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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “Amazing story. Amazing book. Plus, I was laughing alot.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It2 of 2 members found this review helpful “While the premise of this book sounded incredibly interesting (literally trying to start a life with only $25 and the clothes on his back), the telling of the story really turned me off. The author's repeated 'epiphanies' made me groan out loud after a while, wondering how this man had made it...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“What a great refutation to "Nickel and Dimed." So you can't be an elitist, living in a nice hotel, going to restaurants, etc. while living on minimum wage. That's not a failure of capitalism, Ehrenreich's book is a failure of premise, mindset, and execution.
PalatineMike wrote this review Tuesday, September 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Adam followed an interesting premise, starting with nothing, and how he climbed out of it. What a great story.”
“I havent' read this yet (My wife snagged it from me) but I want to. I wonder if it might be a good companion text for Nickel and Dimed. ”
Jonathan C wrote this review Monday, July 6 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“It was good story/memoir an interesting topic. The approach wasn't as detailed as you would like as a reader. I was also expecting a wider array of experiences. The author stuck to the same geographic location and city for the entire time. I understand the reason but it made the story a bit dull in spots. I would have given it 4 stars had it not taken on an inspirtational/preaching vibe towards the end. It's very easy to say do A, B & C if you are homeless and you will have success. The author did not have any of the problems that are often characteristic of our nations homeless population.”
Tanya wrote this review Tuesday, June 23 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This book has an interesting premise but the writing doesn't really do the subject matter justice. His prose are simplistic and he often repeats point without adding any substance to the narrative.
Tom Hughes-Croucher wrote this review Wednesday, March 25 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
He hints a number of times at pieces of narrative that might be interesting. However, these are not expanded on in the rest of the book.
I felt that rather than examine what role his social background played in his experiment he tended to avoid such questions or looking at how the attitudes and upbringing affect the characters in his journey.”
“First of all I want to give Adam props for sacraficing and going through what he went through to write this book. I have been down w/ no job before and had to work at a place called Labor Ready where u get paid everyday a really low wage.
JayDiesel wrote this review Tuesday, February 17 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I know the feeling like u are getting screwed but really needing that money. This is a very motivating book for me because it lets u know that if u sacrafice and spend your money wisely that u can make it out of whatever hole ur in. U know I see that one person up here wrote that he dismissed the premise of being a white male and I agree that he just said it and didnt follow up about it. My thing is what shortcut did he take by being a white male. Look at his friend Marco this guy was skilled made 10 dollars an hour from the begining and decides to move in a homeless shelter that charges 70 dollars a week.Thats stupid he could have kept saving his money to get an apartment and stayed at the free place. A shelter is a shelter. The point of this book is that if we save and use our money wisely we can prosper that simple. ”2 of 2 members found this review helpful“While the premise of this book sounded incredibly interesting (literally trying to start a life with only $25 and the clothes on his back), the telling of the story really turned me off. The author's repeated 'epiphanies' made me groan out loud after a while, wondering how this man had made it to early adulthood without these realizations. The issues at play here were too over-simplified for my taste. He repeatedly points out criticisms that others may offer about his plight (the location he chose, his age, his not having children as responsibilities, as a few examples-- I also offer his race and his gender as MAJOR ones), but he continually dismisses them in the same breath, rather than take them into account and surmise the affects they had on his actual experience. The experiment was worthy, but the writing, I wasn't a fan of at all. ”
Dawn M wrote this review Monday, December 15 2008. ( reply | view 1 replies | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A very inspirational story”
Michelle K...I *heart* Twilight.....Thats me, my sister and my cousin(I am on the far right) wrote this review Saturday, December 13 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Praise , and large amounts of it should be given to Adam Shephard for undertaking a personal sociological experiment. (Now that is what I call clinical!) Throughout this unique rite of passage he shows wisdom beyond his years, even if a bit naive at time.
clyde m wrote this review Monday, November 3 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
What I liked most about the book was his going out to accomplish this endeavor without any preconceived notions, no political axe to grind, and no real point to prove, except to see if the American Dream is still alive and well.
Along the way he discovers unique aspects about human relationships, "And it was so genuine. If there's one good thing about being homeless, it's the realness of the relationships. We Were homeless! There was nothing we could offer each other financially, so we knew that whatever friendships we were able to muster came without ulterior motives."
About what society values, "He had brought up a good point about society in America as a whole, not just the homeless shelter. A lot of us spend our lives living beyond our means. We rack up credit card debt and spend money on material items and vacations that we can't quite afford. We splurge for a private school education for our children, but then we offset it when we buy them the latest, mind-numbing video-game system and all of the cool games to go along with it. And we live in luxury homes and condos that we can't even enjoy, because we have to work overtime to cover the mortgage payment. Why? Because we don't know any better? Or are we compensating for a life that we didn't have growing up? Couldn't we be putting our money toward more worthwhile pursuits?" This is all true, what the does not understand is how Americans got there. When our nation stopped being a producer nation and became a consumer nation and our GNP depended on what everybody purchased, we moved heavily into leveraging debt in all aspects of our society down to the consumer. So, people might be deferring the American Dream by living now and paying later because of all of the societal influences.
Regarding individual perspective, "I wondered--and would never know for sure why a guy like Leo could be so grounded, while other guys, many from the same circumstances, were lazy or had given up.
About purchasing a home, "He had been house hunting for about five months or so. He was participating in a non-profit organization called the Neighborhood Assistance corporation of America, which helps make the dream of buying a home a reality for those with faulty credit or those who cannot afford the closing costs and the ten percent that is usually required as a down payment." If he waited until now, his hard work would have paid off, he could have put 20% down and he would not have a house that lost his value.
And Opportunities in America compared to other nations, "MOre than anything else over the course of my project, I grew to appreciate, even more than before, that we live in the greatest country in the world. America is more fertile and full of more opportunity than any other country. Can you imagine the results if I had done my project anywhere else in the world? You think I would have had quite the success if I would have started in Asia or Eastern Europe or Latin America?"
Him, no, but let's flip this around: Does he think an African American raised from parents who are as educated as his parents and with the same values would have had as much success in South Carolina or Alabama or Mississippi? A positive attitude and self-confidence instilled by how you were raised will get you far in most places. But will it in places where prejudice is still rife? That is a tough one to answer as he put in his conclusion.
I admired the fact that he went home in the end, cut his experience short to take care of his mother. Adam Shephard has a good heart and it shows through in his writing. I hope that when he enters the corporate world and starts climbing up the ladder, he remembers the true and real experiences he had with people, and like in Jerry Maguire, has an aha moment of what it really is about again. ”
“This was written as a response to Barbara Ehrenreich's "Nickle and Dimed." A kid takes a bus to a random city with $25 in his pocket and stays in a homeless shelter. You'd think it was some kind of conservative pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps thing. I was hoping it would be like Newjack but it was actually kind of boring and then at the end he criticizes young girls who "open up their legs and squeeze out a few babies." (paraphrased). That left me with a bad taste.”
virgina c wrote this review Friday, May 2 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
