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

Locations
Call Number: Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Socioeconomics / Vance, J. D, 305.562 Va
On Shelf At: Pittsfield Branch, Westgate Branch

Shares the story of the author's family and upbringing, describing how they moved from poverty to an upwardly mobile clan that included the author, a Yale Law School graduate, while navigating the demands of middle class life and the collective demons of the past.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Hillbillies submitted by tbbrown76 on June 17, 2017, 10:19am Sort of a rags to riches story. Well written. Gives good perspective on poverty in America.
TB

Class and Culture in Appalachia submitted by sdunav on June 18, 2017, 2:02pm A mostly enjoyable memoir about growing up in Ohio (with roots in KY – reminded me of “Ypsitucky” history) combined with a bit of sociological insight. Good perspectives on violence and addiction amongst white lower class. Interesting that this hit bestseller lists now - the time was just right, I guess.

Good submitted by Vince on June 29, 2017, 8:21am Really interesting. Lots of good perspectives on poverty and violence and addiction and everything related.

Amazing submitted by Wmahmoud318 on July 11, 2017, 11:13pm It was a great read.

Gimmicky for armchair white people submitted by christinacz on July 14, 2017, 8:05pm Maybe this is controversial, but I think this book is overrated. The zeitgeist is trawling for an explanation of "working class white folks who voted for Trump" and it seems like they've happily settled for this book. But I think the writer is given too much authority as the voice of his social demographic--maybe I just think he's a bad writer? I wasn't satisfied with this book, and left it after a couple chapters because his writing style or tone was too distracting(ly bad). Maybe it's better to read this composite review, to get the gist of this book while you wait for your hold on it: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/09/the-original-underclass/492731/

Worshipping at the feet of Horatio Alger submitted by debbifs on July 24, 2017, 9:16am I’m simply appalled at the amount of good press this book is getting. Yes, the portion of the book that is a memoir of his childhood is moving and well written. But, Vance's writing loses all its soul when he begins to write about the military, college and law school. It’s as if he hasn’t yet emotionally digested those parts of his experience but writing about them is essential to his distorted tale of supposedly pulling himself up by his own bootstraps. The lack of any real sociological analysis is shocking in a book that many claim is providing insights into the current state of the rural US. Given this, I shouldn't have been surprised that the book also lacks any economic analysis that goes beneath the surface -- for example, what role was played by "company towns" in the decline of rural communities?

Before unquestionably accepting this tripe, I urge people to read some critiques of Vance's book:

https://newrepublic.com/article/138717/jd-vance-false-prophet-blue-america
http://www.salon.com/2017/03/11/hillbilly-sellout-the-politics-of-j-d-vances-hillbilly-elegy-are-already-being-used-to-gut-the-working-poor/

Way overrated! submitted by bookher on August 3, 2017, 3:04pm Yet another book that got great marketing and press but when you open it and sit down to read, it's appallingly bland and void of any sort of analysis or explanation of HOW he accomplished such a successful life out of the poverty he suffered growing up. I think we all like to read these types of books because we want to understand to how they did it and I could not get past the first 100 pgs or so of this book. Maybe the last half was better but I really don't care now.

Fine submitted by Pooh3238 on June 17, 2018, 5:52pm After reading the book, I read reviews of the book. The reviews made good points that Vance took his experiences and made them "everyone's" experiences. I'm not sure that his experiences were everyone's or even many experiences and not sure that his book was helpful to the cause.

An important book submitted by Cihendricks on June 16, 2019, 12:03am Highly interesting and very well-written; I don't know if I agree with all of his conclusions, but I think that Vance has some incredibly valid points and says things that need to be said.

Not what I thought submitted by sushai on June 25, 2020, 8:36pm I was late to get around to reading this book, after hearing buzz about it for years. What a disappointment to find out it's basically Republican talking points about why there will always be poor people and why our government should not try to change that.
I wish he just limited the book to the story of his experience rather than fill it with fake facts such as going to church makes people happier and the Marine life is a great way to give yourself discipline. I hate that he talks about his wife as his damper--she has to watch out for his angry behavior and talk him down from it, and he's happy with her being in that roll (despite the fact that the Marines supposedly taught him self control.)
I also don't buy for one minute his argument that the reason older, white, poor men didn't vote for Obama was nothing to do with race but instead with Obama appearing too elite. You might as well say the Civil War had nothing to do with slavery.
I bet we'll soon see him as a Fox commenter and then running for office.

Problematic submitted by A2AE on July 27, 2020, 6:05am We read this for my book club, and our group had a lot to discuss about the author’s questionable portrayal of many moments in his life. We all kind of hated him personally by the end of our discussion, especially after we researched his life after writing this book. I enjoy the genre of memoir but don’t recommend this one.

So-so book submitted by denisemw on August 29, 2020, 4:04pm A bit disappointing. I enjoyed the beginning and the early middle much more than the end. Good story, important that many people have others that have changed their lives for the better.

I really enjoyed Sarah Smarsh's book so much more and recommend that for those who want another perspective on growing up with a less than perfect family life and little family money.

W submitted by ann arbor air on June 12, 2021, 2:06pm Great read

very over rated submitted by kath on July 31, 2021, 12:22pm This book starts off well - but then . . .
What? White man does well because he is a white man and he is clueless. His family is terrible, mean and violent. And they have no idea either and no desire to change.