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

Contact Your Elected Officials
Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, NAMED BY THE TIMES AS ONE OF “6 BOOKS TO HELP UNDERSTAND TRUMP’S WIN” AND SOON TO BE A MAJOR-MOTION PICTURE DIRECTED BY RON HOWARD

“You will not read a more important book about America this year.“โ€”The Economist

“A riveting book.”โ€”The Wall Street Journal

“Essential reading.”โ€”David Brooks,New York Times

From a former marine and Yale Law School graduate, a powerful account of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of Americaโ€™s white working class

Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisisโ€”that of white working-class Americans. The decline of this group, a demographic of our country that has been slowly disintegrating over forty years, has been reported on 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.โ€™s grandparents were โ€œdirt poor and in love,โ€ and moved north from Kentuckyโ€™s Appalachia region to Ohio in the hopes of escaping the dreadful poverty around them. They raised a middle-class family, and eventually their grandchild (the author) would graduate from Yale Law School, a conventional marker of their success in achieving generational upward mobility.

But as the family saga of Hillbilly Elegy plays out, we learn that this is only the short, superficial version. Vanceโ€™s grandparents, aunt, uncle, sister, and, most of all, his mother, struggled profoundly with the demands of their new middle-class life, and were never able to fully escape the legacy of abuse, alcoholism, poverty, and trauma so characteristic of their part of America. Vance piercingly shows how he himself still carries around the demons of their 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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

โ€œ[A] compassionate, discerning sociological analysisโ€ฆCombining thoughtful inquiry with firsthand experience, Mr. Vance has inadvertently provided a civilized reference guide for an uncivilized election, and heโ€™s done so in a vocabulary intelligible to both Democrats and Republicans. Imagine that.โ€ (Jennifer Senior, New York Times)

โ€œ[Hillbilly Elegy] is a beautiful memoir but it is equally a work of cultural criticism about white working-class Americaโ€ฆ.[Vance] offers a compelling explanation for why itโ€™s so hard for someone who grew up the way he did to make itโ€ฆa riveting book.โ€ (Wall Street Journal)

โ€œ[Vanceโ€™s] description of the culture he grew up in is essential reading for this moment in history.โ€ (David Brooks, New York Times)

โ€œ[Hillbilly Elegy] couldnโ€™t have been better timed…a harrowing portrait of much that has gone wrong in America over the past two generations…an honest look at the dysfunction that afflicts too many working-class Americans.โ€ (National Review)

“[A]n American classic, an extraordinary testimony to the brokenness of the white working class, but also its strengths. Itโ€™s one of the best books Iโ€™ve ever readโ€ฆ [T]he most important book of 2016. You cannot understand whatโ€™s happening now without first reading J.D. Vance.” (Rod Dreher,The American Conservative)

โ€œJ.D. Vanceโ€™s memoir, โ€œHillbilly Elegyโ€, offers a starkly honest look at what that shattering of faith feels like for a family who lived through it. You will not read a more important book about America this year.โ€ (The Economist)

โ€œ[A] frank, unsentimental, harrowing memoir…a superb book…โ€ (New York Post)

โ€œThe troubles of the working poor are well known to policymakers, but Vance offers an insiderโ€™s view of the problem.โ€ (Christianity Today)

โ€œVance movingly recounts the travails of his family.โ€ (Washington Post)

โ€œWhat 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…โ€ (Globe and Mail (Toronto))

From the Back Cover

From a former marine and Yale Law School graduate, a probing look at the struggles of Americaโ€™s white working class through the authorโ€™s own story of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town

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

The Vance family story began with hope in postwar America. J.D.โ€™s grandparents were โ€œdirt poor and in loveโ€ and moved north from Kentuckyโ€™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.โ€™s grandparents, aunt, uncle, sister, 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.

About the Author

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 the Ohio State University and Yale Law School, he has contributed to the National Review and the New York Times, and works as an investor at a leading venture capital firm. Vance lives in Columbus, Ohio, with his family.

Author mail for J.D. Vance can be sent to the below:

P.O. Box 1040
West Chester, OH 45071

Book Knowledge
Book Knowledgehttps://www.thethinkingconservative.com/previews/books-magazines/
Book Knowledge shares books, magazines and other sources that help us grow in our knowledge of conservatism and help us make a difference in our country.

CHARLIE KIRK, YOU WERENโ€™T PROVED WRONG

"I want to be remembered for courage for my faith,โ€ Kirk had said in a podcast merely two months ago. May his courage spur us to be bolder in our faith.

Trumpโ€™s Proposal For NATO To Stop Buying Russian Oil & Start Tariffing China Is Unrealistic

Trump proposed on social media that NATO stop buying Russian oil and start tariffing China 50-100% as part of his plan for ending the Ukrainian Conflict.

The Choices We Make

Death and disagreement are inevitable. Love and hate are choices. We will all die. Before we do, what choices will we make?

Elon Musk Speaks at Unite the Kingdom Rally

Tommy Robinson held rally, with Elon Musk appearing virtually, calling attention to leftist politicians who allow foreign immigrants to invade England.

Doxed Democrats Are Getting Fired Left and Left

Not a misprint because a title of โ€œleft and...

ABC Suspends Jimmy Kimmel: 5 Things to Know

ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel indefinitely over remarks about Charlie Kirkโ€™s assassination, following an FCC warning its head would act against the network.

Judge Rules Pro-Palestinian Activist Mahmoud Khalil Should Be Deported

A U.S. judge ordered pro-Palestinian activist and Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil deported after finding he omitted information on his green card application.

Charlie Kirkโ€™s Widow, Erika, Named New CEO of Turning Point USA

Turning Point USA announced it named Erika Kirk as new CEO and board chair of Turning Point USA, which late husband, Charlie Kirk, co-founded.

Shares of Intel Increase 30 Percent on $5 Billion Nvidia Investment

Shares of Intel increased by about 30 percent at the opening bell after Nvidia announced a $5 billion investment in the struggling chipmaker on Sept. 18.

Trump, Starmer Seal Record $340 Billion โ€˜Tech Prosperity Dealโ€™

President Trump and British PM Keir Starmer announced a new partnership worth $340 billion in technology, nuclear power, and private equity.

Rubio Says US Visa Revocations Underway After Charlie Kirk Death Celebrations

SoS Marco Rubio said foreign nationals who made celebratory comments over Charlie Kirkโ€™s assassination will have their U.S. visas revoked.

Trump Supports Designating Antifa a Terrorist Organization

President Trump said he would support designating the antifa movement a terrorist organization in the wake of Charlie Kirkโ€™s assassination last week.

US Conducts Strike on Another Drug Boat From Venezuela: Trump

Three people were killed in a U.S. strike on a Venezuelan drug boat, President Donald Trump announced on Sept. 15.
spot_img

Related Articles