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Nomadland

Surviving America in the Twenty-first Century
Community comment are the opinions of contributing users. These comment do not represent the opinions of Daniel Boone Regional Library.
Mar 20, 2019VaughanPLGraeme rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I'm glad I read this book and liked some aspects of it, but I did find it frustrating in a lot of ways. For me, it didn't go into enough depth about the fundamental reasons behind the increase in transient/migrant older workers. Should we expect this to be a temporary situation largely due to the Great Recession and an aging population? Or does it relate more to larger trends of income inequality and the changing nature of work in a country/world in which companies leverage technology to reduce their reliance on middle income workers, instead needing primarily highly skilled technical professionals as well as people willing to do physically demanding but less technical work for low wages. Some might argue the book was never intended to focus on the reasons behind this phenomenon, but rather was intended as a portrait of the people living this lifestyle. I can accept that, but personally I never really felt like I got to know and understand the people that were the focus of the book because the narrative kept jumping around to different people and places. Overall, I guess I just wished this book went into more depth on either the reasons for the trend or the people living this lifestyle. In spite of that, I did find it an interesting book and a valuable introduction to a subculture that doesn't get much attention.