Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America

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. [Publisher’s description.]

ISBN-13: 9780312626686 | Picador

About the Author

Barbara 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. A frequent contributor to Harper’s and The Nation, she has also been a columnist at The New York Times and Time magazine.

Reviews and  Comments

“. . . 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 [Business Section]

“Jarring, full of riveting grit . . . This book is already unforgettable.” —Susannah Meadows, Newsweek

“Angry, amusing . . . An in-your-face expose.” —Anne Colamosca, Business Week

“With grace and wit, Ehrenreich discovers . . . the irony of being nickel and dimed during unprecedented prosperity.” —Eileen Boris, The Boston Globe

“Ehrenreich is a superb and relaxed stylist [with] a tremendous sense of rueful humor.” —Stephen Metcalf, Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Barbara Ehrenreich . . . is our premier reporter of the underside of capitalism.” —Dorothy Gallagher, The New York Times Book Review

“Reading Ehrenreich is good for the soul.” —Molly Ivins

“Ehrenreich is passionate, public, hotly lucid, and politically engaged.” —Chicago Tribune

“Ehrenreich’s scorn withers, her humor stings, and her radical light shines on.” —The Boston Globe

“One of today’s most original writers.” —The New York Times

“Barbara Ehrenreich is smart, provocative, funny, and sane in a world that needs more of all four.” —Diane Sawyer