Barbara Ehrenreich's first book of satirical commentary, The Worst Years of Our Lives, which was about the Reagan era, was received with bestselling acclaim. The one problem was the title: couldn't some prophetic fact-checker have seen that the worst years of our lives—far worse—were still to come? Here they are, the 2000s, and in This Land Is Their Land, Ehrenreich subjects them to the most biting and incisive satire of her career.
Taking the measure of what we are left with after the cruelest decade in memory, Ehrenreich finds lurid extremes all around. While members of the moneyed elite can buy congressmen, many in the working class can barely buy lunch. While a wealthy minority obsessively consumes cosmetic surgery, the poor often go without health care for their children. And while the corporate C-suites are now nests of criminality, the less fortunate are fed a diet of morality, marriage, and abstinence. Ehrenreich's antidotes are as sardonic as they are spot-on: pet insurance for your kids; Salvation Army fashions for those who can no longer afford Wal-Mart; and boundless rage against those who have given us a nation scarred by deepening inequality, corroded by distrust, and shamed by its official cruelty.
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"This is a great interrogation of positive psychology and the lack of reason in contemporary American culture. It's time to start complaining and start acting, changing policy and getting politically active, says Ehrenreich. I couldn't agree more. All these personal affirmation need action!! "
— Ann (5 out of 5 stars)
For those who truly do care about what America has to offer "the huddled masses...yearning to breathe free" in a post-9/11 world, This Land Is Their Land is essential [listening]. ---San Francisco Chronicle
“For those who truly do care about what America has to offer ‘the huddled masses…yearning to breathe free’ in a post-9/11 world, This Land Is Their Land is essential reading.”
— San Francisco Chronicle“[Ehrenreich’s] passion, compassion, and wit keep these excursions lively and timely.”
— Publishers Weekly“Campbell’s light and crisp tone is a perfect match for Ehrenreich’s demeanor and textual tone.”
— Publishers Weekly, audio review“Provocative, angry, and funny, often at the same time.”
— Kirkus Reviews" More essential reading from Barbara Ehrenreich. This is the reality of American society, folks, and it ain't pretty! "
— Carli, 2/12/2014" I've followed Ehrenreich's rise, from her days of giving speeches to union gatherings in Minneapolis in the wake of Nickel and Dimed and have always thought that she has something interesting to contribute (despite some of the problems with her work). However, this books reads like a random collection of her thoughts on a whole bunch of topics--economics and the American worker (obviously) but also cancer and abortion...and a lot of other things. It was interesting, but there was no overarching theme or project for the book. Nonetheless, I confess to the occasional out-loud enjoyment of her gut-punches to the "them" that make the "their" in her title, which she delivers in a style all her own. I also think she is pretty brave for owning up to her own experience with abortion. This is a quick read if you're up for some liberal ranting. "
— Norah, 2/11/2014" I really had to struggle through this book. I've decided I'm not a fan of the author and she annoyed me a lot. Also, the book does not flow AT ALL. I finished only because it was short and a very quick read, but I doubt I'll waste my time on Ehrenreich again. "
— Danika, 2/6/2014" Really liked her first book.."Nickel and Dimed". This one was way too liberal for me. "
— Cathy, 1/26/2014" I think the author makes alot of important points and generally speaking this is a very good social commentary on our economic times. However, she tends to be melodramatic, takes comments out of their original context, and she over simplifies many of the issues which are typically more complex then she admits. Very funny though, the author is original, and I would recommend this book. "
— JoAnn, 1/22/2014" Based upon a series of essays from the author's newspaper and magazine columns, Ehrenreich does a great job describing the ills of American society and how it got there over the last eight years. Not much new here if you follow these things closely, and I found it to be actually quite depressing when I realized how many people have been duped and/or otherwise taken advantage of while the rich in this country looted the coffers of our government treasury. And so it continues, as the people that we continue to bail out with our tax money flaunt their spending of that money while the people in office sit idley by and do nothing about it. "
— Sera, 1/2/2014" What can you say about Barbara Ehrenreich? I don't agree with everything she says, but I'm awfully glad she's around saying them. As always, thoughtful and thought-provoking. "
— Esme, 12/17/2013" Barbara Ehrenreich...2008 bestselling social critic hailed as the "premier reporter of the underside of capitalism." A hilarious satirist. "
— Leslie, 12/1/2013" Anthology of columns. Appropriately sassy, but repetitive format. "
— Thom, 11/4/2013" This book really resonates right now because I lost my job due to downsizing two days after I started this book. America is in a sad state right now. "
— Rachael, 10/3/2013" I can't believe I haven't read this author before. She is an amazing radical feminist with a sharp wit and sense of irony. I must catch up for lost time and read more of her work! "
— Sophia, 4/10/2013" This book of essays is so wonderfully written. Ehrenreich points out the truth about the government, social issues and life in general. Some of the essays about being poor in American are dead-on. "
— Mary, 5/28/2012" interesting, but one sided? "
— Emily, 5/24/2012" I love her subject matter and some of these essays were flat out hilarious, however; I am sick of politics. "
— Jeremy, 4/18/2012" A series of essays about the sorry state of the nation. "
— Pascale, 12/20/2011" I saw her speak in Berkeley when the book was first released in 2008 and I am proud to say I have an autographed copy. She is a brilliant satirist with a biting wit. "
— Marisa, 10/9/2011" A quick and eye-opening read. The chapter about how positive thinking (ie, delusions of grandeur and an inability to do math) caused the financial meltdown is especially worth reading. "
— Geri, 6/25/2011" Book is an interesting topic but very slow.<br/><br/>I think if anything too many facts, not enough narrative which is often a problem in non-fiction.<br/><br/>Glad to see a skeptic on positive psychology.<br/><br/>Edmund "
— Edmund, 6/22/2011" Thank goodness someone wants to put the boots to all this positive thinking bullshit - a scourge that destroyed at least one place I worked. "
— Burnt, 5/6/2011" It was interesting to learn about the history of the "positive thinking" movement and to see how it's permeated American society. The "prosperity gospel" people just make me furious. "
— Tracey, 4/13/2011Barbara Ehrenreich (1941-2022) authored over a dozen books, including the New York Times bestsellers Nickel and Dimed, Bait and Switch, Living with a Wild God, and The Worst Years of Our Lives. An award-winning journalist, she frequently contributed to Harper’s, The Nation, the New York Times, and Time magazine. She was born in Butte, Montana, studied physics at Reed College, and earned a PhD in cell biology from Rockefeller University. Rather than going into laboratory work, she got involved in activism and soon devoted herself to writing her innovative journalism.
Cassandra Campbell has won multiple Audie Awards, Earphones Awards, and the prestigious Odyssey Award for narration. She was been named a “Best Voice” by AudioFile magazine and in 2018 was inducted in Audible’s inaugural Narrator Hall of Fame.