i think the book was okay but i just find it hard to believe that people didn’t already know the information that was put in this book. open your eyes. okay sorry for the tirade.

I can feel where this lady is coming from; I heard about this book, and got it; and I am on this road NOW; I always felt that women can get jobs that pay dirt and somehow raise families,put them through school and the nine yards on it; but not without a struggle. Highly recommended; Perhaps someone in power can look at this and raise minimum wages, put health care for every person in this country and stop putting money where it don’t count; said my piece.

This was an easy read, especially for nonfiction. But more important than that, this book brought to life for me what the working poor in this country deal with every day of their lives—too-high (and rising) rents, wages too low to cover both housing and food (let alone medical costs), bosses that encourage and reinforce the idea that you don’t deserve higher wages, corporations that exploit the poor and lack any modicum of true respect for their employees as fellow human beings.

Because of this book, I plan to learn more about the working poor in my community and about the living wage movement.

This was a really entertaining and enlightening book. It was sad but also compulsively readable. it taught me a lot about the “working poor”. besides a few minor things i really enjoyed it and would recommend it to others.

1/22/05

I’m listening to it on mp3.

An important book, though a rather flawed one. Though she takes pains time and time again not to, in the end she comes off as presumptuous and patronizing. I also could have done with a little more hard data and a little less sanctimonious moralizing knitting together her anecdotes. That said, there are a lot of good little looks into the lives of the working poor, and this should be a must-read for people who take pains to isolate themselves from them, while also passing judgement on their lives.

(listening to the audible.com version on mp3)

Fascinating, enlightening and sad story.

Quick read. Really affected my vision of poverty in America. Interesting to see a strong work ethic portrayed as an alternative to despair, though also an obstacle to progress (finding a new job, unionizing, etc.)

Ah, the lessons learned herein are all too familiar to me. Yes, it’s almost impossible to earn a living wage in the lower echelons of the job market. This book makes an excellent introduction to the problems facing the working class in America: high rents, low wages, hard work, long hours, and a corporate culture which dehumanizes and demoralizes its workforce. Ehrenreich has found a compelling approach to illustrate this growing threat to America’s prosperity. I will definitely be passing this book on to friends.