Article of The Week Seven

IRB: A Walk in the Woods

So far Bryson and Katz have nearly been swept off of a cliff during a snow storm and had their ears talked off by one insane Mary-Ellen and fellow hikers who force conversations about equipment. Their awful lodging experiences are better left unmentioned when the rodents have absolutely no fear of hikers. Bryson does a great job of tieing in how his personal experiences were effected by the environmental crisis and deteriating financial aid for the park service. Among the interesting points he made, were how we have gone between two extremes. First we were causing vast destruction to the environment, and now we are neglecting it. If a park ranger were asked what was being done about the high number of trees dieing, they would reply, we are monitoring its progress. The way Bryson puts it "they're watching the trees die". He draws in readers with his sarcastic tone, and humorous observations. When he switches from narration to background information on the hard boring facts, he presents them like a conversation rather than an informational essay or article. When reading his book, its shocking to finish and realize you have actually learned something, and it was entertaining.