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
THE AMERICAN VICE PRESIDENT'S ORIGIN STORY
‘Essential reading for this moment in history’ New York Times
'You will not read a more important book about America this year' Economist
‘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 PublishersWhat 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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Story5 out of 5 stars
- 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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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- 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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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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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 10-01-2025
Great story
Interested and informative, honest and loving. A good read particularly at this time 11/1/2025. Well done.
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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
- Anonymous User
- 08-03-2025
vice president origin story
it was gripping I listened to it in nearly one go. it was fascinating hearing JD Vance's early life story while watching Trump tear down the very institutions like social security that allowed Vance's family to survive in the first place
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 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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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- James
- 07-10-2016
Amazing story about overcoming the odds
Really enjoyed this unique and personal account of a much wider problem in American society. I could relate to JD Vance's story in many ways, despite being a non-American. The audiobook was read very well by the author.
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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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- Michelle Gattone
- 03-02-2017
Beautifully read, wonderful book
I read this on looks 3 chat 10 podcast recommendation. I am not disappointed. Interesting, poignant and read with feeling.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amanda G Scott
- 10-02-2018
Thought provoking book
I listened to this book after a friend suggested it. She said it gave insights into the poor who supported Trump. It did provide a confronting window into the lives of the rustbelt poor in America. It also depicted a family in crisis and the poor stock of skills many people have to deal with the situations facing them. Of course many of the problems are found here in Australia too. Some of my extended family post Pauline Hanson opinions on Facebook that would fit seamlessly into hillbilly culture. J D Vance gives an honest account of a difficult life, his subsequent successes and ackowledges those who helped him out of the mire. I recommend it as a great read.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 10-12-2022
A modern classic
An amazing story of a world most of us can only guess at. J D Vance tells his story without either sugar coating or dramatising. So refreshing in these days of victimisation
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