Nickel and Dimed

Unfortunately I read all the reviews on Amazon.com for this book before I got the chance to write out my own opinions, and I really can't say anything new about it that hasn't been said before. Basically, my opinion is that it's an interesting enough account, but the author considers her mission to be a little more important than it actually is. Perhaps the rich have an easier time reading a book about the poor written by someone else who is rich but I suppose that's really the best argument for it that I can come up with: that it provides some window into that different world.

I actually think that I've seen both the rich and the poor sides of America with greater intimacy than the author has, and for what that's worth, I didn't find this book to be terribly honest or impressive. (And the snarky little points she makes intermittently don't really help her case much, either.)

I'm actually a bit more disappointed than I might have been, and that's because I have been looking forward to reading this for several years after seeing it mentioned very positively in a sociology textbook, and I guess the years of anticipation really built it up too much. :)