Rating: 
Summary: A Nickel Short
Review: This is an entertaining if at times overly simplified story about living on minimum wage. Of course the author is only doing it temporarily, and has resources to fall back on, so she isn't "really" doing it. And sometimes the preaching overpowers the story. I enjoyed reading Nickel and Dimed but also found it annoying and at times infuriating. Other reviewers have commented on Barbara Ehrenreich's attitude and political viewpoint - inherent in much of the story is a superior attitude toward working people, for example: Why does she seem to expect everyone to be impressed when she "comes out" to them with who she "really is?" And, why does she keep mentioning welfare reform and it's impact - not one of the people in the story seems to be coming off of welfare - the only relevance is that it's part of her ideological agenda. Still, on balance,despite the artificiality of her circumstances she does have some interesting stories and insights. Some of my executive friends would benefit from taking a few minutes to consider the impact of low wages on people's lives. However, the ones who would benefit the most would not be interested in or likely to read a book like this. One of her observations that I thought was useful is that upper middle-class teenagers no longer seem to work entry level jobs during school. This gives them a certain narrowness in their point of view. I remember my highschool and college years spent waiting tables, working as a clerk, and so forth. I think that was an important part of my life experience. For affluent teenagers this would be a good book for a civics class.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting but seems to degenerate into ¿Poor Like Me¿
Review: It was interesting and made some good points about how tough it can be to get by without a good education and when your life savings are represented by next week's paycheck. However I also thought that it could have been better. I do not regret reading it and I would suggest that others might enjoy it as well Barbara Ehrenreich went abandoned her upper class lifestyle and spent a few months moving around the country looking for unskilled work. She attempted to show how tough it can be to get by on the low but seemingly livable wages that many Americans earn. In each of three cities the author tries to find housing, employment, and a stable life. In each of three cities she is forced to admit that it takes more than she has to get by. Along the way we are treated to amusing and sometimes tragic anecdotes about her fellow wage-slaves. While an exploration of the working class plight is a great idea it might have more sense to have explored it from the residents themselves rather than as a tourist who brings her own views and judgements in to the story. Also the fact that Ehrenreich stayed so briefly in each place meant that she wasn't really able to get a good picture of the day in and day out grinding level of despair that grows as one is unable to maintain a space in or join the middle class. The author does talk to her co-workers and presents their stories as well as her own. However, these are only small vignettes and fail to provide a real look at the lives of the working poor. With the advent of cars and the suburbs all too often people from one socio-economic group are isolated from the others. Cars and trailer parks allow the downwardly mobile to be bussed in and out at the convenience of the more fortunate when they need a lawn trimmed or a house cleaned. I applaud the attempt of this book but wish it could have had more participation from the people who live that life as opposed to those who just benefit from it.
Rating: 
Summary: A thought-provoking travelogue
Review: If you have never been exposed to the world of a low-wage worker, this is a good read. It is a small book, not packed with statistics, but with a story that reads like a travelogue. Among other things, it makes a good case for affordable housing and for treating people who work in the service economy with respect. It compliments "Fast Food Nation", another very interesting book on the service economy.
Rating:
Summary: Good book but not realistic.
Review: This book is a good eye opener for people who have never been on the bottom. Read as a school book, my class and I worked our way through the book together. Ehrenreich provides an entertaining look into the world of lower class, minimum wage workers. Although, when reading the book one must keep in mind that through the entire time that Ehrenreich is "undercover" she also has an outlet available to escape if need be. Most individuals in this situation do not have this type of outlet. Ehrenreich is readily able to complain about her surroundings but what about those who have not known any different.
I would recommend this book to anyone, but would give them a warning about these types of issues that Ehrenreich seems to skip over while on her adventures. It is a fantastic, well written book that everyone should read, with caution of course.
Rating:
Summary: Revealing
Review: Right of the bat, the book conveys a sense of desperation, of not having ends meet, and it is an eye opener. Everyone who criticizes that Ehrenreich's attitude is cavalier and "easy" is probably right, but somebody had to write this book. True, it has an axe to grind, and it does grind it with ferocity sometimes against the upper class, but that doesn't make what she reports less real.
It humanizes the poor, and explains many things that I had ignored. Yes, it can go easy on the socialist rethoric, and yes, it could be less self-absorbed. Although far from perfect, it will give incredible insights, which is why it's so commendable.
You may hate the author, but what she brings to the table is fascinating, warts and all.
Rating:
Summary: Just okay....
Review: The author starts the book by stating the areas her research lacked, and I give her credit for doing so. It is true, the author is an upper class, white woman, with no kids, and the reality of her "real" life to return to. All of these factors make her research a little hard to swallow. However, the evaluation at the end is well thought out and well written. The book is worth the read yet and will introduce many readers to the world of low wage workers. Still, don't expect research on the level of Jonathan Kozol or Alex Kotlowitz.
Rating:
Summary: The gruesome realities of middle America...
Review: Ehrenreich expertly dodges the glibness potential inherent in her "dressing up as trailer trash" premise. Instead, she delves deep into the lifestyle and mindset of America's working poor, shattering myths -- and learning a thing or two about herself -- along the way. This book made me grateful for everything I've got, and opened my eyes to the private lives of those supermarket cashiers and Wal-Mart floor people I usually barely notice. I'll never look at them the same way again.
Rating: 
Summary: A Slap in the Face
Review: I thought this book was great. It's a scary insight for the non-working class to see how the "other half" lives. Having myself been a waitress, a hospital volunteer and a retail employee I can understand practically everything Ehrenreich talks about. This book should be a wake-up call to employers.
Rating:
Summary: Stilted and be-labored
Review: I compare this book with Fast Food Nation. It is similiar in that it is trying to look at an aspect of society and make larger connotations. Where it fails is in the execution. Fast Food Nation uses sensational anecdotes to highlight well researched material. Yes there is a slant, but its more of a wake up call to how society changes/changed then a polemic. Nickle and dimed is too controlled. It uses a stilted test format to see if a person can earn a living at menial labor. However, as most people know, you can make a living, albeit not a good one. She uses this test to put forward a vaguely communistic impression of how the world should work- sort of like day old hippisms from the mountain collectives. The self-affirmation at the end (where the largest victory is that she could make it in the environment, and not let her 'team' down is sickening- she took a job, she had to do it, she did it- not any different than any other person who labored at her side). She draws no conclusions, no wider vistas, or concious is opened. If she had turned her stories into anecdotes- an illumination of condition as opposed to an experiment in 'self-reliance' it may have made more sense. On a positive note, I do like her skewering of Wal-Mart, and for exposing the hyprocisy that is the management of menial labor- but again, I didn't like the methodology.
Rating:
Summary: Good book, but change is an uphill struggle
Review: Some impressions of the USA: On a recent trip to San Francisco I was shocked and horrified by the numbers of homeless people people on the streets. In the entire time I was there (2 weeks) I never got used to it. Friends there didn't even notice the shop doorways full of people settling down for the night. One friend - with a college education - and a 'good' job with a big corporation can only afford a scuzzy apartment in a 'bad' neighbourhood. Yet he works hard and believes in the American Dream (hard work = success).
At the same time people I met were horrified to find out how much tax etc I pay here in Germany - but jealous of the 6 weeks holiday and the excellent healthcare and public transport.
It seems to me that you can't have one without the other. I would rather pay high taxes and live in a society where everyone has enough to eat and a roof over their heads. Where people have a minimum wage that really is what it claims to be (It is disgraceful the wages waiting staff in the US are paid), and where education is subsidized to make it both affordable and accessible. I am not saying that Europe is a paradise, but the only time I have seen anything like the poverty I have witnessed in the US was in India and Africa. And that is the truly shameful aspect of 'caring' conservatism.
There are many myths associated with poverty (welfare mothers, drugs, etc.) and it will always be possible to find examples to prove the case. But I would certainly challenge the idea that the majority of the poor conform to these myths. Poverty is not enobling, and no-one would ever willingly choose to be poor.
| 
