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Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
Scris de J. D. Vance
Povestit de J. D. Vance
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Începeți să ascultațiNota redactorului
Illuminating examination…
Even as the Vance family manages to achieve some semblance of ‘The American Dream,’ J.D. Vance shows how deeply the scars of poverty—and the familial and societal ills that it engendered—have compromised the health and happiness of each generation. A must-read for those interested in the ramifications of American social, economic, and political policy.
Descriere
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 America's white working class
Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis-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.'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 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. Vance'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.
Acțiuni carte
Începeți să ascultațiInformații despre carte
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
Scris de J. D. Vance
Povestit de J. D. Vance
Nota redactorului
Illuminating examination…
Even as the Vance family manages to achieve some semblance of ‘The American Dream,’ J.D. Vance shows how deeply the scars of poverty—and the familial and societal ills that it engendered—have compromised the health and happiness of each generation. A must-read for those interested in the ramifications of American social, economic, and political policy.
Descriere
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 America's white working class
Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis-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.'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 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. Vance'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.
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Recenzii
I was fortunate enough to listen to this book, read by the author. He grew up in Kentucky, in a family that struggled with addiction and poverty. Vance expressed love for his grandparents, who supported him when he really had no other parental figures in his life, love for his community, and also concern for it as its struggles are continual and don't seem to be seeing solutions quickly. Engaging and compelling.
I found this to be a very interesting read. Like many I thought it would offer insight into the mentality of a part of the country that voted for Trump. That is not what this book is about (although it does provide descriptions of circumstances that might explain the voting).
What I found most interesting was hearing from an "insider" about a community, a people, who although they live in the same country as I do, have access to the same media, news content, books, music, movies etc, are really very different from the people I know. The Appalachian community he describes is as foreign to me as that of the community from another, rather poor country.
This is a personal story, although the author references studies to bring context to his observations. He seems to feel equally as uncomfortable in his Ivy League surroundings as he did in his mother's home. He has ventured out of the community and now sees it from two differing perspectives. Looking back Vance sees the problems there were/are in his community, but does not presume to offer the solutions.
Vance writes about Social Capitol, about how he was never taught that there were programs to help kids like him go to College, he never knew that Ivy League schools would offer him more financial aid than State schools, he didn't know how to present himself at an interview, use the proper cutlery, write a resume, choose a wine, balance a checkbook or shop around for a better loan rate. He finds the idea of pajamas hilarious. We forget that somewhere along the line someone has to teach us the social skills/norms one needs to feel confident while pulling oneself up by the bootstraps. He was finally taught/told while at Yale, that who you know is as important as what you know. These are life lessons that can be incorporated in a school curriculum, as can topics such as financial literacy etc.
There are no solutions provided in this book, the one conclusion I was came away with is that having people in your life who can support, guide and enlighten you can make the difference between success or failure. Vance was very fortunate in that he had many such mentors and he was smart enough to listen to them.
What I found most interesting was hearing from an "insider" about a community, a people, who although they live in the same country as I do, have access to the same media, news content, books, music, movies etc, are really very different from the people I know. The Appalachian community he describes is as foreign to me as that of the community from another, rather poor country.
This is a personal story, although the author references studies to bring context to his observations. He seems to feel equally as uncomfortable in his Ivy League surroundings as he did in his mother's home. He has ventured out of the community and now sees it from two differing perspectives. Looking back Vance sees the problems there were/are in his community, but does not presume to offer the solutions.
Vance writes about Social Capitol, about how he was never taught that there were programs to help kids like him go to College, he never knew that Ivy League schools would offer him more financial aid than State schools, he didn't know how to present himself at an interview, use the proper cutlery, write a resume, choose a wine, balance a checkbook or shop around for a better loan rate. He finds the idea of pajamas hilarious. We forget that somewhere along the line someone has to teach us the social skills/norms one needs to feel confident while pulling oneself up by the bootstraps. He was finally taught/told while at Yale, that who you know is as important as what you know. These are life lessons that can be incorporated in a school curriculum, as can topics such as financial literacy etc.
There are no solutions provided in this book, the one conclusion I was came away with is that having people in your life who can support, guide and enlighten you can make the difference between success or failure. Vance was very fortunate in that he had many such mentors and he was smart enough to listen to them.
Having grown up in Appalachia, I understand this story on personal familiar. While I avoided many of the experiences personally, I do recall the attitude acutely.
This work is an eye opening look at a section of America we often prefer to ignore. Powerful reading and honest experience! Kudos to Mr. Vance!
I really enjoyed this book...it was thoughtful, supported with some research, and resonated with me and I'm sure many readers.
Highly Recommend! More thoughtful review to come when I have a few moments.
Certainly an interesting story, but I think much less generalizable than many people, probably including Vance himself, think it is. Some very sad moments, some extremely funny moments, and well worth a read as a memoir, but we should all be careful not to make more out of it than it can bear.
The deck of life was stacked against JD Vance, but he defied all the odds and escape a life of poverty and despair. As you read his story you can see his escape was a mix of luck, second chances, and above all else persistent hard work.
An honest and poignant story of growing up in Appalachia. The conclusion is what I've seen as a teacher: each child needs SOMEBODY to guide and direct them, if not a parent, a grandparent, a sister, etc. 272 pages
This was an interesting glimpse into what it means to be a hillbilly (including family loyalty and their sense of justice) and one family's migration from an Appalachian town in Kentucky to a suburban neighborhood in Ohio—and they're ability/inability to adapt to their new life and neighbors. It made me think about some of the poorer students I see in my school library and the struggles that impact their socialization and academic skills. I'm always interested in learning more about the lives and struggles people face because it helps me to be a more understanding, less judgmental person. (And couldn't we all benefit from a little more empathy?) From the title, though, I was hoping for more insight about isolated hillbillies and how they cope, the ones who stay behind in the mountains.
a bit of sociology and a bit self-serving
This book has potential: Vance grew up in a challenging environment and, despite the odds, overcame significant strife through hard work and perseverance. Yet, it somehow missed the mark for me: Vance lacks the self-awareness to relate to his audience, too intent on defending his community to build a strong thesis around what he wishes to accomplish with his book. He lacks structure, trying to capture a moral he can't quite express. His story is one worth telling and reading. It's a shame it doesn't deliver on what it really set out to do: get the reader to better appreciate his people.
J.D. Vance describes his life growing up in the rust belt and explains the hillbilly lifestyle and their values. I have heard it called racist and supports the alt-right and I have heard people say its a political guide that provides insight into the rust belt. It is insightful to his life and gives a little bit background information about the region, but nowhere is it a complete look. This book has been made out to be more than it is imo, and I also think it tried to fill this image to an extent and fails because this is not a scholarly study into the region, it is one man's experience, is it a common experience yes, but it lacks scientific data to back it up, some stats were provided here and there, but a lot of it is Vance's observations, which are interesting, but it needs to be more. It is definitely not racist, he doesn't put his people's struggles above others and of course he's not going to go into great detail about black issues because he does not know them, he does mention similarities and questions why these two groups aren't on the same side more often. As a memoir it was interesting, as a political explanation to that regions voting habits, it does not exist. This book would of been better if it didn't try to be about this regions politics.
This book is both a memoir and an attempt to explain the sociology of hillbilly culture. I loved the memoir part. It was written with honesty and a self-awareness that many people don't develop until they are much older than the author. He wrote that one of his goals with to give people a feel of poverty, and he accomplished that well.As a sociological study, though, I found the book fell short. The author tries to use his life to generalize about a culture and that is not correct -- the plural of anecdote is not evidence -- and, I'd also say it is unfair to label a large group of people based on one person's experiences. Years ago, I read Joe Bageant's Deer Hunting with Jesus which looks at why the Democrats, who argue for more social spending, fail to win the hearts and minds of the people Mr. Vance writes about. One of Mr. Bageant's theories is that liberals and Democrats need to understand more and judge less. Mr. Vance has made an important contribution to fostering understanding -- that is the real strength of his book.
A must-read to get an insight on how a nation could vote in a guy like Donald Trump as President.
I started the audio book on this morning's commute, and it's simultaneously the best and worst choice for this day.
ETA: Meh. I don't get why all the fuss and bother about this book. It's not bad, but I don't feel like it was full of earth-shattering revelations or anything. I mean, I guess if you grew up in an upper-middle class white world, there might be some new perspective to be gained into the lives of the lower-middle and lower classes. But. for me, the people described in these pages were neighbors and family and situations I knew from childhood. If you've ever eaten bologna sandwiches with ketchup because you're out of Miracle Whip, you can probably skip this one.
ETA: Meh. I don't get why all the fuss and bother about this book. It's not bad, but I don't feel like it was full of earth-shattering revelations or anything. I mean, I guess if you grew up in an upper-middle class white world, there might be some new perspective to be gained into the lives of the lower-middle and lower classes. But. for me, the people described in these pages were neighbors and family and situations I knew from childhood. If you've ever eaten bologna sandwiches with ketchup because you're out of Miracle Whip, you can probably skip this one.
After reading this book, I have a better understanding of the term "working class white". I've been confused by the term in a political context as it seems that the "working" portion of the term need not apply. In Vance's book it implies a person who didn't complete college. But unstated is the element of a trade or craft. The book rather targets as "working class white" the people that might be better grouped by his term of "adverse childhood experience". Best summed up as "instability begets instability".
Mr. Vance has created a memoir which treads the fine line between memory and analysis. It walks that touchy territory well and the result i both readable and insightful. The Scotch Irish ethos which was originally created on the English-Scottish border and translocated to North American is terribly important, both nationally, and world wide. It is a mindset that has formed institutions and gene pools. J.D. has the benefit of escaping that ethos, and the process of escape has illuminated both the ethos and the methods of freeing oneself from it. Freeing oneself, for to remain in it is to following the familiar arch of previous mindsets which in the long run first advance those gains in civilization that we have made, and then after giving its tributes to the life of the mind and the emotions, imprisons the spirit and actively combats the next step. This is a history of a family, and how one of its members came to be dissatisfied with the world he was born into and of the methods, and sadly the accidents that allowed him to create a fuller and freer life for himself and the next generation of his family. Working class america reached a crisis of expectations in the last half of the twentieth century when large numbers of factory jobs disappeared, and with it the answers to the traditional working class question. That question, since the Renaissance has been "how am I going to survive and raise the next generation if I do not have the inherited wealth and social / educational property to get money from the work of others?" Lacking the ownership of the right property what can an individual do to make enough money by labour to survive? J.D. has no big answer, fortunately he did have enough intellectual skills and potential to make an individual success. For the vast bulk of his contemporaries, and especially those of the "Hillbilly" mindset, (and White, Black and any other colour of humn is now in the "HillBilly" condition), the answer is to accept a life that falls far short of the possibilities humans used to enjoy. He has given us a possible pattern, and I hope he can reach enough people to substantially alter the future we face. Read it and re-act.
Part memoir (even though the author is only in his early 30s) and part reflection on the nature of the underclass in America.
SummaryJ.D. Vance should have ended up like all the others who grew up around him in poverty, with drug addictions, and jobless. He should have been "stuck"; however, with the fierceness of the people around him, he was able to move out and up. His story should end with graduating from Yale Law School, and he should be considered a successful story of pulling oneself up by one's bootstraps. The problem with that stereotype is that it doesn't take into consideration the consequences growing up within a failing culture that is America's white working class. The idea of "just getting out" isn't as simple as many want it to be. The crisis that Vance describes in Appalachia isn't one that can be shaken off and forgotten. Vance does an incredible job of showing that to readers. Upward mobility isn't just a social climb that can be affected by geography. There are much deeper issues within which to delve if we are to address the crisis of working class whites, including psychological, cultural, social, medical, and educational issues to name only a few. Yes, J.D. Vance is a success. Yes, he made it out. But, his story and many others like it were far from over as they crossed state lines. What I LikedThe historical details - Appalachian Regional Commission/ Lyndon JohnsonJackson, KY to Ohio via Route 23the migratory flow between Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Michigangrowing up in the "holler" catching "minners" and "crawdads"Kentucky coal countryMiddletuckyHatfields and McCoys in Appalachia compared to The SopranosRon Selby, the Advanced Math teacher - "I had that kid in class; he's not smart enough to make a functioning bomb."Mamaw - As harsh as Mamaw Blanton's language (conversation with J.D. about why he was not gay made me laugh out loud, snort and spit my coffee fashion ;) ) and life could be, she loved her grandchildren...and had a truly soft heart for anyone in need. She definitely lived the "take care of everybody" lifestyle and loved to "spend time with those babies."Mamaw made sure J.D. had anything he needed, any time, any place. What an unconditional love this woman had for her grandson.Papaw - Despite his "bullshits" and his grouchiness, he never met a hug or kiss that he didn't welcome. (108)Papaw also loved J.D. In fact, he was J.D.'s father since his own biological father nor any of his mother's potential candidates could or would step up. Papaw taught J.D. how to shoot so well that in the Marine Corp, J.D. qualified with an M16 rifle as an expert. He also played math games with J.D. after a young J.D. came home one day worried about his lack of math skills. When Papaw died, J.D. spoke at his funeral:I stood up in that funeral home resolved to tell everyone just how important he was. "I never had a dad," I explained. "But Papaw was always there for me, and he taught me the things that men needed to know." Discussion of Religion - Organized religion was not something J.D.'s family nor many of the other families he knew spent much time on. This fact calls into question yet another stereotype about working class southern "conservatives." Despite the stereotype, J.D.'s biological father and his new family were the only real religious families that J.D. ever knew. Mamaw reassured J.D. that God never leaves your side. She believed that without a doubt, but she also believed that God helps the man who helps himself. Mamaw believed it was fine to pray to God for help with your problems, but you best be ready to do the work on your part as well.Psychological focus - Once J.D. became successful and "escaped" the trap, he had to deal with the conundrum of still seeing in himself some of the very behaviors he had worked so hard to get away from. Especially where relationships were concerned, J.D. had to re-learn much of what had been unconsciously taught to him during his childhood. In Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. presents rich research and sources to explain this phenomenon:"Significant stress in early childhood results in hyperresponsive or chronically activated physiologic stress response, along with increased potential for fear and anxiety.the part of the brain that deals with stress and conflict is always activated...the switch flipped indefinitely." (228)Educational focus - Even though J.D. received access to higher education via his service in the military, he needed more...and that doesn't mean just money. What so many see as common knowledge parts of the educational system are huge stumbling blocks to students who come in from the outside. The Ivory Tower isn't famous for welcoming outsiders and is well-known to throw gatekeeping devices in students' way. J.D. wasn't asking for special favors either. He honestly didn't realize what he even needed to ask for help with. Academics wasn't the problem. The largest roadblock was the system itself - institutional, political, and social...and much of it unconscious or accidental...the roadblocks of privilege.J.D. Vance's book made me pull back out some of my old textbooks on working class literacy...I haven't done that since I finished my last degree because I was exhausted with academia. For the first time in many years, my research brain is piqued, and I'm ready to re-visit some of those theories.What I Didn't LikeThere really wasn't anything about Vance's memoir that I didn't like as far as the book itself...there were more than a few things that made me very sad...so sad that I had to think about, analyze, and really process before writing my review. But, again, I think that's Vance's point.I wasn't crazy about J.D.'s mama...I don't "fault" her really, but I don't "forgive" her either. He was just a child, and he needed his mama. But, she wasn't there. She had a lot of extenuating circumstances, but that doesn't change the fact that she wasn't there.I was and am beyond glad that J.D. had other people around him to take care of him. J.D.'s mom did have a library card and made sure he had access to books. She herself became a nurse and cared deeply about "enterprises of the mind"...she was one of those moms who got carried away "revamping" a science fair project. Her own lack of education about how a man should treat a woman was unfortunately handed down to her own children tenfold and exacerbated by her quest to find a suitable father for J.D. and Lindsay..."adventures" which pulled them further and further away from being able to live within a stable family environment.And, then, there were the drugs. Drugs for which she was probably given a prescription but very quickly lost control of.Addiction is a huge issue...a crisis of epidemic proportions.Overall RecommendationAmericans tend to have pretty egocentric views about the world and even within our own borders. Vance's book Hillbilly Elegy reminded me a lot of Jeannette Walls The Glass Castle, two books I think everybody needs to experience.
What a remarkable book, a combination of modern American sociological treatise and childhood memoir. It is a must read for poor and wealthy alike, and especially the latter. You need to walk a mile in someone's Marine Corps boots or pleather shoes with unmatched belt, to get a clear vision of what is wrong with American society (and what can be often fairly easily fixed) . But, Vance's book is certainly not literature. It reads like an admissions essay to any ol' American University, public or elite. I'll think of all the lessons learned, any time I see a Mountain Dew or Taco Bell.
The cynical reader might wonder why a 31 year old would be inspired to write what is essentially an autobiography, especially if that 31 year old works for Peter Thiel (a fact that is only evident from the acknowledgments, and not from the text). Perhaps its to lay the foundation for a political career? Mr Vance certainly has the backstory to follow that path, should he wish to. As a rags to riches affirmation of the American Dream, the book is compelling enough. Mr Vance has a difficult childhood, with an absent real father, but constantly rotating father figures from the many marriages and liaisons of his mother, who has substance abuse and mental health issues. He is essentially raised by his no nonsense, tough as old boots grandmother and his older sister. He graduates high school, if only just, and makes a decision to join the Marines rather that go to college. Up to this point, the story is interesting. Vance is self deprecating (perhaps a little too much so at times) seemingly honest about his own failings and those of family members, and he has a decent sense of humour. Despite the books title, though, this is really about a family in crisis and there is really relatively little discussion of hillbilly culture. We learn that large shambolic families are the norm , protecting the honour of your family with violence is expected, and that bad decisions come from bad options (which is hardly unique to hillbillies). Mr Vance makes sweeping generalisations about "the white working class" and whilst some of his conclusions seem fair enough, it is unclear how he has arrived at them. For example, he is probably right that some people who blame the government or society for their misfortunes might be better advised to look at their own poor choices; but how and when did a culture of self reliance turn into a culture of blame? He is undoubtedly right that many people no longer trust mainstream media. But why don't they? Why do they think they are being lied to? He is disingenuous on the reasons for President Obama's unpopularity in the rustbelt. He blames it on the fact that Mr Obama looks cultured and well spoken, and wears a suit to work. Err yes. But so did President Bush wear a nice suit and the rustbelt had no issue voting for him. It seems that Mr Vance does not consider the possibility that race might have something to do with it, perhaps not in his own family (although the fact that one of his cousins is disowned by her family for giving birth to a black baby would seem to give lie to that) but certainly in generalMr Vance joins the Marines because he believes he is not ready for college - and here the story gets less interesting. The armed forces teach him self discipline (mainly through the medium of shouting at him it seems) and how to be an adult. He goes to Iraq, but not in a fighting role. Somehow, and this is not explained, he has morphed into being in the Marines PR department rather than being a grunt. He leaves the Marines, churns through Ohio State University at double speed despite holding down 2 or 3 jobs, goes to Yale and from there has it made. He has some amusing anecdotes to tell about hillbilly social faux pas in the cultured Ivy League world but that's about itSo what do we take out from this? Mr Vance's story, at least until he leaves Middletown, Ohio, is interesting enough and is worth reading. His comments on hillbilly, or white working class, culture are probably correct but not particularly illuminating. His solution? He doesn't really have any (which is fair enough, these are hardly simple problems) other than a return to self help, self reliance, a strong role for the church, and you suspect (although Mr Vance doesn't overtly say it) a return to national service. What these directionless young people need, you suspect he believes, is a good dose of being shouted at by a drill sergeant. Its a point of view anyway
Loads of fun value, the stories about the author's gun wielding grandparents are amazing for anyone looking from the outside of that culture. Even the rest of the family and hometown related memories, if sad, are interesting. But the book goes downhill when the author tries to elaborate social theories out of his experiences and little more, and it gets even worse towards the end when he leaves for the Marine Corps and then university.Unsophisticated is probably the best word to describe those last chapters, the author making a story out of being offered to different kinds of wine at a restaurant and other similar stories.
"Powerful people sometimes do things to help people like me without really understanding people like me." "...social mobility isn't just about money and economics, it's about a lifestyle change. The wealthy and the powerful aren't just wealthy and powerful; they follow a different set of norms and mores. When you go from working-class to professional-class, almost everything about your old life becomes unfashionable at best or unhealthy at worst. At no time was this more obvious than the first (and last) time I took a Yale friend to Cracker Barrel. In my youth, it was the height of fine dining -- my grandma's and my favorite restaurant. With Yale friends, it was a greasy public health crisis." I had not realized that this book, which has topped the reading lists of liberal intellectual circles for the past several months, was a memoir. I expected an academic treatise, a narrative nonfiction work of sociology. Instead, I got a very personal recounting of the life of a man born in southeast Kentucky and raised in Rust Belt Ohio by a poor and chaotic family. Vance is still in his early 30s so this is a memoir of youth. It is also an examination of the cultural dynamics of poor white "hillbillies," his own word for his extended family and their community. One reason for the book's popularity is liberal intellectual Americans' desire to "understand" the results of the most recent election and the increasing divide between classes within our society. Vance does provide a glimpse into a culture steeped in loyalty and mistrust, deep patriotism and vilification of government, resentment of the rich and a reluctance to consider one's own contribution to stagnation. Vance explores these paradoxes with his own loyalty on his sleeve and this is one reason for the success of the work. He invites compassion and understanding, appreciation for the good in his people even as they abuse drugs or scream obscenities at one another, and an openness to solutions that focus less on schools, for example, and more on the family unit so crucial to a child's sense of security in the world. It's not great literature, but it's a worthwhile read.
I listened to the audio version of this book, read by the author. It's an engrossing story, sometimes tragic, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. How did J.D. Vance rise above his roots (and above everyone's expectations) to graduate from Yale Law School? What did he have that others like him didn't? He considers this question toward the end of the book, which will have you pausing to consider your own history as well as more effective ways of encouraging young people today to aim higher than they might consider possible.Coincidentally, I read Nancy Isenberg's "White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America" earlier this year. I highly recommend these two books to anyone interested in the development of a class system in America. Read Isenberg first for a broad overview and history, then Vance for one family's experience.
An interesting personal perspective on entrenched disadvantage in white 'hillbilly' communities. I do not find this memoir particularly illuminating or that it drew attention to problems that were unknown. I suspect the popularity of this memoir comes from the author's achievement of the American Dream while explaining how hard it is for 'hillbillies' to achieve this dream.
Growing up a poor hillbilly in the US. Vance is able to hold the views of both individual responsibility and lack of opportunities in his head at the same time, which makes for a thoughtful and intelligent book. Vance made it despite difficult circumstances, but considers that to be the case mostly due to two caring grandparents and several other strokes of luck along the way. Recommended.
This book could have been so much more...perhaps all the media hype raised my expectations. It certainly could have used a good editor. It's an OK read, but nowhere close to what I was hoping for...
It's odd to read a memoir written by someone who is only 31, but his life is so strikingly different than mine (and almost everyone I know) that I'll forgive him his age. He describes the hillybilly way of life and view on the world, as he experienced it. Most of the people that he grew up with lead rather desperate lives. Vance has the unfailing support of caring adults, especially of his scary hillbilly grandma, and some luck, and manages to move on into situations that will better his life. Late in the book he is having dinner with law firm recruiters who have come to Yale law school. He recognizes how out of his depth he is, and slips out to call a friend for social pointers. I wonder if any of the recruiters, plunked down in hillbilly culture, would have done as well. There are no easy answers to the social and economic problems that this group of Americans faces. Vance points out that governmental social programs, while well intentioned, tend to do more harm than good.
At times a difficult book to read, not because of the language, nor even the writing skill of the author, but rather it is hard to accept that life that Vance experienced as a youth. I am reminded of my father's statement, when I asked him why it took so long for my parents to leave Appalachia. "We didn't know there was anything better," he replied. In many respects, the book is a testament to the human spirit, especially how one person was able to overcome the hardships of his childhood and succeed in life, while many around him were not successful. But it is also an indictment of the system with which we all live in today's U.S. I heartily recommend the book to anyone trying to understand what has gone wrong in our world today.