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Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America

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Author: Barbara Ehrenreich
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
Category: Book

List Price: ~~$13.00~~
Buy Used: $0.01
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New (134) Used (1048) from $0.01

Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.4 x 0.7

ISBN: 0805063897
Dewey Decimal Number: 305.569092
EAN: 9780805063899
ASIN: 0805063897

Publication Date: May 1, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: No markings found!! Wonderful shape!! Cds etc not included unless noted, . We Ship in 1-2 Business days

Customer Reviews:

Showing reviews 6-10 of 100

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Oh please, September 8, 2008
1 out of 5 found this review helpful

Talk about making a mountain out of a mole hill. The number of positive reviews for this book is really truly suprising. I'll spare you my rant. Buy it on the cheap if you must read..either that, or I'll GIVE you my copy.

5 out of 5 stars

Good book. Very interesting August 31, 2008
Enjoying the book thus far. Really gives practical information about what it is like to try to live on minimum wage.

5 out of 5 stars

Must read for the 'Haves' in this country August 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I have to admit, I grew up as person of privilege. I am from a large home in suburbia and drove a Mercedes SUV to high school every day. I was always taught to appreciate the things you have, and how lucky I am. Being born into wealth doesn't take talent, it takes luck. Even being born in the United States alone takes luck, you only had a 5% chance of being born here. br /br /This book reaffirmed my core belief that while hard work and brains can get you places, the effect of the starting hand your dealt cannot be denied. I have to admit I am pretty embarassed to read some of these reviews that blame the poor for their lot in life. Just because hard work can lead to success in this country, doesn't mean it happens 100% of the time.br /br /Here's a big lesson I learned: tip everyone. One dollar to you might mean almost nothing, but for the working poor it means a whole lot more. Treat employees with compassion and respect. A lot of the poor conditions Dr. Ehrenreich experiences is because people are too self-absorbed to think of others. For example, when she's working as a maid in Maine, dripping sweat and the woman whose house she is cleaning doesn't even offer a glass of water. Instead, she commands Dr. Ehrenreich to clean floors on her hands and knees. br /br /I did find the book to be a bit preachy at times, but really the overarching lessons here I think transcend politics. It's about human decency and compassion for your fellow man. Much of where you end up in life depends on the hand your dealt with from the start. The hand your dealt is all luck. Out of 6 billion people, why did I get to be born to wealthy parents in a great school district while another person of equal intelligence and integrity does not?br /br /Anyway, this book is a must read for people of privilege in my opinion because it forces you to take a step back, count your blessings, and become more generous to fellow men and women.

5 out of 5 stars

Great Book July 27, 2008
I heard about this book through my reading teacher and a student a few months ago. Out of curiosity I decided to buy the book.br /I really enjoyed it. I loved how it was written in a diary format and how the author was so real and blunt about everyone and everything she came in contact with.br /br /Hopefully this book will wake up the country.

5 out of 5 stars

It IS Realistic! July 7, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful

This was me! For those who reviewed the book and said that Ehrenreich was "unrealistic", I'm going to share my story. Several years ago my ex-boyfriend and I could have been in the book; we were each working a full-time job and he also had TWO part-time jobs at the same time (one after his full-time job and another on the weekends). Our jobs were in electronic sales at a big chain store and telemarketing which at the time paid $7.50 an hour. Yet we were still unable to make ends meet. After rent on our shoebox-efficieny apartment and utility bills, quarters for laundry and bus fare (we couldn't even afford a car! And even if we could have, we would not have been able to afford insurance AND gas.), we had hardly any money leftover for groceries and certainly NO money leftover for luxuries such as new clothes and new shoes (we did shop at thrift stores, but only when we really needed more outfits). After we ran out of selling our CDs, books, and magazines, which we sold for bus fare to be able to get to and from jobs, we resorted to selling plasma which paid $20 at the time and was enough for two weeks worth of groceries. Everything else that we owned, a mattress on the floor, linen, and kitchen supplies (which we deemed were the necessities) had all been purchased at a Goodwill also with the help of a friend of mine who worked there and used his employee discount for us. br /I'm sure people would have thought my ex-boyfriend and I were lazy and "slackers" but we were working so HARD and pinching pennies and we couldn't understand why we still couldn't afford a nicer apartment, a car, decent clothes and to eat well. I shudder to think how much more of a hell our lives would have been if we had had children to boot!br /Unfortunately the strain of our financial situation did our relatonship in. He moved back in with his single mother and I moved back in with my grandparents as we went our seperate ways. Sadly, living with my grandparents rent-free didn't really make my life easier. I was still working a minimum wage job and trying to save money while also helping them with expenses. Then the worst thing happened, I got another job in telemarketing and lost my voice completely two weeks into training which was followed by strep throat; this latest for a month! Needless to say I lost my job because I couldn't even make it through training. Of course I had no health insurance either. I realized there was no way I could ever afford a car to get a better job off the bus route or to move out into my own apartment anytime soon. Finally, I made the desperate decison to enlist in the Army.br /My life is completely different now that I am out of the Army and a civilian again. From the Army I gained skills and knowledge in a specific field which are marketable and thanks to the Army College Fund and Montgomery G.I. Bill I am currently enrolled in a graduate program. Finanically I am better off now then I ever was in my life, but I never forget for a minute that I can end up again where I was before the Army, (selling plasma for food)...even with a Master's degree. Unfortunately there are countless reasons why some people would not be able to make the same decisions to join the military. For many people that is not an option. So where does that leave them? br /I LOVE this book because I think it IS realistic and dead-on and I should know, I have lived it!

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