Nickel and Dimed

On (Not) Getting By in America

By: Barbara Ehrenreich

Narrated by: Cristine McMurdo-Wallis

This engrossing piece of undercover reportage has been a fixture on the New York Times best seller list since its publication. With nearly a million copies in print, Nickel and Dimed is a modern classic that deftly portrays the plight of America's working-class poor.

A successful author, Barbara Ehrenreich decides to see if she can scratch out a comfortable living in a blue-collar America obsessed with welfare "reform". Her first job is waitressing, which pulls in a measly $2.43 an hour plus tips. She moves around the country, trying her hand as a maid, a nursing home assistant, and a Wal-Mart salesperson. What she discovers is a culture of desperation, where workers take multiple thankless jobs just to keep a roof overhead.

Often humorous and always illuminating, Nickel and Dimed is a remarkable expose of the ugly flip side of the American dream.

©2001 Barbara Ehrenreich (P)2004 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

• Book Sense Book of the Year Award Finalist, Adult Non-Fiction, 2002
• Alex Award Winner, 2002

"One of today's most original writers." (The New York Times)
"A close observer and astute analyzer of American life, Ehrenreich turns her attention to what it is like trying to subsist while working in low-paying jobs....Her narrative is candid, often moving, and very revealing." (Library Journal)
"Delivering a fast read that's both sobering and sassy, she [Ehrenreich] gives readers pause about those caught in the economy's undertow, even in good times." (Publishers Weekly)

Finally read/listened to this book

Would you consider the audio edition of Nickel and Dimed to be better than the print version?

Don't think I am qualified to answer this question as I have not got the print version.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Nickel and Dimed?

When one of the people she worked with was my namesake. Yes, I know those were fake names, but still.

Which scene was your favorite?

Not really a scene, but when Ehrenreich wrote that all the people she met in the course of writing this book took pride in what their job, no one was a slob or a slacker. That really moved me.

Are things better today?

Interesting book. Well written, and well read. Provides perspective to those that think that people are poor because they want to.

Interesting but outdated

There are many improvements to the welfare system such as The working poor now receive I-phones from the government and children receive breakfast and weekend meals from schools. This does not mean there is no working poor; oh contrary! But the book does not address the current situation. It is an extraordinary insight into the struggles of the poor. The same dilemmas are in fact true today to balance expenses of food and shelter, but food is now an inflationary indicator that was not the case at the time of the writing of this book. There are different issues now for the poor not addressed in this book.

Eye opening, at times funny, but a bit dated/offensive

Maybe it’s the partly the narrator, but Ehrenreich at times comes across as condescending, fat-phobic, and vaguely racist, which is disappointing considering how well-written, funny, sad, and engaging as the book is. I recommend it with these reservations. I would edit a few things out for a new edition (referring to Alzheimer’s patients as “demented,” not once but multiple times; asserting that because cashiers show her disdain while wearing a maid’s uniform, she has a small idea of what it’s like to be Black; multiple snide, demeaning remarks about people who aren’t as physically lean as she is; etc.)

Good story

Thank you for your efforts in Living this life & telling this story. I appreciated the well- researched, laid out truth at the end.