BAIT AND SWITCH: THE (FUTILE) PURSUIT OF THE AMERICAN DREAM, by Barbara Ehrenreich, Metropolitan Books, 241 pages, $24.

If she had lived in the early part of the 20th century, Barbara Ehrenreich would have been called a muckraker — a writer who shines light on the dirty aspects of American life. She is the author of 13 books, and her most recent success was the best-selling "Nickel and Dimed," which explored the economic problems of low-wage workers.

Her new book, "Bait and Switch," focuses on the white-collar unemployed. Almost like a "60 Minutes" correspondent, Ehrenreich used her maiden name, produced a plausible but faked resume and went undercover, trying to land a middle-class job with some security and benefits.

In the process, she went through all the challenges of wannabe employees — career coaching, personality testing, an image makeover, job boot camps, job fairs, networking events, scams and job-finding ministries — in the meantime shelling out big bucks instead of making big bucks.

No matter what she did, she got the continual "sting" of rejection.

What she discovered was that white-collar workers are more and more being downsized in spite of their best preparation. The author began with an expectation that her project would be less demanding than her research for "Nickel and Dimed."

"Physically, it would be a piece of cake — no scrubbing, no heavy lifting, no walking or running for hours on end. As for behavior, I imagined that I would be immune from the constant subservience and obedience demanded of low-wage blue-collar workers, that I would be far freer to be, and express myself. As it turns out, I was wrong on all counts."

Ehrenreich fantasized about her ideal job, working "for a small-to-medium-size company with offices in a wooded area, mine looking out on a valley and rolling green hills. An espresso cart rolls around every morning and afternoon; there's an on-site gym to which we're encouraged to retreat at least once a day, and the cafeteria features affordable nouvelle cuisine. None of that goes into my written fantasy, however, which focuses on finding a balance between the intense camaraderie of my 'team' and periods of creative solitude in my office, which of course has a door — no cubicles for me. I put myself in charge of my team, over which I wield a collegial, 'empowering' form of leadership. I am utterly fascinated by my work, whatever it is, and frequently carry on till late at night."

In this important and savvy book, the author, a social critic, tells a sad story but one that is sprinkled with wit and personality. Nevertheless, the bottom line is that an increasing number of Americans are really in the situation she only pretended to be in — "unemployed or underemployed with the clock always ticking in the background."

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