Great book about living on minimum wage in America in the low wager labor market. 
Oct 27claytonhowl - Seems to be on a lot of AP/required reading lists now, and for good reason. Good old fashioned intrepid journalism -- Barbara Ehrenreich tries to make a living at unskilled, minimum wage jobs -- and fails.
creditreportscrub - I read this book when I was working at Wal-Mart part time going to college. It was amazing how great Ehrenreich was at capturing and conveying the desperation of permanent minimum wage earners.
quesea - Great read for building awareness about the difference between situational poverty and the systemic problems that perpetuate poverty once you cross that magical threshold....the Federal threshold called the "Poverty Level" which is just about $9,900annual income for a single person in the U.S.
gypsylibrarian - This is definitely a must-read. You get to see what it takes to live within the means provided by a low wage (what? you thought minimum wage was adequate to live?). Learn that just because you work it does not mean that you cannot be poor.
A great book about finding your lifes path. Mar 4