benefits those who work for minimum wage should receive (like a LIVING wage), get this book out and find out what they're REALLY talking about. One other idea; know a kid who wants to drop out to "get a job"? Get this book for him/her, it's the best argument for staying in school and getting the skills to rise out of these jobs I've ever read. But don't get the idea this is a preachy book, or one with a pre-conceived agenda. It is, rather, a diary of experience, a view of life we'd prefer never to know about, but should. Beutifully written, heartbreaking and uplifting, you will never, ever forget this book.
Rating:
Summary: First Hand Insights Into Difficult Lives
Review: This book provides first hand research into what it is like to be a low income worker. While the book is well researched and includes important facts and documentation that points out how hard it is to overcome the economic challenges of being a low wage earner, this book takes the issue an important step further. It shows, first hand, the emotional direct effects of what it is like to live the life of a struggling employee.
The author researched this book by living the life of a divorced woman attempting to reenter the workplace after decades of no employment. While she had a personal financial security net and much work experience, she hid her experiences and sought not to use her safety net.
The pressures and frustrations facing so many people struggling just to keep their heads over water is described. We follow the author as she hunts for jobs, works long hours in difficult jobs, and then tries to manage living on her paychecks. Readers learn how difficult life is for so many Americans.
Life on low wages is difficult. If one does not have the money to make a deposit, one cannot cook meals. This means food is likely going to be more costly, which in turn makes it more difficult to save for a room. Further, health care is usually a dream for most low wage earners. Yet, prescription drugs and medical care are more expensive for people without insurance, which again makes it more difficult to break out of the low wage cycle.
Stress is a major part of low income employment. The author describes how employers of low income workers, perhaps knowing most will not remain with them long and definitely aware they can easily be replaced, attempt to get as much work as possible as they can out of employees while they have them. This makes life difficult for low income employees. This matches data showing that work-related injuries and illnesses have risen sharply over the past two decades.
Almost 30% of Americans earned, in 1998, $8 an hour or less. Yet it took an average hourly wage of $8.89 or more to afford a typical one bedroom apartment. The author found she could save $500 a month for rent when it cost $675 go afford trailer rental. She further found many co-workers living in cars or vans. This supports statistis indicating that about one-fifh of homeless people are employed.
This is a great book: it is a personal diary that tells about an American tragedy. It is recommended highly.
Rating:
Summary: Karl Marx would be proud
Review: At risk of ruining the book for you, Ehrenreich thinks that welfare reform was a horrible idea and it will cause the downfall of western civilization. First off, her approach is hardly scientific. In fact, she quit the experiment whenever she became sick of the work. To make matters worse, all that we have here is socialist propaganda. Ehrenreich quotes Marx and Mao more than she makes mention of welfare reform. She speaks of being "proletarianized" and of the evil "bourgeoisies", who is, according to her, anyone who can afford food, shelter, and clothing and will have a little left in the pocket book. Little does she realize that in her real life, she would be considered bourgeoisies. If I were you, I'd be mindful of the communist revolution, that, according to Ehrenreich, seems to be on the horizon.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book to read!
Review: Nickel and Dimed is about a woman who searches for a well paying job. She applies to 20 different places hoping to get hired. She eventually finds a job which only pays her minimun wage, which at the time was very low. She experiences many things through her "journey", such as witnessing her co-workers struggle in paying their rent each month. She also has to put up with rude customers while she's working as a waitress at a well known restaurant.
The author, Barbara Ehrenreich does a wonderful job in telling her story. She goes into detail when explaining what other workers do and how unsanitary some places are. She is very honest and holds nothing back, which is awesome.
I recommend this book to anyone looking for a serious reality check. You will want to read this book all the way through!
Rating:
Summary: Required Reading
Review: Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich was brought to my attention by my 61 yr old domestic partner who, having raised 5 children and worked blue collar jobs as a welder until the physical stress of the job created carpel tunnel syndrom so bad he can no longer work in this field, has just started college.
To "retrain". Nickel and Dimed was required reading for his sociology course. Funded by a small grant and student loans, we both hold hope that there will be some sort of living wage job at the end of the day. Although we personally know at least 4 friends with college educations who cannot find jobs in their field. Since I am self-employed and struggling in this "bad economy", I am also seeking work outside my field, and with a strong business and sales background I am beginning to suspect my age (51) is working against me. Though both of us once enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle, and owned property...we are now renters and among the "working poor" that Ehrenreich writes about in this book. I feel this book should be required reading for all politcians, employers, and anyone who for any reason considers themselves above the struggling working classes (whether by reason of education or economics). I applaud the author for her experiment and research on how minimum wage workers are on a continual downward spiral, and basically "can't get there from here". Minimum wage workers pay taxes, slave to meet ever-escalating financial obligations, love their families, and cradle dreams in their hearts....all the while under a level uncertainty and stress that, if they had health insurance and could get a regular check up, their doctors would surely warn them would lead to an early grave. Adding to this degredation is the inner knowledge that they are scorned and looked down on, even avoided by those they serve. They know the prevailing, unspoken thought is "why haven't you made more of your life...you must be stupid." Defeat is the agar that breeds frustration, depression, rage, and domestic violence. One of the ironies the working poor live with is that many of those who underpay for their services proudly write off their donations to charities for which working poor don't qualify.
Because they work. It won't get better. I read recently that the number of homeless in urban areas grew by 19% in the past 10 years. While those with healthy incomes can absorb the rampant cost of living increases, even while their 401K's and stock investments suffer, minimum wages are not increasing accordingly. In 10 years the country will be swelling with homeless citizens, whose hope for employment has been extinquished by still another high-tech inovation that has wiped out yet more thousands of jobs. Do you know that some employers now not only check for drugs, but run a credit check? The premise of this pre-employment requirement is that if you haven't been able to handle your finances, you will be very likely to perpetrate some sort of theft or fraud, and should not be hired. I think the people who can afford to buy Ms. Ehrenreich's book... should buy it, read it, and have a little sympathy. Or at least wake up and smell the future. There WILL be a saturation point, and a breaking point for the ranks of the working poor, and you are not going to want to witness it...even through the window of your very own tank of an S.U.V. Boy would I love to have a long conversation with the author. I found this book to be a long overdue study on modern day fuedalism. We need more like it.
Rating:
Summary: The Truth About the Working Poor
Review: Barbara Ehrenreich temporarily became a member of the working poor in order to write this book, and thank God she did. This is a story that needs to be told -- the poor aren't poor because they're lazy, but often because that's the way things work out. This bold experiment of hers is a valuable window into the way that a tremendous number of Americans really live. This book is eye-opening and bold. Highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Scratching The Surface
Review: Barbara Ehrenreich wrote a quick-read book that scratches the surface of working at poverty level wages. The book is well written as it avoids overloading the reader with impersonal facts and numbers. What Barbara accomplishes is to tell a few people's stories, give us a glimpse of day to day relations people have, and explain that escaping from poverty is not as easy as "hard work, living a morally clean life, and going to church." Well now that I've attempted to pontificate with my copious and pretentious lexicon...let me turn my attentions to the review by MacBeth Dernham, straight outta Harvard. Macbeth skips reviewing the story that Barbara has written and practically labels Barbara as a "pot-smoking liberal hippie." Either way, MacBeth reminds me of a Reagan era Republican, who probably thinks the poor deserve to be poor. I think the biggest giveaway of being wealthy is that MacBeths name is MacBeth. Okay, so now that I've just attacked the rich....remember this. This book will learn you a lesson. Read it.
Rating:
Summary: A great place to start...
Review: A great place to start learning the sad facts of the working poor in this country. Friends of mine who read this book thought the author was arrogant in her endeavor, and I can't say that I didn't sometimes get that feeling. However, none of them could honestly say they didn't learn a great deal. Personally, I found Ehrenreich to be very witty. There is a lot here for the uninitiated, which I was when I read it. This will help middle-class people understand what kind of sacrifice is made to offer them their lavish lifestyle at affordable prices, myself included. This will help you understand why the laws of economics only apply to the haves, and not always to the have-nots. This will help you think twice about welfare-to-work programs and bumper-sticker-style sentiments like "Hey, this is America: if you don't want to be poor, get a job," and other things we tell ourselves to believe that the working poor are not our problem or our responsibility. There are a lot of things missing in this book, a lot of chances for in-depth investigation and journalism (including the occurrence of drug use among the poor), but that's not what this book is. It's simply an introduction to the subject, and an excellent one at that. Hopefully, this book will get you concerned enough to read some of the material Ehrenreich recommends and refers to in the footnotes. Thank you, Ms. Ehrenreich, for opening my eyes. And I understand the people who are so angry about this book. It's very unsettling to realize how these people suffer just to make sure you have affordable goods and services. Many people would rather feel angry than guilty. However, you can choose not to feel either. You can simply be a more responsible citizen, and do your best to rectify these injustices.
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