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The bestselling, landmark work of undercover reportage, now updated
Acclaimed as an instant classic upon publication, Nickel and Dimed has sold more than 1.5 million copies and become a staple of classroom reading. Chosen for “one book” initiatives across the country, it has fueled nationwide campaigns for a living wage. Funny, poignant, and passionate, this revelatory firsthand account of life in low-wage America—the story of Barbara Ehrenreich’s attempts to eke out a living while working as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing-home aide, and Wal-Mart associate—has become an essential part of the nation’s political discourse.
Now, in a new afterword, Ehrenreich shows that the plight of the underpaid has in no way eased: with fewer jobs available, deteriorating work conditions, and no pay increase in sight, Nickel and Dimed is more relevant than ever.
Barbara Ehrenreich is the author of fourteen books, including Dancing in the Streets and The New York Times bestsellers Nickel and Dimed and Bait and Switch. A frequent contributor to Harper’s and The Nation, she has also been a columnist at The New York Times and Time magazine. In 2010, Nickel and Dimed was named one of the decade's top ten works of journalism by the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University.
Millions of Americans work full-time, year-round, for poverty-level wages. Inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which promised that a job—any job—can be the ticket to a better life, Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. But how does anyone survive, let alone prosper, on $6 an hour?
To find out, Ehrenreich left her home, took the cheapest lodgings she could find, and accepted whatever jobs she was offered. Moving from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, she worked as a waitress, a hotel maid, a cleaning woman, a nursing home aide, and a Wal-Mart sales clerk. She lived in trailer parks and crumbling residential motels. Very quickly, she discovered that no job is truly "unskilled," that even the lowliest occupations require exhausting mental and muscular effort. She also learned that one job is not enough; you need at least two if you intend to live indoors.
Nickel and Dimed reveals low-rent America in all its tenacity, anxiety, and surprising generosity—a land of Big Boxes, fast food, and a thousand desperate strategems for survival. Read it for the clarity of Ehrenreich's perspective and for a rare view of how "prosperity" looks from the bottom.
"Nickel and Dimed is a superb and frightening look into the lives of hard-working Americans . . . policymakers should be forced to read the last ten pages of Ehrenreich's book in which she concludes that affordable rent, food and health care should be among the chief measurements of a healthy economy, not simply high productivity and employment."—Tamara Straus, San Francisco Chronicle
"This book is thoroughly enjoyable, written with an affable, up-your-nose brio throughout. Ehrenreich is a superb and relaxed stylist, and she has a tremendous sense of rueful humor, especially when it comes to the evils of middle-management, absentee ownership and all the little self-consecrating bourgeois touches gracing the homes she sterilizes, inch-by-square-inch, as a maid in Maine."—Stephen Metcalf, Los Angeles Times
"With grace and wit, Ehrenreich discovers the irony of being 'nickel and dimed' during unprecedented prosperity . . . Living wages, she elegantly shows, might erase the shame that comes from our dependence 'on the underpaid labor of others."—Eileen Boris, The Boston Globe
"A captivating account . . . Just promise that you will read this explosive little book cover to cover and pass it on to all your friends and relatives."—Diana Henriques, The New York Times
"There is much to be learned from Nickel and Dimed. It opens a window into the daily lives of the invisible workforce that fuels the service economy, and endows the men and women who populate it with the honor that is often lacking on the job . . . In the grand tradition of the muckraking journalist, [Ehrenreich] goes undercover for nearly a year . . . What emerges is an insider's view of the worst jobs (other than agricultural labor) the 'new economy' has to offer."—Katherine Newman, The Washington Post Book World
"Ehrenreich is a wonderful writer. Her descriptions of people and places stay with you. If nothing else, this book illuminates the invisible army that scrubs floors, waits tables and straightens the racks at discount stores. That alone makes Ehrenreich's odyssey worthwhile."—Sandy Block, USA Today
"Nickel and Dimed is an 'old-fashioned,' in-your-face exposé . . . this important volume will force anyone who reads it to acknowledge the often desperate plight of Ehrenreich's subjects."—Anne Colamosca, Business Week
"Jarring, full of riveting grit . . . This book is already unforgettable."—Susannah Meadows, Newsweek
"I commend Barbara Ehrenreich for conducting such an important experiment. Millions of Americans suffer daily trying to make ends meet. Ehrenreich's book forces people to acknowledge the average worker's struggle and promises to be extremely influential."—Lynn Woolsey, U.S. Congress, Representing California's Sixth District
"A brilliant on-the-job report from the dark side of the boom. No one since H.L. Mencken has assailed the smug rhetoric of prosperity with such scalpel-like precision and ferocious wit."—Mike Davis, author of Ecology of Fear
"With this book Barbara Ehrenreich takes her place among such giants of investigative journalism as George Orwell and Jack London. Ehrenreich's courage, empathy, and the immediacy with which she describes her experience bring us face to face with the fate of millions of American workers today."—Frances Fox Piven, author of Regulating the Poor
"I was absolutely knocked out by Barbara Ehrenreich's remarkable odyssey as a waitress, hotel maid, cleaning woman, nursing home aide and sales clerk. She has accomplished what no contemporary writer has even attempted—to be that 'nobody' who barely subsists on her essential labors. It is a stiff punch in the nose to those righteous apostles of 'welfare reform.' Not only is it must reading but it's mesmeric. You can't put the damn thing down. Bravo!"—Studs Terkel, author of Working
"One of the great American social critics, Barbara Ehrenreich has written an unforgettable memoir of what it was like to work in some of America's least attractive jobs. Nickel and Dimed is a passionate meditation on the blindness of those with money and power. It is one of those rare books that will provoke both outrage and self-reflection. No one who reads this book will be able to resist its power to make them see the world in a new way."—Mitchell Duneier, author of Sidewalk
"Drunk on dot-coms and day trading, America has gone blind to the down side of its great prosperity. In Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich does more than open her own eyes wide to the hidden human costs of the boom. She immerses herself in the practicalities of being poor, a subject rendered exotic by decades of media neglect. Once inside, Ehrenreich expertly peals away the layers of self-denial, self-interest and self-protection that separate the rich from poor, the served from the servers, the housed from the homeless. This is a brave and frank book that is ultimately a challenge to create a less divided society."—Naomi Klein, author of No Logo
"A tough, engaging, revealing look at life as a low-wage worker . . . Sobering."—Shelley Donald Coolidge, Christian Science Monitor
"Barbara Ehrenreich is the Thorstein Veblen of the 21st century. And this book is one of her very best—breathtaking in its scope, insight, humor, and passion."—Arlie Russell Hochschild, author of The Time Bind
"Between spring 1998 and summer 2000, Barbara Ehrenreich entered the world of service work. She folded clothes at Wal-Mart, waitressed, washed dishes in a nursing home, and scrubbed floors 'the old fashioned way—on her hands and knees' for The Maids. Her account of those experiences is unforgettable—heart-wrenching, infuriating, funny, smart, and empowering. Few readers will be untouched by the shameful realities which underlie America's boom economy. Nickel and Dimed is vintage Ehrenreich and will surely take its place among the classics of underground reportage."—Juliet Schor, author of The Overworked American
"Barbara Ehrenreich's new book is absolutely riveting. I was drawn into the narrative so quickly that it took me 50 pages to remember to get ...
Product Details
| Publisher | Holt Paperbacks |
| ISBN | 0805088385 |
| Features |
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| Format | Paperback |
| Author | Barbara Ehrenreich,Frances Fox Piven |
| EAN | 9780805088380 |
| Is Adult Product | No |
| Label | Holt Paperbacks |
| Edition | Reprint |
| Dewey Decimal Number | 305.569092 |
| Studio | Holt Paperbacks |
| Number Of Pages | 240 |
| Title | Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America |
| Release Date | 2008-06-24 |
| Publication Date | 2008-06-24 |
| Manufacturer | Holt Paperbacks |
Customer Reviews
Nickel And Dimed: Decent, But Could Be Better:Review by Jeffery Bauman, 2010-08-22
I picked up this book at my local bookstore awhile back, mostly because it just looked interesting. Seeing as I am so completely far from being rich and work a retail job, I thought this would be an interesting read. Having just finished reading the book, I found much of it to be quite intriguing. Not revelatory by any stretch of the imagination, but there were many points raised over the course of the book that I'm glad were addressed. These mainly have to do with terminally low wages, and the problems of getting by day to day. That said, I do have some criticism for this book, which mostly has to do with the way the author chose to write it. We are reminded several times throughout the book that the author is upper class and has a Ph. D. One mention of this would be plenty, but it is repeated continually. Also, the parts where she tries to be "witty" come of as somewhat snobbish. One such instance is when she makes little cracks at the book collection of the owner's house the maid service she is working for is cleaning. How does she know that the owner doesn't enjoy the book laid out on the coffee table that was written in the 1920's? They very well could. Another thing that is rather hard to ignore is that fact that sometimes the author didn't budget herself very well. Personally, I would not drop more than $20.00 on workpants that will get ruined due to wear and tear no matter what. Also, she was somehow able to procure (or already had it before she started this little adventure) marijuana to smoke a few days before her employment drug test. Then she complains about how unfair those drug tests are. Seriously? I also found it a little annoying when she tried to envision herself as some "savior" or something. She seemed to think a little too highly of herself. The whole book has this "I'm better than this, I'm better than everybody" viewpoint. Uh-huh. Well newsflash, you're not. Get over it. Now, I did ultimately enjoy the book for the most part, but it is hard to recommend it. The author's pretentious tone make it hard to read it times. The information and findings are overall good, but like I said, not exactly revelatory. I do recommend this book, but perhaps sampling a chapter first before purchasing would be a good idea.
Great idea - but to much soapbox
Review by whatTHE!!!, 2010-08-20
This book is worth reading - and it gives you a look into a world that is pretty foreign for most of us. The problem that I have is that the author included pages and pages of pro-union editorializing. I was especially amused by her description of her friend in New York - not as a friend from New York, but as a young African-American feminist from New York. It is as if she is saying - "I'm friends with a young African American feminist - look how progressive I am - please be impressed with my progressiveness!" News Flash - it is 2010 and lots of people are friends with, and even marry people of other races and everyone who has set foot near a university knows a few feminists, right-wingers, left wingers etc! Just about everyone also has an opinion about unions and minimum wages. I don't care any more about her opinion on these subjects than she is likely to care about mine. She should have just stuck to writing about her experience and kept politics out of it. She seems not to grasp that people who are paid higher wages get those wages for two reasons: First because the job they are doing adds large amounts of value, and second because the job they are doing could not be done by anyone off the street with a weeks training. I could work very hard all day lining up pebbles - but just working hard at something does not justify high levels of compensation. Lining up pebbles adds no value and just about anyone could do it - that is why no matter how hard I work at lining up pebbles no one will pay me for it. Low wage jobs add debatable amounts of value but almost anyone can do them - that is why the compensation is very low. Labor unions in the US are great - for China and India - where most of our manufacturing jobs end up because union workers demand wages that are totally out of line with the value they add and how easily the skills they bring to the table can be replaced. Sorry - I didn't make the laws of Economics - I just live here.
This book pissed me off .....
Review by Rodney A. Warren, 2010-08-05
My son had to read this book for his summer reading requirement for an AP high school course. I decided to read it along with him so that we could discuss it if he had any questions. At first I thought it was a great idea for a book and I found the author witty, intelligent and humorous in the first chapter and 1/2.
Her first job as a waitress and the way that she was treated wasn't exactly eye-opening revelations, but it did give a great first hand account of how many people treat lower pay service jobs.
In the second chapter, when she took a job as a maid, that's when I started to get a bit mad with the author. I guarantee that there are some wealthy people in this world who treat service people with disrespect, but her accounts were too one sided. She had not one story of a home owner who had compassion, offered water or tipped. I worked as a carpet cleaner for 4 summers and there were far more good people that I worked for than bad.
It is during this chapter too that her attitude changes. She makes fun of people who collect books (now that one really pissed me off) because she believes these are just show pieces of the owner's vanity.
The last thing that made me not like the book is that I think it was FAKE. She did too many things to BE THE NEWS, instead of report the news. The first example is when she went to "work" in Minnesota. She knew that she was going to be going undercover, but coincidentally she happened to smoke pot the week before. This allows her to go into the unfairness of drug tests and how they are an invasion of privacy, etc.
The final straw was when she worked for WalMart. Again, a reporter should be unbiased and report the news, not create it (the union thing).
In the course of 250 pages, the author was able to offend the lower class, the middle class and the upper class, sometimes breaking it down specifically at one point, Mexicans and "Minnesota Anglos."
Pointless condescending drivel
Review by J. Michael, 2010-07-30
In the grand tradition of Nellie Bly and other crusading journalists who went undercover to expose the poor conditions under which "the other half" lived, leftist elitist Barbara Ehrenreich put down her latte and dropped her G's in order to see first-hand what the simple folk actually do. And here's is her amazing discovery: it sucks to be poor. Just as Marie Antoinette had a completely inaccurate conception of peasant life, it comes as a revelation to our parasitic ruling class, who live like kings by manipulating words and spouting glib platitudes to the captive masses, that it's no fun trying to live on minimum wage, or work retail, waitress, or clean toilets. Normal people need no such lesson. This book is mere voyeuristic slumming, like those Victorians who would go on tours through the East End for the shock value of poverty. I see no other purpose here. The author offers no real solutions to a situation that is inherent in a society where people are commensurately rewarded for their marketable skills. Knowing her political affiliations, I would assume that she would put forward socialism as the panacea, but she presents no explanation about how such a system would better the lot of the working class.
As an aside, I find Ehrenreich to one of the most irritating women I've ever come across. She keeps flaunting her working class credentials, by pointing out her father's origins in the copper mines, without mentioning that he went on to become an executive for the Gilette corporation, thereby keeping baby Barbara from ever knowing hardship. I am also dubious about her supposed sympathy. Her sense of superiority is palpable, as she mocks her subjects' foodways, spirituality, leisure activities, and manner of speaking. For all intents and purposes, the working people Ehrenreich duped serve as nothing more than zoo animals here, put on exhibition for the entertainment of Ehrenreich's peers.
I also find her writing style synthetic and phony, without any charm or individuality, typical of college-educated feminists in the social sciences. Take this sentence for example: "...I have to take care of their cockatiel, a caged bird that, for ornithological fitness and sanity, has to be let out of the cage for a few hours a day." Her gratuitous use of the word "ornithological" is a glaring instance of bad writing. Ehrenreich, wanting to appear intellectual, or in a misguided attempt to "spice up" her writing, simply took a large synonym for "bird" and shoehorned it into the sentence. So, in short, I found this book neither informative nor well-written. Skip it.
We get it! You have a Ph.D.!
Review by Lily, 2010-07-15
My book club selected this, I doubt I would have selected it on my own. At first, I found the author's sarcasm entertaining. Eventually it just got on my nerves. Did she have to keep reminding us that she was a writer with an advanced degree? I enjoyed some portions of this book but I cannot give it more than a 2 star rating.
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