Rating: 
Summary: Yawn
Review: Though I could relate to the poor people in this book, the author did not put her point across as it could have been. All she showed was that there are waiters and waitresses and hotel maids that work hard for low wages. Didn't we all know that? She also occasionally dipped into her own money, rendering the entire experiment faulty.
Plus, when she admits to smoking pot, the book turned me off because if you really were that poor, you certainly wouldn't spend any money on pot. Her entrance into the world of the working force was a farce and she made it a farce. This book is a good subject, it just could have been written with much more punch.
Rating: 
Summary: pretty informative and kinda interesting
Review: Although I am skeptical of Barbara's ability to find low-cost living solutions (I can find cheaper housing in San Francisco - one of the two most expensive rental markets in the country - than she was able to find in Minneapolis) I definately agree with the basic theme of her book: life is not affordable on minimum wage in this country. This book offers yet more evidence of the ever-growing gap between the rich and poor, and is especially relevant now during our jobless "recovery." But I didn't find the book to be particularly insightful; much of the data used is common knowledge - only the methods are truly original. Still, it is a worthwhile read, and if nothing else it should make you more compassionate when dealing with low-wage workers.
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting perspective
Review: I felt that the author's message was very important, and make this book worth reading, but her somewhat cynical and sarcastic writing style does get a little wearisome (not to mention her attacks on religion). Ehrenreich does do an adequate job of explaining that she didn't really know what is was like to live in poverty... and this actually strengthens her argument. She had it better in many respects than her coworkers, but still struggled to get by. A worthwhile read.
Rating:
Summary: Why do conservatives hate this ? its such fun !
Review: Let me start by saying that the only reason I didn't rate this with a single star is the insight it gives into just how removed from reality a liberal intellectual can be, even after months of "research" into that reality - and the entertainment value that can be derived from decontsructing it. You should read this book to comprehend how the liberal left looks down on ordinary people, and understand how condescending their professed sympathy for them is - and for the enjoyment value of finding the broken reasonaing or false assumption in every sentence.This book is a political book, and part of the motivation of this review is a politically motivated refutation of its central theme. That the author does not clearly announce the political motivation of the enterprise clearly at the start, and instead cloaks it under a veil of supposedly quasai-objective jornalism lays bare the dishonesty that pervades the whole project. Honest authors declare their intent up front (for example see Hayek's forward to "The Road to Serfdom"); this alone should lead a reader of any political persuasion to treat every word with caution, and wonder what other inconvenient information may have been witheld. After reading the back cover, I started the book expecting to find anecdotes presented as data, and then a few questionably representative personal experiences used to substantiate the author's hypothesis. However, her method isn't even that sophisticated. Even though the author proceeds on the basis that "data" is the plural of "annecdote", the annecdotes presented often contradict her own conclusions. Reported comments such as "hardly anyone comes back after the first day" (page 31) are treated as fact, and conclusions drawn despite the evidence to the contrary that she reports (perhaps unintentionsally) in the stories of her co-workers. Ehrenreich repeatedly demonstrates her inability to see any bigger picture in the actions of others that is not tainted by her own preconceptions and colored by thinking the worst of anybody paying someone else to do anything. She appears to see prejudice in a resteraunt managers desire to have waiting staff with good english, without ever wondering how often customers would return to even a low-end establishment with servers who could not efectively communicate with diners. That a resteraunt with english speaking dish-washers and non-english speaking servers would provide no employment for anybody for very long (in an area populated by english speakers) seems not to occur to her in her hurry to think the worst of employers. As the whole liberal outlook derives its attraction from an inability to account for 2nd or 3rd order effects, maybe this shouldn't be surprising; it is certainly what enabled me to derive such enjoyment from the book. Almost every sentence contains conclusions, either stated outright, or hidden in the assumptions buried in the phrasing of the narrative - waiting to be analysed, deconstructed and refuted. This is an intellectual treasure hunt for anyone with the analytical capacity to devlve beyound first-order superficialities and understand chains of cause and effect. Less satisfying to deconstruct, but no more unexpected, is the fundemental methodological weakness of her research method. The idea of the book is to try to live as millions of minimum-wage Americans do, and help the middle-class majority understand how the "working poor" live. We know from the data that even low-wage average job tenure is more than a year. Even a moments though would lead one to the conclusion that the most readily available such jobs would be the least attractive, and that even those of the unskilled who are disinclined to improve themselves and work they way up to something higher than minimum wage work would in time gravitate to less unpleasant (as she would see it) jobs. Such jobs, being more in demand, would not likley be available to someone intent on flitting from job to job for research purposes. Her very research methodology therefore almost gurantees that her experiences are unrepresentative of what the data shows to be typical for low-wage Americans, and certainly not representative of what _any_ unskilled American _could_ achieve if they chose to. It seems to me that Ehrenreich msut be hoping that many readers have never had to live on the amount of money the author so evidently finds inadeqaute - anyone who has should not find her claims of poverty credible. However, anyone should be able to see that spending $5 on the most expensive meal in Wendy's is probaly not wise for someone watching pennies (what about the dollar menu ?). For me, the first big warning of just how far removed from reality Ms Ehrenreich is, comes on page 12 when she says "I figure that I can afford $500 on rent, or maybe with severe economies $600 and still have $400 or $500 left for food and gas". What planet is she living on ? I fed a family of 5 and bought gas for 2 cars with $500 for years. I am still infuriated by this woman's persistent assumption that her own pathetic inability to budget or cope with constrained resources is shared by the millions of Americans (and billions worldwide) who live fulfilling lives with less. To conclude then, this book uses a flawed methodology to gather distorted evidence which is then wilfully misinterpreted to draw false conclusions which rest on the authors inability to live with constrained circumstances. I hesitate to suggest that anyone buy it, but I'd certainly recommend reading it ! Deconstructing something so systematically flawed on every level and in every respect will give you weeks of enjoyment !
Rating: 
Summary: very interesting, well-written,.infrormative, stimulating
Review: Whatever your politics, this is great reading on an important topic. As a Christian conservative I must say it won't leave anone feeling complacent, but it touches on the very heart of Christ's ministry to humanity and reminded me how easy it is to avoid honest witness with my convenient rationalizations. Forget the political debates. It is fascinating reading and a necessity for any sincere Christian.
Rating:
Summary: Dare to be Challenged.
Review: I haven't felt compelled to write a review in some time, but reading this book was like being thrown into very icy waters, and learning how to swim again in frigid temperatures. I mean, that person who just served me a hamburger at McDonald's may or may not be getting by on her salary; oh, and the people I "manage" in the coffeeshop where I work subsist on minimum wage and tips we accumulate in a large jar, and no health insurance, most of them no car unless their parents bought it for them. I don't know. All I do know is there are two Americas; one for the working poor and one for the rich. The working poor are seldom talked about. Read This Book.
Rating:
Summary: Her evidence belies her conclusion
Review: Ms. Ehrenreich makes the very point she is trying to deny in this book. "Low wage" jobs actually serve an important purpose in society: they allow low-skilled people to earn a living. Without the fast food chains and discount store employers, these folks would be even worse off! At least with these "back-breaking" jobs, they have a chance to enter the job market, a chance to rent a trailer with running water, and a chance to improve their skills. As for "affordable housing," nobody is "entitled" to own their own house. When you earn a low wage, renting a small place is what you do. Some of the "characters" in her book seemed to appreciate what they could afford, as opposed to Ms. Ehrenreich, a spoiled brat, who bemoans the small bathroom and long travelling distance from her trailer to her workplace. The book was a rant against successful people who make accomplishments in their lives. Mr. Ehrenreich seems to feel guilty for her own success as a journalist.
Rating:
Summary: Is minimum wage really minimum?
Review: This book reads like a novel. What is horrible is that it is not fiction. The characters are all too real and so are their problems and their attempt to get by on minimum wage.
The author was quite brave. Of course it was easier for her to get by since she knew she could turn around at any moment. Which she did... but it was brave to go out there and try...
Rating:
Summary: It had many good points, but had several flaws
Review: First off, most jobs she worked were $7/hr or more, this was in 1999 wages when the book was written. Minimum wage is still 5.15 in 2004. min. wage in america is the 2nd lowest in the developed world, only Japan pays its poorest citizens less and even that may be different now. Another problem i had was her belief that rent was insanely high. I have lived in the midwest my whole life and here at least rent is low. A 2 bedroom in a small town is 280-350, in a medium town (100k) it is 500. with a roommate those are cut in half and very affordable. If you can't afford the first months rent & deposit you just move in with someone who already has a place and wants a roommate. Here in this college town there are literally hundreds of people looking for roommates to move in with them, some with no deposit. I do 100% agree that service workers are stepped on and abandoned by the government, the public, corporations and society at large. Worker productivity is up 75% since 1968 and the minimum wage is 40% lower (inflation adjusted). disgusting conduct in a developed country. When Ehrenreich stated that she, as a wealthy woman earns 20k in interest deductions on her mortgage it makes me sick. There almost seems to be more welfare or the middle class than the poor anymore. Almost every other field has unionized other than service industries. The 'myth' that conservatives use that unions would lead to higher wages which would lead to bankruptcy not necessarily true as Kroger has a unionized labor force, pays $10+ an hour and they manage to keep their prices low. Ehrenreich stated Menards was offering $10/hr and they are still in business. There is no excuse to continue to exploit the most impoverished and financially desperate among us over myths that prices will increase dramatically or over selfish darwinistic economic philosophies. Check out the AFL-CIO for more info about exploitation of those in service industries and to see how you can help. This book has totally changed my viewpoint on the working poor and those in service industries and how underappreciated they are, but i think that Ehrenreich did not capture the truth of poverty for a variety of reasons. She didn't technically work for minimum wage for one thing, her rent prices were astronaumical and she didn't budget by getting a roommate, and she only did it for a few months. This is just a taste of poverty, not true poverty. its very possible to live on minimum wage or near it, but only with a roommate, which is something she wasn't willing to look into.
Rating:
Summary: One Perspective.
Review: The self constructed experience described in the book is hypocrytical at best and admittedly hardly scientific. But the anticdotal value is, in my opinion, excellent. This is one window to reality, don't ask too much in the way of facts, statistics, or solutions and this book will deliver. Ms. Ehrenreich tells her story very well and from her own unique and personal perspective. (Emphasize personal.) If you want to study social equity, or classism in America today, at 240 large typed pages this should be considered very light reading, but chock full of anticdotal evidence.
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