In this now classic work, Barbara Ehrenreich, our sharpest and most original social critic, goes "undercover" as an unskilled worker to reveal the dark side of American prosperity.

“Captivating . . . promise that you will read this explosive little book cover to cover and pass it on to all your friends and relatives.” --The New York Times

“Impassioned, fascinating, profoundly significant, and wildly entertaining . . . Nickel and Dimed is not only important but transformative in its insistence that we take a long hard look at the society we live in.” --The Oprah Magazine

“Valuable and illuminating . . . Barbara Ehrenreich is our premier reporter of the underside of capitalism.” --The New York Times Book Review

“Jarring . . . fully of riveting grit . . . this book is already unforgettable.” -- The New York Times

“Barbara Ehrenreich is smart, provocative, funny, and sane in a world that needs more of all four.” --Diane Sawyer

“Reading Ehrenreich is good for the soul.” --Molly Ivins

“Ehrenreich is passionate, public, hotly lucid, and politically engaged.” --Chicago Tribune

“Ehrenreich's scorn withers, her humor stings, and her radical light shines on.” --The Boston Globe

Millions of Americans work full-time, year-round, for poverty-level wages. In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which promised that any job equals a better life. But how can anyone survive, let alone prosper, on $6-$7 an hour? To find out, Ehrenreich moved from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, taking the cheapest lodgings available and accepting work as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing home aide, and Wal-Mart salesperson. She soon discovered that even the "lowliest" occupations require exhausting mental and physical efforts. And one job is not enough; you need at least two if you intend to live indoors.

Nickel and Dimed reveals low-wage America in all its tenacity, anxiety, and surprising generosity--a land of Big Boxes, fast food, and a thousand desperate stratagems for survival. Instantly acclaimed for its insight, humor, and passion, this book is changing the way America perceives its working poor.

Used - Very good

Published 2001. 256 pages. 5.71 x 0.66 x 8.34" Paperbook