Determined to find out how anyone could make ends meet on $7 an hour, she left behind her middle class life as a journalist-except for $1000 in start-up funds, a car and her laptop computer-to try to sustain herself as a low-skilled worker for a month at a time. “Barbara Ehrenreich is smart, provocative, funny, and sane in a world that needs more of all four.In contrast to recent books by Michael Lewis and Dinesh D'Souza that explore the lives and psyches of the New Economy's millionares, Ehrenreich ( Fear of Falling: The Inner Life of the Middle Class, etc.) turns her gimlet eye on the view from the workforce's bottom rung. “One of today’s most original writers.” - The New York Times “Ehrenreich’s scorn withers, her humor stings, and her radical light shines on.” - The Boston Globe “Ehrenreich is passionate, public, hotly lucid, and politically engaged.” - Chicago Tribune “Reading Ehrenreich is good for the soul.” -Molly Ivins is our premier reporter of the underside of capitalism.” -Dorothy Gallagher, The New York Times Book Review “Ehrenreich is a superb and relaxed stylist a tremendous sense of rueful humor.” -Stephen Metcalf, Los Angeles Times Book Review

the irony of being nickel and dimed during unprecedented prosperity.” -Eileen Boris, The Boston Globe “With grace and wit, Ehrenreich discovers. An in-your-face expose.” -Anne Colamosca, Business Week This book is already unforgettable.” -Susannah Meadows, Newsweek 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 A frequent contributor to Harper’s and The Nation, she has also been a columnist at The New York Times and Time magazine. īarbara Ehrenreich is the author of fourteen books, including This Land Is Their Land and the New York Times bestsellers Bait and Switch and Fear of Falling. 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. 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. Chosen for “one book” initiatives across the country, it has fueled nationwide campaigns for a living wage. 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.

Nickel and dimed pages