Average customer rating:
- LOVE IT! BUY IT!
- Bitter Is Totally My Style
- Bitter I Bought It!
- Someone owes David Sedaris an apology
- FUNNIEST. BOOK. EVER.
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Bitter is the New Black : Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass,Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office
Jen Lancaster
Manufacturer: NAL Trade
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ASIN: 0451217608 |
Book Description
Jen Lancaster was living the sweet life-until real life kicked her to the curb.
She had the perfect man, the perfect job-hell, she had the perfect life-and there was no reason to think it wouldn't last. Or maybe there was, but Jen Lancaster was too busy being manicured, pedicured, highlighted, and generally adored to notice.
This is the smart-mouthed, soul-searching story of a woman trying to figure out what happens next when she's gone from six figures to unemployment checks and she stops to reconsider some of the less-than-rosy attitudes and values she thought she'd never have to answer for when times were good.
Filled with caustic wit and unusual insight, it's a rollicking read as speedy and unpredictable as the trajectory of a burst balloon.
Customer Reviews:
LOVE IT! BUY IT!.......2007-10-18
LOVED this book! I couldn't put it down, I read it all day yesterday, and now I simply can not wait until I get ahold of her second one! It's sarcastic and funny, and she goes from an over-dramatic drama queen to a less bit harsh when she looses her job and winds up penniless two years later. A must read for anyone with a sense of humor!
Bitter Is Totally My Style.......2007-09-17
I enjoyed Lancaster's writing style, as I am a fan of snarkiness, bitchiness, and cynicism. However, about three quarters of the way through the book, it started to drag and all of the whining and complaining and bitching did begin to get to me. I started skimming a bit, eager to get to the end of this tale that probably could have done without 50 or so pages.
There were times while reading the book that her spoiled, rich girl/sorority girl, utter obliviousness with regards to manners, money, or tact attitude grated on me. However, her ability to make fun of herself for who she was and to reassure us of how far she has come and what a humbling experience she had kept me from disliking her. I actually would love to have martinis with her and make fun of people.
On the whole, I found Lancaster to be refreshing, fun, and easy to read and relate to.
Bitter I Bought It!.......2007-09-12
I made the big mistake of bringing ONLY this book on a Transatlantic flight. It turned out to be more annoying than the screaming baby sitting next to me! It read like a bad blog from a very unfunny, fat ex-high-school Thespian. I dragged myself through the first half, and then threw this waste of paper away. I instantly felt guilty, as the airplane lavatory was too fine a receptacle to be expected to hold this trash! Want funny? Read David Sedaris, Bill Bryson or even Nabokov. Skip this pabulum.*
*By the way, Jen, I also HATED the humor-free footnotes!
Someone owes David Sedaris an apology.......2007-08-17
Part of the reason I picked up this book was a quippy little review that said: "Jen Lancaster is like David Sedaris with pearls and a supercute handbag." Usually I try to avoid purchasing decisions based on marketing ploys that follow the line of 'if you like X, you'll love Z', but I AM a Sedaris lover, and I WAS in the mood for a laugh-out-loud funny read, and to that end Mr. Sedaris has never disappointed. But someone owes Mr. Sedaris an apology. The comparison is so far off-base, I think I would have rather spent the afternoon reading 200+ pages of Mr. Sedaris' thoughts ABOUT pearls and handbags, rather than Bitter is the New Black. Most of the major flaws of the book and the writing style have already been covered by other reviewers. Yes, Jen Lancaster is not nearly as amusing, witty, or clever as she thinks she is. Much of what we're supposed to consider humorous seems simply to be re-worked jokes and tired stereotypes we've all seen and heard before. Has this narrator really changed by the end of the book? Where are the moments of introspection, of realization that make us understand she's changed? The moments of true regret that finally win us over to her side, make us actually like and root for her, make us forget how jaw-grindingly irritating she is in the beginning? She never seems to dig deep enough, never goes beyond the obvious, never reveals enough of herself, or shares her true vulnerability with the reader to redeem herself, and thus, we don't really care all that much about her and instead tend to simply agree with the blurb on the book's cover: The [...] had it coming. Indeed.
She begins, for a few scant pages at the very end, to share the true source of her misguided materialism and and to show us the insecure girl from Indiana, but as soon as she touches on something real or tender, the book is over. We can all see through the bombastic personality and hipper-than-thou superiority from the beginning and recognize it right away for what it is: deep seeded insecurity and fear. The only problem is that Jen never QUITE admits it out loud, to us, her reader, and we're left wondering if everyone knows it but her.
What simultaneously disappoints and infuriates me is the sheer lack of polish and skill on these pages. Relying on cutesy 'footnotes', reprints of emails and weblog submissions seems to indicate a laziness on the part of the author, or more likely, a lack of confidence and undeveloped skill. She ardently professes her desire to "be a writer" and yet throughout the book I find myself thinking: then work on your craft! Where is the editor? Who let her publish this material in this form? This is the fifth sentence in this chapter that isn't even gramatically correct.' Some make the arguement that because it's "memoir" and not "fiction" the author is allowed free reign to write how she pleases. There are plenty of well-crafted memoirs that showcase beautiful prose, accomplished storytelling,and impeccable form, and are stitched together with threads so fine you never see the writer's handiwork at all.
Instead, this is another case of a would-be writer throwing together some thoughts, cocktail party chatter, mildly interesting anecdotes, a couple of blog posts, and assembling it under the guise of a book. You can practially see Ms.Lancaster furiously pecking away at her laptop in a rush to get her manuscript to her publisher, all the while wondering "who will play me in the movie?"
And to the protesters who argue, "But this is Chic-lit. It's supposed to be light, fluffy, and mindless," I agree, there's nothing like an enjoyable piece of fluff. And the best kind of fluff is good, strong story-telling at its finest. I'm so tired of picking up books lately, expecting a good read only to get 250 pages of bad, unskilled writing by "writers" who don't even seem to respect their reader enough to work hard at perfecting their craft. Blurting out your inner-thoughts and throwing them down on the page does not make you interesting, witty, deep, and least of all, it doesn't make you a writer. Please, you seem like you might actually have something to say. Work hard at improving your storytelling, because after another book or two, this one-note song will be over.
FUNNIEST. BOOK. EVER........2007-08-14
This was a book chosen for one of my book clubs. I loved it SO much I recommended it to my OTHER book club! I laughed so much I wet my pants! Tragic, but FUNNY!
Average customer rating:
- A good book to consult if someone moves your cheese!
- A MUST READ FOR EVERYONE
- Boomers Must Read!
- Not working is not always joyful
- Not Practical
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The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed and Overworked- 21st Century Edition
Ernie J. Zelinski
Manufacturer: Ten Speed Press
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RESPeRATE Blood Pressure Lowering Device
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Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator (AED)
ASIN: 1580085520 |
Book Description
Ernie Zelinski has taught more than 150,000 people what THE JOY OF NOT WORKING is about: learning to live every part of your life—work and play, employment, and retirement alike—to the fullest. In this completely revised and expanded edition, you'll learn how to create an excellent work/life balance by working less, producing more, and being more leisurely; how to gain the courage to leave a life-draining job; and, if you are recently retired or unemployed, how to bring purpose and community back to your life. Plus, new to this edition are 30 inspiring letters from readers detailing how the book helped them live a more exciting and rewarding life. Illustrated with eye-opening exercises, thought-provoking diagrams, and lively cartoons and quotations, THE JOY OF NOT WORKING will guide you to living a more exciting and rewarding life—at work and at play.
Customer Reviews:
A good book to consult if someone moves your cheese!.......2007-05-16
The book is filled with alot of experience and wisdom to ponder. An excellent read if you are considering a major career change but do not know what you want. The book does not suggest you keep a stiff upper lip and take it, so do not read it if you do not want change. You will not be able to look at work or your life the same way when you have finished.
A MUST READ FOR EVERYONE.......2007-05-16
I read this book as I was prepairing to retire. It suited my purposes just fine but contained solid advise for just about anyone on how to live happily. I ordered six more copies to give to friends!!!
A valuable resource that is fun to read.
Boomers Must Read!.......2007-05-09
Excellent book for those are ready to retire. It affirms many experiences my wife and I are having. Mr. Zelinski's insights will help those who are weary of the rat race. Maybe after you read the book you will give yourself permission to try to enjoy the rest of your life. Downsizing isn't a sin.
Not working is not always joyful.......2007-04-30
Believe it or not, I have the soul of a lazy person. I have enjoyed time off from 6 weeks to a year. I've enjoyed freedom in my work, especially now. So I totally understand the joy of Not Working.
Zelinski's book has many things going for it. For example:
(a) Too many of us are workaholics.
(b) We need structure, purpose and a sense of community, with or without a job.
(c) Work smart, not hard ("peak performance").
(d) The checklist on page 54 can be a wake-up call.
(e) We can gain several hours a week if we give up television.
But as a career consultant I am concerned about the book's core advice. Page 55: "The first day your job does not nourish and enthuse you is the day you should consider leaving. Indeed, I advise you to quit."
Pretty strong stuff! In my experience, few jobs provide daily nourishment and enthusiasm every day or even every week. I would say, "If you've outgrown your job, begin a search for alternatives. Don't do anything until you have a plan."
People do miss their jobs - even jobs they hated. I have never seen statistics, but my experience suggests at least 50% of those who quit without another job regretted the decision. One discussion list posted a note from a 40-something woman who had chosen enjoyable, low-paying jobs in the personal growth field. Now she was ready to move on, with no nest egg to fund a career transition.
Job dissatisfaction actually can be a misleading signal. Many people who seek a career change actually need to relocate geographically or work on relationships.
My biggest criticism of the book is the potentially misleading presentation of information. For example, the author mentions "a research study conducted in 2001 by Florida's Nova Southeastern University" which found that over 38% of stockbrokers making $300,000 - $1,000,000 suffered from "subclinical depression" while 28% reported "clinical depression." (Overlap? Additional? We're not told.)
Most studies are conducted by individual researchers, not universities or even departments. The author does not cite his source or indicate whether this study was actually published in a reputable peer-reviewed journal.
How was this sample of brokers chosen? What methods were used to assess "subclinical depression" or "clinical depression?" Was the depression long-term or situational? Was this study carried out in 2001 before or after 9/11? Where's the cause and effect: does the field attract individuals with a propensity to depression?
Other studies are mentioned but not cited or described in detail. For the Schnore study of retirees, I'd want to know how their satisfaction was reported and tested.
Additionally, throughout the book, Zelinski presents letters from readers. He seems to suggest that, "If these folks can do it, you can too."
But nearly all his examples come from people who took only the very first step: quitting or deciding to retire. On page 96, Zelinski writes, "Perhaps you will [say]...married people can't possibly quit their jobs like Ian did. Then go back to page 57 and read the letter [from a married man with 2 kids who quit his job]...Case closed!"
Unfortunately, the letter on page 57 was written by someone who had just marched in to his boss and quit. We don't know what happened afterward. Case not closed, in my opinion!
We do get a few examples of success: a professional who became a music busker in Toronto, someone who moved into a friend's trailer to live on $6000 a year, someone who travels cheaply, and several people who saved a stash of cash and now live comfortably from investments or a spouse's salary. Many readers (and most of my clients) will not relate to those examples.
We should also realize Zelinski writes from Canada, a country with national health care. It's not perfect, but it does open up career options. Those happily unemployed are subsidized by taxes from those who face a 50% tax bracket at surprisingly low salary levels.
I also believe that not everyone will enjoy a life of hobbies and volunteer work. Working for money gives you an edge, changing your thoughts, habits and conversations. Zelinski himself is neither unemployed nor retired: he is a full-time writer. His four-hour-a-day schedule is actually quite typical of professional authors of books. I once heard best-selling mystery author Jon Kellerman speak about writing 3 pages a day. Zelinski aims for four.
Bottom Line: Joy of Not Working is worth skimming to experience a philosophy that can be adapted to many lives. Unfortunately, the adaptation will be up to you.
Not Practical.......2007-03-22
The suggestions in his book are misleading. Not for the motivated young people who want to make a difference in the world. No one can argue with his conclusions about workaholics. However, no one is going to achieve much success with a goal of living and raising a family on $6000 a year. I read his book in about 3 hours - really a waste of time as far as practical advice is concerned.
Average customer rating:
- The Future of the Workforce Described for Policy Makers
- Work Force 2020
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Workforce 2020 : Work and Workers in the 21st Century
Richard W. Judy ,
Carol D'Amico , and
Gary L. Geipel
Manufacturer: Hudson Institute
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Leading Change
ASIN: 1558130616 |
Book Description
Ten years ago Hudson Institute's landmark study Workforce 2000 set the agenda for a new understanding of workforce issues. Described by the New York Times as "one of the most influential studies ever produced by a think tank," this groundbreaking report set the terms for much of the policy discussion at the government and corporate levels on these issues. It was the first to call attention to the changing demographics of the American workforce and the growing gap between the skills likely to be required for entry-level jobs in the future and those likely to be possessed by new entrants into the labor force.
Now Hudson releases its long-awaited follow-up: Workforce 2000 Revisited. Like its predecessor, the new book examines the trends that shape the economy and workforce, and combines them into a unique and fresh body of analysis. The authors set the record straight on the demographic makeup of the workforce in the years 2000 to 2020 and challenge the conventional wisdom on trends affecting American workers and employers. Analyzing important emerging issues, they detail the coming demographic changes in the workforce--and their potentially serious effects on the job market and the economy as a whole.
The book also considers the effects of globalization on U.S. business and the American worker, the impact of rapid technological change, the "skills gap" identified in the earlier report, and the need for a new model of education, training, and employment services to prepare workers for the jobs of the next century.
Workforce 2000 Revisited is an indispensable guide to the next decade of workforce issues.
Customer Reviews:
The Future of the Workforce Described for Policy Makers.......2003-03-25
This book describes the future workforce to policy makers. It gives individuals making career decisions some objective, long-range data about the future. Projections include fastest-growing occupations, ethnic and age mix of the workforce, needs of employers, and income to be expected.
As reviewed in Annotated Bibliography of Learning A Living, A Guide to Planning Your Career and Finding A Job for People with Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit Disorder, and Dyslexia by Dale S. Brown
Work Force 2020.......2000-01-28
This book is a masterpiece of research. So much is said very succinctly. It is vast in scope, breath and depth yet very understandable. Everything is supported by research. Numerous charts are extremely well done, informative and simple to understand. If you want to plan your career or help guide someone elses future, you must read this book. It has vital information about job trends, types of jobs, and what they pay. You will not be sorry about reading this book.
Average customer rating:
- talks about little known portions of US history
- Cutting edge history at its best.
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Race Rebels : Culture, Politics, and the Black Working Class
Robin D. G. Kelley
Manufacturer: Free Press
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ASIN: 0684826399 |
Customer Reviews:
talks about little known portions of US history.......2006-02-05
Kelley highlights an underappreciated portion of twentieth century American history - the intersection of the Negro working class with the simultaneous aspects of race and class. His book delves into the interwar period, and brings back almost forgotten archives and memories.
The influence of Marxist thought on some Negro activists is shown. To the extent that the American Communist Party received significant membership from Negroes. At the time, it was one of the few relatively colour-blind organisations. Of course, this very fact was used against the Communists and Negro activists by segregationists.
The book has numerous nuggets of history that might have often been omitted from other texts. Thus, you may well have heard of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, which fought for the Spanish Republic during its civil war. But did you know that in that brigade were over 70 Negroes? Who saw the war as an extension of a war on racism and poverty, in Africa and the US. Kelley shows gives us their motivations and how they fared.
Cutting edge history at its best........1999-03-15
Race Rebels forces readers to re-think their definitions of politics, resistance, and the relationship between social movements and everyday life. It is certainly the most sophisticated history book I've ever read. The author does a great job dissecting the struggles of African Americans in the 20th century and helps us understand why these struggles are so fundamental to american history.
Average customer rating:
- A bright candle in the dark
- An execellent Primer
- Agency of Africans
- A groundbreaking study
- HELPFUL
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Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400-1800 (Studies in Comparative World History)
John Thornton
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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ASIN: 0521627249 |
Book Description
This book explores Africa's involvement in the Atlantic world from the fifteenth through the eighteenth centuries. It focuses especially on the causes and consequences of the slave trade, in Africa, in Europe, and in the New World. Prior to 1680, Africa's economic and military strength enabled African elites to determine how trade with Europe developed. Thornton examines the dynamics that made slaves so necessary to European colonizers. He explains why African slaves were placed in significant roles. Estate structure and demography affected the capacity of slaves to form a self-sustaining society and behave as cultural actors. This second edition contains a new chapter on eighteenth century developments.
Customer Reviews:
A bright candle in the dark.......2005-08-31
Issues of race have become central to American historiography in the past generation or so, and no modern historian of the American colonial era (or any other era afterwards, for that matter) can justifiably ignore its impact. Yet despite this, it is astonishing how little of the African political, social and cultural origins of New World slave populations is brought to bear on analyses of the Atlantic world. This relatively slim yet dazzlingly efficient book amply redresses this blind spot. In addition, the passivity customarily attributed to Africans is swept aside and replaced with a much more realistic and complex agency asserted on both sides of the Atlantic. It is truly astounding how much Thornton is able to cover in such detail within a mere 334 pages that include a rather general and theoretical introduction to Atlantic historiography with its roots in Fernand Braudel's pioneering "Annaliste" school of regional history, and an initial chapter on the birth of the modern Atlantic world as a whole (albeit with a recurrent focus on Africa's role).
Aside from this initial placesetting, the book is divided into two parts--"Africans in Africa", and "Africans in the New World". In the first section, Thornton skillfully explores the impact of European-dominated Atlantic trade on west African societies and economies, deftly dissolving common myths as well as disassembling the more carefully constructed theories and assertions of several generations of earnest historians. For instance, Thornton solidly establishes that west African societies were not dependent on European textiles, iron or firearms, that the slave trade existed almost entirely at the behest of local elites, and that simple formulae of "guns for slaves" or economic imperialism do not adequately describe or explain what was going on. He also delineates the fundamental differences in what constituted "wealth" in Africa (people) and Europe (land, and later, capital), and one is struck at how these complementary conceptions so smoothly dovetailed to give birth to one of the most heinous and durable streams of atrocities humanity has ever generated. Those eager to assign culpability to one or another long-dead group will be frustrated, however--Thornton refrains from projecting our current attitudes, struggles and judgements onto their worlds, as any good historian should, even as he unflinchingly reconstructs the horrors endured by those who embarked on the "Middle Passage". This excellent study is neither apology nor indictment, neither accusation nor excuse.
The second part focuses on the New World, surveying the lives of Africans--free, slave and maroon--in areas ranging from Brazil and Colombia, to the Caribbean and North America. Unfortunately, this section is fashioned as a refutation of scholars who assert, for a variety of reasons, that Africans were unable to successfully transfer, preserve and adapt African culture to the New World. For those (like me) who are already inclined to believe that Africans could and indeed did manage to do just that, many of Thornton's conclusions will be an unnecessary preaching to the choir. However, the theme nonetheless provides a decent scaffolding on which to present Thornton's wealth of knowledge concerning west African cultural groups, African military practices, the social evolution of slave communities and runaway societies, and, in particular, African religion and religious syntheses. In addition, he masterfully reconstructs the details of creolization, and delivers tantalizing glimpses into the complex interactions between Africans and Native American societies alongside their deeper and richer exchanges with Europeans.
At the risk of repeating myself, I have to say that when I was finished with this book, I was amazed at how much I had learned--I rarely find this much crystal clear information, insight and analysis in books three times its size.
An execellent Primer.......2002-08-25
This work serves as an excellent prelude to Hugh Thomas' SLAVE TRADE: The Atlantic Slave Trade from 1440..., Ira Berlin's MANY THOUSANDS GONE, and Price, et al.'s MAROON SOCIETIES since it touches on many issues developed in those works. In addition, it looks at how African culture influenced and encouraged the slave trade.
Starting with a consideration of African concepts of property (i.e., only personalty and chattel could be considered property by individuals since all realty was under collective ownership and could only temporarily be alienated), Thornton builds on how chattel property, notably slaves, were the basis for individual wealth in West Africa prior to the arrival of Europeans. Next, he considers how this caused the numerous wars and raids that continued to take place throughout West Africa.
He also looks at whether (and to what extent) supposed European superiority encouraged the slave trade - or at least made it a more violent and dehumanizing practice. Europeans governments were kept out of Africa and had to largely rely on factors or intermediaries for trade - with the exception of the Luso-Africans in Angola. Europeans traders had to submit tariffs and bribes to the local rulers and nobility, as well as meet the rulers' quotas at inflated prices.
As to economic pressure for trade, Thornton notes that there were no essential goods which the West sold to these leaders that could not have been otherwise attained in Africa. In addition, iron and horses could be bought from the Arabs and were also produced and bred in West Africa. The sale of Arms, especially, the early matchlocks (harquebuses), but including the later flintlocks provided little or no trade benefits because not only were they not decisive in African conflicts but various European nations were willing to sell weapons if one nation attempted to use the non-sale of weapons as a leverage to force a local government to unwillingly trade in slaves.
Turning to slaves exported to the West, he points out that not only did the fact that many of them were formerly military prisoners mean that they were excellent soldiers for various militias, but that they were also potential leaders of maroon colonies quite capable of being a real military threat to local slave-owners. In addition, many skills acquired from local African activities, such as rice and indigo production, led to their usefulness and importance in work on plantations - and, therefore, to the eventual development of artisan workers and the slave economies of various American (and African island) economies.
Again, an excellent primer for the study of African involvement in the slave trade and the development of the Americas.
Agency of Africans.......2001-04-08
John Thornton, author of numerous studies centering around Atlantic Africa, presents a history of the slave trade which attempts to focus on (forced) African migration. He tackles approaches taken by scholars such as Mintz and Price to discuss developing New World cultures. Unfortunately, despite his interesting and important ideas and assertions, chapter 7 presents a disturbing view of a homogeneous African culture. One of this book's redeeming features is the agency attributed to African peoples. The (sometimes prevalent) idea that Africans were passive victims in the Atlantic slave trade is overturned.
A groundbreaking study.......2000-07-07
John Thornton had already established himself as a major historian of West Africa and its relations with Europe before creating this volume for the Studies in Comparative World History series. In this volume he presents the world in which plantation slavery evolved as the collision of many cultures and forces on both sides of the Atlantic, with contributions for good and ill from Africa, the Americas and from Europe. His presentation of slavery, as taking place not just in the Americas nor in Africa, but in the shared society of the Atlantic region bound together by intercontinental trade, forces the reader to acknowlege the active participation of Africans in creating and shaping trans-Atlantic society and the New World. Far from being passive victims of a technologically superior Europe, Africans appear as equal participants in their economic relations with Europeans, and consciously self interested in their participation in the slave trade. The evolution of plantation slavery into a more malignant social arrangement than earlier forms of slave taking and holding traditions is explored considering the input of both slaveholders and slaves. Even those who are truly victimized by the slave trade have avenues of resistance and accomodation. In short, the Atlantic world, with its economic dependence upon slavery, appears as a complex and interesting place. Thornton's presentation of this world is both scholarly and absorbing. He illuminates his arguments with fascinating accounts of individual experiences that often surprise and never disappoint. A must for any serious study of slavery and the African Diasporah.
HELPFUL.......2000-06-20
This book, since I am taking American History, proved to be very useful in the context that the pillage that the African Americans suffered while maintaining progression in history submitted their true belief system towards society.
Average customer rating:
- Interesting, but has holes
- Flawed, But Worthwhile
- The book I loved to hate!
- As an economics professor
- biased, selective, scarstic
|
Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream
Barbara Ehrenreich
Manufacturer: Owl Books
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Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
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ASIN: 0805081240
Release Date: 2006-07-25 |
Amazon.com
Questions for Barbara Ehrenreich
Through over three decades of journalism and activism and over a dozen books, Barbara Ehrenreich has been one of the most consistent and imaginative chroniclers of class in America, but it was her bestselling 2001 book, Nickel and Dimed, a undercover expose of the day-to-day struggles of the working poor, that has been the most influential work of her career. Now, with Bait and Switch, she has gone undercover again, this time as a middle-aged professional trying to get a white-collar job in corporate America. We asked her a few questions about what she found:
Amazon.com: Your previous book, Nickel and Dimed, became a blockbuster bestseller with a classic "there but for the grace of God go I" liberal message just when the general political mood of the country seemed to be going in a very different direction. Why do you think it struck such a chord? What sorts of reactions have you gotten to it over the past four years?
Barbara Ehrenreich: A lot of Nickel and Dimed readers are people who regularly inhabit the low-wage work world, and many of them write to tell me that the book affirmed their experience and made them feel less alone and ignored. Other readers though, are affluent people who write to say I opened their eyes to a world they'd been unaware of. For those people, I think one appealing feature of Nickel and Dimed is that it's a personal narrative that gives them a look at lives lived at the margins of their own. The most gratifying response has been from people who tell me the book inspired them to become activists for things like a living wage or affordable housing.
Amazon.com: At what point did you realize that your new book, Bait and Switch, in which you went undercover again, this time to tell a story of working in corporate America, was instead becoming one of not working in corporate America? Is that the story you expected to tell?
Ehrenreich: My initial aim was not "to tell a story of working in corporate America" but to try to understand the human underside of corporate America--the job insecurity, the constant layoffs and downsizings that now occur even in the best of times. I expected to get a job and hence an inside view, but I always knew that that would be very difficult. After about 4-5 months of job searching, I began to get seriously discouraged, but I also came to understand that a fruitless search is in fact a very common experience. After all, today 44 percent of the long-term unemployed are white collar folks--an unusually high percentage. It's their world I entered, and their story that I tell in Bait and Switch.
Amazon.com: For someone with a white-collar career, you didn't have much experience in corporate culture before you attempted to join it for this book. What surprised you the most about what you found?
Ehrenreich: What surprised me most, right from day one of my job search, was the surreal nature of the job searching business. For example, everyone, from corporations to career coaches, relies heavily on "personality tests" which have no scientific credibility or predictive value. One test revealed that I have a melancholy and envious nature and, for some reason, was unsuited to be a writer! And what does "personality" have to do with getting the job done, anyway? There's far less emphasis on skills and experience than on whether you have the prescribed upbeat and likeable persona. I kept wondering: Is this any way to run a business? I was also surprised--and disgusted--by the constant victim-blaming you encounter among coaches, at networking events for the unemployed, and in the business advice books. You're constantly told that whatever happens to you is the result of your attitude or even your "thought forms"--not a word about the corporate policies that lead to so much turmoil and misery.
Amazon.com: You seemed to make much closer ties with your fellow workers in Nickel and Dimed than you did on the white-collar job hunt. What was different this time?
Ehrenreich: You're right--there is a difference. But it's not so much a matter of personalities as it is about two different worlds. There's a lot of camaraderie in the blue-collar world I entered in Nickel and Dimed. People help each other and look out for each other; they laugh together--often at the managers. The white-collar world doesn't encourage camaraderie, far from it. There it's all about competition and fear--of losing one's job, for one thing. Other people are seen as sources of contacts or tips, at best; as competitors or rivals, at worst. And among the unemployed add shame and a sense of personal failure, the constant message that it's all your own fault. All this discourages any solidarity with others or real openness.
Amazon.com: God forbid anyone would come to your book as a guide for finding a white-collar job, but what advice would you give to someone in the shoes you put yourself in: a middle-aged professional woman, in fear of falling irrevocably out of touch with the world of the regularly employed?
Ehrenreich: You don't think I'd make a good career coach? OK, but I have three pieces of advice for the middle-aged, middle-class job seeker anyway:
One, be very careful how you spend your money and time. Since the mid-90s, a whole industry has sprung up to help--or, depending on your point of view, prey upon--white-collar job seekers. The "professionals" in this business are usually entirely unlicensed and unregulated. Also, watch out for events billed as "networking" opportunities that really have another agenda--like recruiting you into expensive coaching or proselytizing you into a particular religion.
Two, don't count on the internet job sites to find you a job or even an interview. On any of these sites, your resume will be competing with hundreds of thousands of others, and most large companies today don't even bother reading online resumes; they have computer programs scan them for keywords (and you won't know what those keywords are.)
Three, and most important: stop believing that it's your own fault. That's the first step to recognizing the common problems facing white-collar workers and responding to them. I'd be thrilled if this book, like Nickel and Dimed, also inspires readers to get involved and become active in efforts to make life a little easier for the growing numbers of people who are unemployed, underemployed, or anxiously employed. What could they do? Lobby for universal health insurance that's not tied to a job, for example. Fight for extended unemployment benefits. Raise their voices to complain about corporate tax breaks and subsidies that are justified in terms of "job creation" but often go to companies that are busy laying people off. One major reason job loss is so catastrophic is that we just don't have much of a safety net in this country. That has to change, and who's going to make it change, if not people like those I met in Bait and Switch? I've got a new website, barbaraehrenreich.com, and I'd like to hear from readers--both their stories and their ideas for how to take action.
Classic Ehrenreich
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America |
Fear of Falling: The Inner Life of the Middle Class |
Blood Rites: Origins and History of the Passions of War |
Book Description
The New York Times bestselling investigation into white-collar unemployment from “our premier reporter of the underside of capitalism”—The New York Times Book Review
Americans’ working lives are growing more precarious every day. Corporations slash employees by the thousands, and the benefits and pensions once guaranteed by “middle-class” jobs are a thing of the past.
In Bait and Switch, Barbara Ehrenreich goes back undercover to explore another hidden realm of the economy: the shadowy world of the white-collar unemployed. Armed with the plausible résumé of a professional “in transition,” she attempts to land a “middle-class” job. She submits to career coaching, personality testing, and EST-like boot camps, and attends job fairs, networking events, and evangelical job-search ministries. She is proselytized, scammed, lectured, and—again and again—rejected.
Bait and Switch highlights the people who have done everything right—gotten college degrees, developed marketable skills, and built up impressive résumés—yet have become repeatedly vulnerable to financial disaster. There are few social supports for these newly disposable workers, Ehrenreich discovers, and little security even for those who have jobs. Worst of all, there is no honest reckoning with the inevitable consequences of the harsh new economy; rather, the jobless are persuaded that they have only themselves to blame.
Alternately hilarious and tragic, Bait and Switch, like the classic Nickel and Dimed, is a searing exposé of the cruel new reality in which we all now live.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting, but has holes.......2007-10-17
I read Bait and Switch on a four-hour plane ride. It was entertaining, but I found it a tad intellectually dishonest. While Ehrenreich introduces readers to some colorful characters, she's obviously making points she set out to make. While I share her sympathies entirely, it's tough believing that she could not land a job. The deck was stacked. I would have preferred reading a real profile, not a character created to meet a need.
Flawed, But Worthwhile.......2007-10-14
Ehrenreich is a gifted journalist capable of great empathy with her subjects and blessed with a biting wit. Her description of the status anxiety of the middle class, the pain of unemployment, and the blame-the-victim ethos that so governs the treatment of the unemployed as to be internalized by them, is therefore extremely good.
The problem, however, is that she does not land the job that allows her to write the sequel to "Nickel and Dimed" that she set out to write. She looks for a job, and the story she tells about looking for a job is interesting and worthwhile. But she does not get the job, and her observations about life in the corporate world are simply educated guesses.
One example of this is Ehrenreich's observation at one workshop lunch where she finds the middle class diners to be rude and inconsiderate to the wait-staff. She tries to make the point that this kind of thing is common and even encouraged by the class-based thinking of our society. I have seen some bad behavior, and there certainly is a great lack of empathy revealed in the interaction between business people and those at the lower rungs of social status. But it is not the norm to be rude and inconsiderate. One does not score points at business lunches acting in that fashion. In fact, one of the complexities of our culture is the need to live up to the ideal of treating people from all walks of life fairly. Business people try to conform to this ideal. People generally behave themselves. But the lack of empathy has a way of revealing itself in some interactions. The point Ehrenreich should have made is the ease with which the business diners can ignore wait staff or limit their interactions with them, as opposed to out-and-out rudeness.
Still, I tend to agree with the book's core thesis. There is a certain arbitrariness to the selection of those who fall out of the middle class -- via bad luck, age, and high salary when it comes to downsizing. And there simply are not enough middle class jobs to go around. So people lose their status, and those with jobs are far more anxious about the continuation of their status than was the case 30 years ago.
Unfortunately, Ehrenreich did not get the job that would have given her the opportunity to make some of her insights in a persuasive fashion. Her lack of a job may well demonstrate that the screening system is not entirely arbitrary. Ehrenreich lacks the paper credentials for the public relations job she seeks. And, having not really worked in the corporate sector, does not have the contacts necessary to get the job. Given her lack of real interest in the job or real qualification for it, she really can't draw too many negative inferences from her failure to get a job.
Ehrenreich's descriptions of career coaches and the psycho-babble of business books are right on the mark and are very funny.
This is a good book, but not lacks the first-hand undercover experience that made "Nickel and Dimed" a classic.
The book I loved to hate!.......2007-09-22
This book exposes the real world of a dying, struggling middle class.
If you aren't aware of what can happen to hard-working people with great jobs that they love, and suddenly find themselves downsized into poverty, you are one of the lucky ones.
Yes, there are always jobs for people who really want to work, but if the only jobs you can find, as author illustrates, won't allow you to keep up with the basic expenses of living... Well, quite frankly you are up the creek without a paddle. And because of corporate downsizing and outsourcing of jobs to other countries, that boat is full of of passengers without a paddle.
The problem is that people in this situation THOUGHT that they had a paddle that should have allowed them to sail through this situation: education, experience, good resume, references and a solid work ethic.
Read Bait and Switch and decide for yourself if the middle class is dying in America.
As an economics professor.......2007-09-20
I believe in having students read something besides the textbook. This one while informative, I would have to pass on. If my college students read this, they will despair, leave college and then I would be one of those people in the book.
When are companies going to get that it takes two to tango. Supply AND demand? When we are all living on minimum wage, who is going to buy their stuff? Oh well............try this one
biased, selective, scarstic.......2007-09-14
the focus on few loser in the networking process ignores those who got the job and left networking.
the criticism of the self-help movement is inspiring but plays the victimization game that individual problem is entirely the product of the environment and the fault of somebody else.
too much inappropriate and distracted remarks.
Average customer rating:
- Very well written introduction to Worker's Compensation
- Everything you need to know about Work Comp
- Best Information
- Very good introduction to WC
- Nightmares
|
Ultimate Guide to Workers' Compensation Insurance (Entrepreneur Magazine's Ultimate Books)
Edward J. Priz
Manufacturer: Entrepreneur Press
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ASIN: 1932531505 |
Book Description
A strategic guide that arms business owners with ways to escape the growing cost of workers’ compensation insurance
Workers’ compensation insurance adds up to a huge, yet unavoidable, expense for businesses of all sizes. Edward J. Priz has discovered and reclaimed more than $10 million of workers’ compensation overcharges for his clients, and now he offers the same professional advice to his readers. This easy-to-understand guide:
- Enables readers to spot mistakes and stand up to insurance companies
- Translates complicated technical concepts and industry jargon into simple English
- Offers a concise explanation of industry practices that directly affect the costs of insurance, with insight on how to make sure a coverage plan is set up accurately
- Provides detailed information about each state’s unique rules and regulations, and explains how coverage plans differ
Ultimate Guide to Workers’ Compensation Insurance provides a behind-the-scenes look at this complicated issue and puts control back into the hands of business owners. Its countless money-saving tactics could save many small businesses from having to shut their doors.
Customer Reviews:
Very well written introduction to Worker's Compensation.......2007-03-08
I was looking for a good introduction to worker's compensation and I'm glad that I settled on this book. It's very well written and organized and I've already recommended it to a few colleagues.
Everything you need to know about Work Comp.......2007-01-12
If you are in business and have any significant worker's compensation premium. You need this book. I wish that I would have read it 10 years ago.
Best Information.......2006-08-12
This book describes in detail information I have never gotten from my insurance agent. It gives you a detailed insight into the world of workers' compensation and has been very useful in helping me to make sure that what we do as a company is under the right classification. It would have been difficult to argue our case without the knowledge I obtained from this book. Worth every penny!
Very good introduction to WC.......2006-03-22
I ordered this book to get an overview of the Workers Compensation Insurance Industry. This book is very good to get a glimpse of the WC Industry and provides the most important data. I recommend this book for everyone who wants to get basic information on the Industry.
Nightmares.......2006-02-26
This book is an excellent review of the current system of workers compensation coverages. It is dead-on accurate in its description of the potholes one can encounter - NCCI ratings, premium audits and others. I thought Mr. Priz was generous in his kindness to auditors and underwriters, who are the source of most of the problems and also the solution to most of the problems.
I am going to buy several copies for my clients.
Average customer rating:
- Why isn't this book more famous?
- Taking "The Logic" Cross-National
- On the Virtues of Flexibility
- Not totally bad book, but its thesis is somewhat simplistic
- Powerful marginal explanation
|
The Rise and Decline of Nations: Economic Growth, Stagflation, and Social Rigidities
Mancur Olson
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
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The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups, Second printing with new preface and appendix (Harvard Economic Studies)
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ASIN: 0300030797 |
Customer Reviews:
Why isn't this book more famous?.......2007-05-18
Olson's book is difficult to classify, since on the one hand, it's not for the general reader, but on the other hand not so forbiddingly dense that it should be classified as scholarly. Lemme put it this way: it's for economically literate people. It makes use of, say, the concepts describing steady-state growth, supply factors, and expeduture-approach identities that one learns about in a college econ class.
If you don't know what I just said, I imagine much of this book will be opaque to you.
But if you can handle such stuff (and don't let me scare you too much: the gist of this book is clear enough even if you can't), man, O man! Olson's thesis is so brilliant it will give you whiplash!
In brief, great empires invariably collapse not because of cultural overstretch, internal discord, or military misfortune, but rather because the very process of building an empire gives rise to myriad vested interests that eventually claw their way so deeply into the neck of the government that they eventually choke it. In other words, empires collapse because they are invariably made sclerotic by special-interest groups.
An idea that is truly, classically brilliant: not obvious, but once developed at length, undeniable and endlessly applicable.
Taking "The Logic" Cross-National.......2007-03-11
Olson seeks to explain why some nations achieve high rates of economic growth while others suffer bouts of stagflation. He contends that the number and strength of "distributional coalitions," coupled with the length of economic and political stability will influence a nation's rate of economic growth. As such, Olson's hypothesis is two fold. First, Olson argues that states with lower levels of "distributional coalitions" often have higher rates of economic growth. Second, states which have experienced prolonged periods of disorder or armed conflict will have lower numbers of interest-group, or collusion organizations.
Olson's explanation builds upon his early work in The Logic of Collective Action, which holds that "...large groups, at least if they are composed of rational individuals, will not act in their group interest" (18). Rather, the rational actor will seek to further his or her self-interest, and will subsequently free-ride when possible. Olson expands the scope of this logic to encompass not only the rationality of the individual, but the rationality of the firm in explaining The Rise and Decline of Nations.
As the power of the firm expands, the firm seeks to maximize its own utility at the expense of a societal common good. In order to simplify a complex argument, we can think of Olson's theory in this way. An organization or firm will not expend its energy to create a benefit to society writ large, as it, and its members, will only receive a fragment of that benefit in relation to the costs incurred. On the other hand, if the same firm seeks to maximize its utility, it will seek to obtain a larger slice of the social "pie." In so doing, it may lower the benefits of society as a whole, but will significantly expand its own gain and that of its members. Meanwhile the firm will only incur a fraction of the costs such action projects on society at large. As such, Olson writes, "The great majority of special-interest organizations redistribute income rather than create it and in the ways that reduce social efficiency and output" (47).
Olson argues that a society with long-term stability - free from war, and economic and political turmoil - tend to accrue more special-interest and collusion groups. This occurs because it takes time and reasonable amount of stability for such interest-groups to organize, solidify, and begin to achieve some collective benefits for their members. Once collective benefits are seen as the result of organization, a host of other interests will begin to coalesce and seek to obtain gains for themselves. What emerges is a highly pluralistic society.
This leads us to the second part of Olson's hypothesis, those nations with high numbers of special-interest or collusion groups have lower levels of economic growth. Olson writes, "Distributional coalitions slow down a society's capacity to adopt new technologies and reallocate resources in response to changing conditions, and they reduce the rate of economic growth" (65). First, distributional coalitions stymie technological adoption when such innovation stands to benefit a rival group. A present day illustration can be found in a labor unions vehement opposition to the implementation of labor saving machinery. Second, distributional coalitions will attempt to block policy initiatives that change the status quo. When policy needs to be developed to increase economic or social advancement, the special-interest groups are likely to feel a certain displacement and will act to prevent such policy. According to Olson, these actions, coupled with others, often lead to policies which promote policies which have the potential to stifle economic growth.
On the Virtues of Flexibility.......2006-12-29
I had always wanted to read this book and am glad that I did !
On the one hand the argument is quite obvious and one is left wondering what is really novel in this work (virtues of competition, market flexibility etc.), but I found the last chapter to be an interesting perspective on the effect of imperfect competition on the impact of changes in nominal demand on employment and inflation.
Olson explains social rigidities ,with all their negative collective effects, as the outcome of rational microeconomic behaviour and integrates these into macroeconomic theory (other mainstream macroeconomic theory attribute price rigidity to error or simply make ad hoc assumptions on wage rigidity).
This is a very valuable and important contribution to macroeconomics and explains why some economies are more resiliant than others. The main message is that governments must either make their economies more flexible or have to rely on macroeconomic conditions not fluctuating too much for acceptable macroeconomic performance.
Not totally bad book, but its thesis is somewhat simplistic.......2006-12-27
This one-idea book by late professor Olson tries to explain why some countries did better than others in terms of economic growth after World War II - namely Germany and Japan, in contrast with Britain. His explanation is that World War II weakened many institutions in those two countries that, by trying to retain their usual privileges, were holding back economic progress. The weakening of those institutions, permitted the economic miracle in both Germany and Japan. In contrast, England's institutions were not as weakened, so they continue to slow England's progress. I suppose that there are grains of truth in Olson's explanation - though if it was true, then the required policy recommendation would be that is good to suffer a devastating war every once in a while. I think Olson omits another possible explanation: the fact that Germany and Japan had both a strong industrial base before the war, a base that was not completely destroyed by it. Britain was in the 1940s suffering a slow economic decline in its industrial base - which really come back from the late 19th century, when Germany overcome Britain as Europe's leading industrial and economic power. And how would Olson had explained that after he wrote the book (in 1982), Britain went through a much higher economic growth than Germany and Japan - without the intervention of a war. So, while the book is interesting to read, I think its thesis is way too simplistic.
Powerful marginal explanation.......2006-06-06
Holding productive and destructive efforts constant, small distributional coalitions have the incentives to form political lobbies and influence policies that tend to be protectionist and anti-technology; since the benefits of these policies are selective incentives concentrated amongst the few coalitions members and the costs are diffused throughout the whole population, the "Logic" dictates that there will be little public resistance to them; as time goes on, these distributional coalitions accumulate in greater and greater numbers, the nation burdened by them will fall into economic decline.
However, if we think beyond the "natural" cost-incentive structure of Olson's "collective action logic", there are then four possible directions:
1. intentionality from the knowledge of this logic results in certain institutional design that prevents the nagative effects of the distributional coalitions;
2. the dynamics of distributional coalitions may be changed by political or economic factors, e.g., globalization may affect the formations of the distributional coalitions so that the power of protectionist coalition is now balanced by a coalition of big importers;
3. If a society has positive economic growth while distributional coalitions in fact have negative impact on it, or if a society has negative economic growth while distributional coalitions in fact have positive impact on it, then we should further look at how a society's institutions favor or disfavor its productive and destructive efforts;
4. Distributional coalitions may be formed by the pure "logic", they can also be formed by institutional incentives; they could be "natural" due to the free-riding logic, but they are more likely to be "institutionally-induced".
The explanation power of distributional coalitions comes from the strength of its "internal logic", we could be easily overwhelmed if "external logic" is neglected. Still, Olson's contribution is his offering of a powerful marginal explanation for the academic world.
Average customer rating:
- great book
- Orwell's indictment of industrial squalor
- Split approach to societal betterment
- It is not just what you say but how you say it...
- Needs a 21st Century Editor
|
The Road to Wigan Pier
George Orwell
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
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ASIN: 0156767503 |
Amazon.com
Although George Orwell grew up in the relative comfort of the English middle class, his socialist convictions and general sense of fairness led him to hate his country's deeply ingrained class structure. That perspective permeates this book, but the most striking elements are the quotidian details of life that Orwell observes in his first-person account of the lives of coal miners and others in the poor north of England. Wigan Pier is almost too realistic at times, as Orwell brings his unparalleled powers of observation to portray the wretched conditions of the working class. That Orwell may have slanted his reporting to make things look worse than they were is a question that does not lessen the book's interest.
Book Description
In the 1930s Orwell was sent by a socialist book club to investigate the appalling mass unemployment in the industrial north of England. He went beyond his assignment to investigate the employed as well-”to see the most typical section of the English working class.” Foreword by Victor Gollancz.
Customer Reviews:
great book.......2007-10-11
George Orwell is the man. This is for sure one of the top 5 best books i've ever read. Even if I tried, I couldn't come close to doing the book justice with this review.
Orwell's indictment of industrial squalor.......2007-07-08
This work commisioned by the Left Book Club, a socialist group in England in the 1930's contains an incredible description of the miserable working conditions of coal miners in the northern industrial areas of England. Orwell's power of description brings home the awful condiditons to the reader in a very tangible and palpable way. Reminiscent of Jacob Riis' "How The Other Half Lives" or Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle", Orwell's account is unforgettable social historical writing.
The remainder of the book is a polemical piece critical of socialists of his day. To the modern reader that will not have as much relevance except as an example of Orwell's pursuasive writing but the earlier sections of the book are incredibly memorable.
Split approach to societal betterment.......2006-11-28
My first and easily least substantial question concerning The Road to Wigan Pier is this: where is the pier? I looked on a map, and Wigan is not a coastal town. Well, no matter I suppose. Orwell himself points out that the pier was gone even by the time he reached the town, and that was seventy years ago.
For more substantial issues, the reader will not be disappointed. George Orwell does not write fluff. What he did write, in this case, is a split work, with the first half covering his observations of life among the very poor of northern England in the thirties and the second half consisting of a lengthy essay on the practice and future of Socialism. This latter section was considered scandalous enough among the book's expected readership that the editors who commissioned the work felt the need to include a foreword saying, in effect, that the opinions expressed by this author do not reflect those of the Left Book Club management.
The first and expected traditional account is about life among the poor. What's life like? Well, it's pretty lousy. Boarding houses are depressing and dirty places to stay in Orwell's account. Mine work is brutal and impossible for all but the fittest of the populace. Slum housing is miserable. The common wage is only sufficient for living off of if one is prepared to live life to the slimmest. Of course Orwell would never just recite these facts, so there's no need to repeat them here. He lived these facts, or something approximating them. Unlike in his earlier life-among-the-people books like Homage to Catalonia or Down and Out in Paris and London, Orwell never really provides a chronological narrative. He is much less a participant here, possibly because he's already done that and didn't need a repeat. He also provides more quantitative analysis here than in the others, and blends it with his own personal observations. If he tells about it, he's seen it. Clearly he was wandering around the north a bit, mixing and living and working with the people. Apparently he was even conducting something like semi-formal interviews with various residents of the towns he lived in.
Something that's worth pointing out that I've observed both here and in other works such as Down and Out is this: Orwell takes some of the unknown and hence some of the fear out of his depiction of poverty. He alludes on more than one occasion that the middle class person falling on hard times is far more likely than a lower class sort if suddenly confronted with real poverty in the form of unemployment, and today these probably make up the bulk of Wigan Pier's readership. Put plainly, Orwell provides a blueprint on how to survive. Not well, but well enough to live. Or so it appears.
The latter half of Wigan Pier steps back entirely from his stated purpose of exploring poverty in the industrial north and begins taking a long look at Socialism in practice in Britain. This is where things get interesting, because when one strips away all of Orwell's personal observations and reminiscences, he is essentially saying that the average Socialist is a thoroughly unlikable, unthinking person. Of course Orwell would never strip any of that away, so what the reader gets is a snapshot of how Orwell saw the culture of the political hard left in his day.
I don't know how this section was received in Orwell's day. Certainly the publishers had an idea of how it would come across, and hence the foreword. How should we look at it today? Alas, his political observations were severely limited in time and place and hence limited in intrinsic though not historical value today. Orwell was a student of human nature and was among the more capable of spectators in seeing across class lines and sociological boundaries. There is much to be said for his observations on how people interact with one another and what draws a person to a political identity. Where did he fail then? His was a failure of imagination and a failure of optimism. For all his skill in seeing the present, he could only see the present. He missed the messages of the past, and he was blind to the future. Orwell could never see a society that would improve itself of its own accord without radical change. He called Socialism the only possible solution to society's problems and seemed to genuinely believe that everyone could see it given sufficient prodding (and correct prodding, since he was greatly concerned with how so many people recoiled from Socialism even when he thought they should have no reason to). This is related, I suppose, to his musings in Coming Up for Air that British society could never stop fascism without becoming fascist. When all was stripped away, Orwell could not conceive of a society that would act for its own betterment while remaining the same society.
Did Orwell see the past? He missed the forest for the trees, I'm afraid, and it's evident right in these pages. More than once he made comparisons of his Britain with the Britain of years or decades past. More than once did he say that things had changed and were no longer as bad as in times past (no public dole back then, fewer amenities, lower wages, etc). And this while writing during something called the Great Depression. Did none of this sink in? Was he blind to existing progress? Did he see no improvements in public attitude, to say nothing of technological progress? Was Orwell's man a slave to his class? Sadly, the answer appears to be `yes' on all counts. Does this detract from the value of his work? I suppose it does, but hardly enough to discount it entirely. It would be folly to view Wigan Pier as merely a dated snapshot of a single mind. Not when that mind is Orwell's.
It is not just what you say but how you say it..........2006-08-20
The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell is a book requested by the Left Book Club on the issue of poverty and mass unemployment in the industrial north of England. Mr. Orwell does a great job of investigating the harsh job conditions in the coal mines, the foul lodgings, the bad diet, the pitiful wages and the struggle to feed a family. He points out that much of the conditions can easily be changed IF people wanted to change them. The wealth is there it just needs to get to the lower-class.
The other part of the book is Orwell trying to explain why, if Socialism seems to be so logical, so reasonable, everybody is either turning away from Socialism and, in many changes, turning to Fascism. It seems that while people might agree with many ideals of Socialism they don't like the Socialists they meet. Orwell points out that Socialists need to work on the delivery of their message - less about class systems and more about justice and income.
When you attack the middle-class you put them on the defense. Why would they join up in a movement that is insulting them? He says the Socialist should drop the idea of the class war and focus on the basic ideals of increasing incomes, better housing for everybody, justice and liberty. He also says that Socialists are linked to progress which many people link with a machine-civilization and therefore a dark, bland future. Funny I also linked Socialism with slowing down progress and Fascism with speeding it up.
Even while the facts in the book are outdated the problems that many parties today face, such as Libertarians, are the same. How can you take a Libertarian seriously when he is dressed up as a butterfly? In print the ideas of the Libertarians and Socialists and even Democratics look good but sometimes the PEOPLE of these parties make the voters go running to the Republicans. I know many people who did JUST that - they didn't like the Republican's ideas but hated the people the Democratics had picked to run for President. Left-wingers sometimes come out, because of the terms they use or they way their come out as attacking almost everything, as nuts.
Needs a 21st Century Editor.......2006-07-01
A well-written, if dated, account of George Orwell's trip to the industrial north of England to investigate unemployment. The book was important for me to read because I have read many of Mr. Orwell's books previously.
This work is a kind of investigative journalism of the 1930s. Although the main premise is to investigate unemployment, Mr. Orwell covers the class system and the future of socialism, and takes swipes at vegetarians, femininsts, and men with beards. He is delightfully cranky in his treatment of "cranks."
The book is in need of a 21st century editor, someone who can explain the currency (Pounds/Shillings/Pence), who miscellaneous public figures are, and put the work into a context that a non-specialist can understand.
Average customer rating:
- A truly Inspirational Book - Read it!
- Building Personal Resilience
- Outstanding self-help book for career transitions
- I liked the REAL LIFE stories in this book !
- Timely, positive, and very helpful
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Losing Your Job-Reclaiming Your Soul : Stories of Resilience, Renewal, and Hope (Jossey-Bass Business & Management Series)
Mary Lynn Pulley
Manufacturer: Jossey-Bass
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation
ASIN: 0787909378 |
Book Description
Even job loss has a silver lining
A truly wonderful book! Through stories, myths and metaphors, Mary Lynn Pulley examines the factors which help people develop more meaning in their work and their lives. This book is not only for those going through career transitions, but for all of us who want to be more resilient in today's work world.
-- Betsy A. Collard, Career Action Center
Right-sizing. Reengineering. Organizational restructuring. No matter the corporate euphemism in which it's couched, the loss of a job remains one of the most devastating events a person can encounter. But some are finding it to be a blessing in disguise. In Losing Your Job, Reclaiming Your Soul, Mary Lynn Pulley presents a positive, practical and empowering new model of career resilience for everyone who has lost, fears losing, or is thinking of leaving his or her job. Here are the results of dozens of interviews with high-performing professionals who bounced back from the trauma of involuntary job loss. Their stories provide powerful, real-world lessons in flexibility, determination and fulfillment. It 's a book that puts the prospect of job loss in meaningful perspective, and gives us insight into how to turn one of life's most catastrophic experiences into a wellspring of personal and professional reawakening.
Customer Reviews:
A truly Inspirational Book - Read it!.......2003-01-07
If you have lost your job involuntarily, think you may be on the bubble or are just questioning your whole approach and understanding of the work-a-day world, you should read this book! I lost my job in August of 2002 after returning from a very successful 3-year assignment in London. I was devastated, how could I be treated this way. I thought if you showed up and did a great job, you were in for life. Boy was I wrong! I came across this book recommended by an author of a paperback called The Lay-Off Survival Guide.
I won't say this book changed my life (I am not sure a book can really do that) but it certainly changed the way I think about work and my own skills - forever! I realized that there are lots of people out there struggling with the same issues and lots of people going through their daily routines and feeling unfulfilled. I also realized that I had the power to change that about my life.
I find Mrs. Pulley's balance of personal interviews and research as well as reference work of other authors, psychologists, and philosophers to lend credibility, believability and inspiration to this book.
When someone asks you, "so, who are you?" and your answer starts with "I'm a manager of... or I work for..." then YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK!
I have now left big corporate America and am working in a 3-person start-up software company. I don't think I could ever go back to the other life. Thank you Mary Lynn Pulley for helping me transform!
Building Personal Resilience.......2001-02-26
Ms. Pulley has written a very useful treatise on resilience in the context of the workplace. She very succintly brings out the feelings and emotions that a person who has lost his/her job involuntarily feels and experiences. Her ideas and thoughts based on her interviews with people who have gone through the "trough" would make an invaluable contribution to those who are on their path to recovery and more importantly success on their terms. Though the book is written based on the American experience, I am of the opinion that it is applicable anywhere in the world. For those who live under the threat of likely loss of their job involuntarily, this book would be useful in understanding the feelings that you may be encountering.This book could even be a road-map to move-on and re-define yourself, discover a new dimension of success and of course, get on with re-building and living a more meaningful life in which you will find satisfaction and happiness in.
Outstanding self-help book for career transitions.......1998-11-14
I picked up this book with some skepticism after losing a job, but found that I could not put it down! And after finishing it, I went out and got a temp job in ONE DAY which I still have -- and have been asked to stay on. It is excellent as practical as well as philosophical support for anyone seeking to improve his or her resilience in a crisis. Instead of despair Pulley and Deal offer hope.
I liked the REAL LIFE stories in this book !.......1998-01-28
There are not many books that I stay up until 2:00am reading, but this is one of them. I was laid of, from a merger/aquisition, after working for the "company" for 10 years. I felt betrayed, I had no loyalty, and I was depressed ! Finding my resilance and takeing the "lessons" from each of the chapters got me through a tough time in my life. The bibliography was accurate and easy to follow. I even learned that "Pandora's Box did not release "HOPE"" from all the evils in the in famous Pandoras' box. One last not I also bought audio cassette of Sara Hickman's "Necessary Angels" when I had no income... not a wise decision you might say ?....wrong Ed Mc Mann....This was one of the best purchases I made when I needed a lift in my sprirts....what am I doing today.... I have started a new home based business, from my skills and past experiences. I may go back to "work" if the right "offer" come to me. I have also gotten involved in a small business group at my church....(sprituality).... I would rate this book right up there with WHAT COLOR IS YOUR PARACHUTE for people who have had an "involuntary job loss". I have also read William Bridges books on transitions which is also referenced in this book !
Timely, positive, and very helpful.......1998-01-24
In the past few years I've had a series of what I considered negative career experiences. I started out many years ago to be a teacher, but (due to an impossible job market) made a lateral move into a business career in which I'm using the same skills. But I kept on teaching part-time because I felt that was what I "should" be doing. Then I had a series of Classes From Hell that left me psychologically bruised and burned out, and finally, feeling utterly defeated, I quit teaching. A short time later, after years of working as an independent contractor, I took a "permanent" job that turned out to be a serious mistake: it was demanding but narrow in scope, so I was exhausted and bored at the same time; I did a mediocre job and eventually was laid off. I picked up Pulley's book just when I was in my worst "I'm a failure at everything" depressed state. It helped me realize that, on some level, I knew better all along: I went into teaching because of family expectations, and although I'm moderately good at it I was always uncomfortable as a teacher. Likewise, I felt I shouldn't turn down a permanent job because it was "secure" (the Depression-era mentality of my parents!), and, although it was patently wrong for me, I was afraid to quit for the same reason. The collapse of both jobs caused me to question all these assumptions. And Pulley's book helped me to realize that this FREED me to consider what I really wanted to do and what was most important to me in life. A very helpful book for anyone who has been laid off, or who feels he/she might be.
Books:
- Biz-War and the Out-of-Power Elite: The Progressive-Left Attack on the Corporation
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- Business and Its Environment (5th Edition)
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- Business Dynamics: Systems Thinking and Modeling for a Complex World with CD-ROM
- Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal
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- Choice and Consequence
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