Leanna's review
Chutes and Ladders: Navigating the Low-Wage Labor Market (Russell Sage Foundation Books) by Katherine S. Newman
This may be a bit too academic for most readers, but if you are interested in getting behind the headlines about poverty and the income polarization in the U.S., Katherine Newman has written an absorbing (and somewhat technical) ethnographic exploration poverty and low-wage earners. She follows 10 key figures starting with their first fast-food/low wage jobs and through their hardships, challenges and some successes -- in America's inner-city neighborhoods and projects. I liked the substance -- much like "Freakanomics" and more true in voice/content than "Nickeled and Dimed."
