 The book was a hit back when it first came out, too, when Vance was just a guy who graduated Yale Law School and worked at an investment company in Silicon Valley. And it skyrocketed him to stardom in media circles. After it came out, you could see him on CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS. If you like public radio, you could have heard him on NPR or WHYY's Fresh Air. It spawned a movie adaptation.