The book was popularized by an interview with the author published by The American Conservative in late July 2016. The volume of requests briefly disabled the website. Halfway through the next month, The New York Times wrote that the title had remained in the top ten Amazon bestsellers since the interview's publication.[1]
Vance credits his Yale contract law professor Amy Chua as the "authorial godmother" of the book.[2]
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The Question and Answer section for Hillbilly Elegy is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.
Public policy and economic life in Middletown was looked upon as a source of opportunity for many who moved there. The town offered jobs, most often factory work in the steel mills, that provided a good living. Sadly, many of the people who moved...
• People is Middletown feel as if the American Dream doesn't really exist.
• Lack of job opportunities
• Economic hardship
• The citizens of Middletown are isolated and politically estranged from comtemporary America.
Much of Hillbilly Elegy is focused on the ways in which a child’s upbringing affects their life chances. Vance writes about his mother, who was raised by an alcoholic father and later suffered her own addiction issues. He speaks about his...
