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Investigative journalist Barbara Ehrenreich, the best-selling author of Nickel and Dimed, goes undercover to experience the plight of the unemployed white-collar worker. She finds nothing less than the dissolution of the American Dream: a lack of job security even for those with unique skills, experience and tenure; corporate indifference; a general blame-the-victim response; and a very harsh economic environment. She covers the way of the "transition industry" exploit vulnerable job seekers, making this a tell-all about a sometimes shady business as well as a personal saga. Those who played by the rules – they earned a college degree and secured a place on the corporate ladder – now find that the game changed. This is extra discouraging because Ehrenreich published this work in 2005, before the 2008 economic crisis. With some empathy for those – charlatans or not – who tried to help her without knowing she was an undercover reporter, getAbstract recommends Ehrenreich's social commentary, wit, insight and her engaging, sardonic writing style.

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Barbara Ehrenreich © 2005

Used by arrangement with Metropolitan Books, an imprint of Henry Holt & Company