I think that there are many people who have a skewed perception of Appalachia that's informed by books like Hillbilly Elegy . I think probably the best refutation of that book comes from Elizabeth Catte who wrote this amazing book, What You're Getting Wrong About Appalachia . Her book is being widely read, but should be read even more. She's a public historian and what I learned from her, and from many other people, is that JD Vance is a far right wing conservative who writes for Breitbart. So it's very surprising to me that his book has been embraced by so many people on the left and center.