Rated of 5
by Lisa Book Shouts a Message that Needs to be Heard
This book is excellent and should be required reading for all highschool students as a good idea of where one may end up without a college education. I applaud Barbara for her guts to go do the job of actually living the life of the working poor. What better way to truly understand and report, loud and clear, the true nitty-gritty" circumstances of those without advantages or knowledge of how to get beyond the low wage rut. Her humor is marvelous and helps get a message across of just how ridiculous the beauracracies can be. She is laughing in disbelief at what employers can get away with and what low income workers must deal with simply for the sake of survival. How refreshing to read something honest as opposed to many supposed motivating and "feel good" articles, we find these days, on how to work more, try harder, reach that impossilbe dream, which more often than not for many people is exactly that: impossible and just a dream.
Rated of 5
by Kathy
This book's impact is significant because the author lived among the working poor, taking low-wage jobs, finding whatever housing she could afford on such wages, and living paycheck to paycheck. The author, as a reporter, could have simply interviewed some of these workers, but that would not have captured firsthand the difficulty of surviving on minimum wage. No, it's not a perfect book. The author goes on rants at times that seem endless, but her story brought the issues of the working poor to the attention of many Americans who had no idea what it was like to do back-breaking, degrading work and still not be able to make ends meet. I was glad to see that this book was being used as a teaching aid in high schools and universities.
Rated of 5
by kirit
she had worked harder than any bady elas.
Rated of 5
by Katia
Although Barbara is not truly a member of the "working poor" herself, I thought this book was an eye-opener. It sure brought out some questions, though some may not have been answered. Barbara does not take into account the fact that some people have children and families and/or seniors to look after. She is a single solitary person on her own, and cannot even fend for herself. She manages to get a few jobs here and there, all for a lousy wage. After all the complaining she does about the cost of rent, I think to myself, "why not get a roommate, or make a friend and share accomodations and split the cost?" But no, she decides to live by her lonesome, and sit in her little cubicle of a dwelling and pass her spare time by typing up notes on her laptop. She does bring up some solid points about low-level jobs, making readers aware of the humiliating and nerve-wracking work required to receive minimum wage. Working as a waitress or maid can't be a good job. After all, what's a person to do after carrying around so many heavy trays and scrubbing shower tiles seven hundred times a day? Physical labour is one of the disadvantages of low-level work, and so is management. If you don't get along with your boss or supervisor, things can't be good at all. Taking abuse from employers shouldn't have to be an issue, but unfortunately, it sometimes is. I would reccommend Nickel and Dimed to anyone who has ever had a minimum-wage paying job before. It may not be the best choice, but it sure does offer some controversy.
Rated of 5
by Amanda
I thought this book was a waste of time. We all know about the low wage job world out there. Why do we need some journalist to go out there and pretend that she is poor. All she did was complain, and complain. She was always able to turn back to her old lifestyle when things were rough. In the real world her story would be different. I think if she told one of her low wage working friends to write the book then it would be ten times better. The book doesnt give the full truth of how people in those situations live. What about kids, and raising a family in those conditions? Well all she figures is that she can't pay the second months rent, so she must leave and go get more money and move onto another city to try it. Well, that is not how it works. Maybe she should have tried living that way for at least a year, then lets see the kind of shape she is in. The whole thing is that she had a plan B. Unlike all of the other workers she had something to fall back on. I wouldn't reccomend reading this book. If you want to find out how the conditions in low wage America are then go and ask someone who is actually trying to survive on that lifestyle. Also, why did Barbara just leave after a job. She left those poor people there, with more work to bear becuase she can't stand it anymore. She could of at least bought them some food, or donated some of her book profits to the areas she visited. That would of been the least she could have done.
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by Kathy 
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