Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream Audiobook

" The "undercover" approach of Nickel and Dimed does not work at all here. I wish she'd re-structured the book to de-emphasize her fake job search and devote more time to actual corporate job seeker's experiences. Not worthwhile. "

" This book will make you angry -- and it should. It is a travesty what American society does to its workers. "

" Ehrenreich missed the mark with this book. She went out to try to nab a job in mid management with a fake resume and just never made it. She enlisted career advisors, and went to job fairs and spent tons of money with no results. The basic issue here is that she didn't have the 20 or so years of experience, of friends in the business and contacts in her trade to give her a boost. She spent a good part of the book being cynical about the many people and places she enlisted to help her in her search. I really don't think most people do this. In the end I think she would have done better shadowing 3 or 4 people who have lost their jobs and truly analyzing their situations completely, instead of trying to masquerade as something she wasn't. I got the feeling that she had a contract with the editor and couldn't change it once she had started off on the wrong path, so she just made the best of it, which did not make for good reading. "

" Hard to believe this was published during the boom years because it reads like a textbook of what happened to professionals during the subsequent Great Recession. Buy this one and you'll save $$$ when you're laid off. "

" This was an engaging read though the book was not exactly about what I had thought considering the write-up and the intro. The entire book chronicled her attempts to get a job in the corporate world in order to write the book I was suspecting. Her journey was definitely entertaining, and sometimes illuminating, but I couldn't help to shake my head often at how naive and clueless she was about jobs in the corporate world as well as about the people working these jobs. Nonetheless, worth reading. Another one I couldn't put down. "

" Barbara Ehrenreich delves into America's dirty little secret on the meritocracy myth and the inconvenient truth behind a burgeoning poor class of middle-aged, educated workers who did "all the right things" but who still got the shaft in our Serengeti job market resulting from globalization and downsize-mania. "

" Not nearly as good as Nickel and Dimed. But I really enjoy her writing. She's smart and has a sharp wit. The last chapter gets a little too preachy and goes on for far too long even though I agree with her conclusion. "

" While truthful and honest it seemed like a weak followup to Nickel and Dimed.I think there were additional avenues Ehrenreich could have investigated and added that would have made this a better read and have more insight on the bigger picture. "

" I've just re-read this account of finding a job in white collar America. A depressing, yet interesting, portrait of mid-level executives and the hoops one must jump through to get there. "

" It feels entirely incomplete, unlike Nickled and Dimed. She's a fantastic author, really, but she doesn't honestly pursue white-collar work because she doesn't know what she's getting into. I'd like to see her try again, and this time do it properly. "

" Really disapointing "

" read this book if you wanna depress yourself about how our economy sucks, and how those who went to college can't even get jobs in an american corporation. but then again, who wants to work for them?? "

" started reading it hoping that barb would pull something off, but no, it wasn't to my liking and could not bear to finish. "

" This is one of the best books I've read period. People do not understand how hard a job search can be until they have been through it or read this book. "

" Great followup to Nickle and Dimed. Was disappointed when she did not achieve a job but felt it justified her purpose of doing said book "

" I love Barbara Ehrenreich but I was underwhelmed by this book. "

" [audiobook via audible.com] . . . interesting . . . and a little depressing . . . "

" Although I loved Nickle and Dimed, I couldn't get myself to finish this book. Yes, it's scary, but she seemed to make some rather silly networking decisions and got very repetitive. "

" Ehrenreich writes what she experiences. She not only writes the book, she recreates the situation and tries through this situation that she has created to achieve the goal. I enjoy all of her books. "

" Good, but depressing. Although I suppose its good to know what awaits us should we find ourselves laid-off/unemployed once we hit our 30's and 40's... "

" A must read for anyone involved in a wage-earning job or who wants to learn how the "other half" lives. Anyone who thinks that the minimum wage is a drain on business needs to read this book to see how crappy the world would be if wages were kept low. "

" This book provides nothing new unless you have never made less than $50,000/yr. "

" Very eye opening and I have great respect for the author for taking on this amazing task. "

" 3.5 stars, but it raised some interesting points. "

" If you are interested in knowing how low-income daily-wage people live in the US, this is a good book. It is depressing in parts but it is also the reality. "

" I think everyone should read this book to realize what some people (mostly women) have to go through on a day to day basis. "

" Great idea and interesting book but I fild Barbara Enhrenreich's narration so annoying. "

" For another viewpoint, I recommend Scratch Beginnings! "

" Sad but true that we live in a society where people are not paid decent wages for the work they do. "

" This book makes you wonder how people survive (financially)at all. "