Hillbilly Elegy

Why I'd hand it to you

J.D. Vance grew up in Middletown, Ohio, in a family with roots in Kentucky's Appalachian hills, surrounded by poverty, addiction and instability. His grandmother, Mamaw, gave him stability, and he went on to the Marines, Ohio State and Yale Law School. The book is both a personal story and a look at why many working-class Americans feel left behind. Vance later became Vice President, so readers now come to it with strong feelings either way. Critics argue he generalizes about Appalachia from his own family. Taken as one man's story, it still raises honest questions about family, class and opportunity.

— Matt Jordan