Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Alex

The book Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich is one of the most fascinating books I have ever read. I never thought that a teenager could ever relate to this book but I was wrong. This book was one of the only books that has really changed that way I think in my daily life. Its about a woman who decides as part of her journalism career that she would explore the life of the American working poor. She moved to Florida, Maine, and Minnesota with minimal money and her commandment to never reach for her credit card or ATM. She took various waitressing jobs, and salesperson jobs to realize that it was extremely hard to get ahead on 6 dollars an hour. Her main mission was to explore earning wages after being on welfare. While reading this book and seeing the life that Barbara goes through really makes you think that it is not easy to live this way. This book has now made me think differently during my stops at Wal-Mart, Target, restaurants and hotels. I never really thought of the people in these jobs as described by Ms. Ehrenreich as simply struggling to survive. It really opened my eyes. Reading this book will really put it all in perspective when you hear Barbaras co-workers stories. The more you read of this book, the more uncomfortable you will become with the stereotype of the poor being lazy. Many of these people work 3 or 4 jobs and because they have little or no skills or education still make very little money and never seem to get ahead. This book left me wiser and more sensitive to the problems faced by the working poor and I highly recommended it to anybody who is up for something different and wants a whole new eye opening experience.