Hillbilly Elegy
A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
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Hillbilly Elegy
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Narrated by:
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J. D. Vance
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By:
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J. D. Vance
About this listen
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER / OVER A MILLION COPIES SOLD
From Donald Trump's 2024 Vice-Presidential Candidate
‘Essential reading for this moment in history’ New York Times
‘Brilliant … offers an acute insight into the reasons voters have put their trust in Trump’ Observer
J. D. Vance grew up in the hills of Kentucky. His family and friends were the people most of the world calls rednecks, hillbillies or white trash.
In this deeply moving memoir, Vance tells the story of his family’s demons and of America’s problem with generational neglect. How his mother struggled against, but never fully escaped, the legacies of abuse, alcoholism, poverty and trauma. How his grandparents, ‘dirt poor and in love’, gave everything for their children to chase the American dream. How Vance beat the odds to graduate from Yale Law School. And how America came to abandon and then condescend to its white working classes, until they reached breaking point.
‘A beautiful memoir but it is equally a work of cultural criticism about white working-class America … Vance offers a compelling explanation for why it’s so hard for someone who grew up the way he did to make it … a riveting book’ Wall Street Journal
** Now a major-motion picture directed by Ron Howard and starring Amy Adams, Glenn Close, and Gabriel Basso **
©2016 J. D. Vance (P)2016 HarperCollins PublishersCritic Reviews
‘Brilliant … offers an acute insight into the reasons voters have put their trust in Trump’ Observer
‘Powerful and highly readable account of the light of the poor white Americans in Kentucky’ Financial Times
‘Essential reading for all yankophiles, politicians and anyone interested in how Donald Trump won over the rust belt to arrive at the White House’ Books of the Year, Sunday Times
‘The memoir gripping America … Vividly articulates the despair and disillusionment of blue-collar America’ Sunday Times
‘A tough-edged elegy for ‘white trash’ hillbilly America’ David Aaronovitch, The Times
‘America’s political system and the white working class have lost faith in each other. ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ 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’ Economist
‘Vance’s description of the culture he grew up in is essential reading for this moment in history’ David Brooks, New York Times
‘Clear-eyed and nuanced, a powerful antidote to the clamour of news’ The Times
‘With exquisite timing Vance’s ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ offers something profound at this time of political populism … a great insight into Trump and Brexit’ Ian Birrell, Independent
‘I bought this to try to better understand Trump’s appeal to those white working-class people who feel left behind, but the memoir is so much more than that … It’s an important social history/commentary but also a gripping, unputdownable page-turner’ India Knight, Evening Standard
What listeners say about Hillbilly Elegy
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Robert
- 24-09-2017
Excellent. Insightful and informative.
JD Vance has written a work that allows a view of a social group from the eyes of an insider, at the same time allowing the reader to share in his personal growth. I am an Australian and I can relate his views, of the challenges faced by those excluded, to several groups of our own society; one supposedly more inclusive than that of 'the greatest nation on Earth's. Thank you for your story and insights. I feel a better and more informed member of society for the knowledge.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Luke
- 29-01-2019
Thank you for the healing!
Amazing to hear the perspective from another person from a similar socioeconomic rung in childhood.
Our experiences may differ, however our struggles are the same.
Thank you JD!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Deniece Brady
- 22-07-2021
Worth the time to listen to
Well written and beautifully narrated. Interesting true story about love, resilience and families. This story needs to remain successful for generations to come.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 21-11-2024
WOW
Very well described and very well read by JD. Deserves to be the next President of USA.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- AndrewH
- 28-06-2017
An excellent read
For a young man you did extremely well JD Vance. I'm in my 70's and can relate to your memoirs. Your narration is excellent. There is a lot to learn from your story and the way you value the role of each individual who make up that story. Thank you.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jacob
- 03-09-2017
Struggling with the american dream
heartwarming story of a family moving up in current USA society. it's not easy, but if you work hard, it's paying off.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Layla Sacker
- 06-05-2018
Who knew?
Like most people my knowledge of Hillbillies was based on stereotypes with little understanding of this community.
I was fascinated and totally absorbed by the journey of J.D. Vance as it also applied to disadvantaged communities everywhere. I had new insights insight and so appreciated the honest and not self pitying tone of the author.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Marguerite
- 15-05-2018
A book well worth the read
There appears to be such honesty in this frank account of this young mans life. His clever analysis is made all the more impactful because it is his life, his family and his tribe.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Theresa Cargill
- 18-01-2018
Amazing!
Enjoyable, eye opening and relevant. This could so easily describe many different communities around the world.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 07-09-2022
fascinating
alot of interesting insights ... hillbillies ... who knew they were a cultural phenomenon?! I didn't !
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