I grew up in the Appalachian foothills of southeastern Ohio. Prior to now, if I were to recommend a book to describe the economic problems facing areas in the hills that once thrived due to the coal and iron industries, and the difficulties that residents in these areas can have adjusting to the increasingly knowledge-based and service-based economy, I would pick [b:Knockemstiff|1704719|Knockemstiff|Donald Ray Pollock|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1424959738s/1704719.jpg|1701841] by [a:Donald Ray Pollock|784866|Donald Ray Pollock|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1240540889p2/784866.jpg], a fictional collection of depressing and compelling stories about hillbillies who try and fail to get out of the holler. It's a good book put pretty coarse and racy. Vance's book doesn't have near the sex and violence, and also has the advantage of being a true story. It's a good counterpoint to Pollock's work, coming from a more hopeful and less subversive place. To use an analogy with songs you've never heard of, if Knockemstiff is Native Son by the Jarts, then Hillbilly Elegy is Appalachian Hilltop by Truth and Salvage Company.

As other reviewers have noted, the story is at its best when Vance is painting pictures of life in Appalachian Ohio and his adjustments to the outside world. It drags some at the end when he goes into analysis and recommendations, which could have been left out or fleshed out more and put into a separate book or section. But I admire Vance, who, in true hillbilly style, lays out from the start that he doesn't care what I think and he's writing the book he wants to write in the way he sees fit. Great read, five stars.