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Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

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$18.99  $11.48
 Format: Paperback  Author: J.D. Vance  Category: History  Publisher: Harper Paperbacks  Published: May 1, 2018  ISBN: 9780062300553  ISBN-13: 978-0062300553  ASIN: 0062300555  Pages: 288  Country: USA  Language: English  Dimension: 5.31 x 0.72 x 8 inches  Item Weight: 2.31 pounds  Edition: Reprint edition  Buy Now
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 Description:

Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans. The disintegration of this group, a process that has been slowly occurring now for more than forty years, has been reported with growing frequency and alarm, but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. J. D. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hung around your neck.

The Vance family story begins hopefully in postwar America. J. D.’s grandparents were “dirt poor and in love,” and moved north from Kentucky’s Appalachia region to Ohio in the hopes of escaping the dreadful poverty around them. They raised a middle-class family, and eventually one of their grandchildren would graduate from Yale Law School, a conventional marker of success in achieving generational upward mobility. But as the family saga of Hillbilly Elegy plays out, we learn that J.D.’s grandparents, aunt, uncle, and, most of all, his mother struggled profoundly with the demands of their new middle-class life, never fully escaping the legacy of abuse, alcoholism, poverty, and trauma so characteristic of their part of America. With piercing honesty, Vance shows how he himself still carries around the demons of his chaotic family history.

A deeply moving memoir, with its share of humor and vividly colorful figures, Hillbilly Elegy is the story of how upward mobility really feels. And it is an urgent and troubling meditation on the loss of the American dream for a large segment of this country.

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 1 reviews
 by Linda Demaree
Well written and Interesting

Having never lived in Appalachia it is hard for me to review this one way or the other. I will say it was a compelling read that kept me interested. I understand living in poverty because we were poor, but my family was always employed so I cannot relate to living off the government dole. The one time I tried to get help I was turned down so I never tried again. Very insightful and gives me respect for Mr. Vance. Read it for yourselves and see what you think.

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Editorial Reviews

“[A] frank, unsentimental, harrowing memoir...a superb book...” — New York Post

“The troubles of the working poor are well known to policymakers, but Vance offers an insider’s view of the problem.” — Christianity Today

“Vance movingly recounts the travails of his family.” — Washington Post

“What explains the appeal of Donald Trump? Many pundits have tried to answer this question and fallen short. But J.D. Vance nails it...stunning...intimate...” — Globe and Mail (Toronto)

“[A] new memoir that should be read far and wide.” — Institute of Family Studies

“[An] understated, engaging debut...An unusually timely and deeply affecting view of a social class whose health and economic problems are making headlines in this election year.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Both heartbreaking and heartwarming, this memoir is akin to investigative journalism. … A quick and engaging read, this book is well suited to anyone interested in a study of modern America, as Vance’s assertions about Appalachia are far more reaching.” — Library Journal

About the author

J.D. Vance

J. D. Vance grew up in the Rust Belt city of Middletown, Ohio, and the Appalachian town of Jackson, Kentucky. He enlisted in the Marine Corps after high school and served in Iraq. A graduate of Ohio State University and...

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