The information presented so far in Thomas M. Kostigen’s You Are Here has been informative and eye opening. Before we started the book my assumption was that it was going to be “mostly exaggerated propaganda” but the book has yet to read that way. Kostigen delivers the information in a “reasonably and objective way” that the book is an entertaining read while being informative and educational as well. He achieves that through the use of describing his personal experiences, evidence based facts, quotes from the inhabitants of the lands that he discusses and through expert opinions.
He uses personal experience in chapter two when he is describing one of Mumbai’s landfills. “It smelled like spoiled milk and excrement, and as if you were locked in an airless closet with that heated combination festering.” (Ch 2, p. 30) His use of personal experience builds his credibility while keeping it entertaining. He does not describe the scene in an hyperbolic way that, would it read like propaganda, but makes the reader feel as though he is there experiencing …show more content…
One example of that is in chapter five when he is conversing with one of the natives to Shishmaref about the effects climate change has had on the community. “We get silent storms when the water level rises real fast. We get two or three storms a year now, when we used to get just one or two,”(Ch 6, p. 115) Using quotes from real people who live with the impacts of climate change everyday adds credibility to his cause while creating an emotional response from the readers.
The last way Kostigen keeps the book objective, but prevents it from sounding like propaganda is through the use of expert opinions. An example of this is in chapter six when Kostigen is discussing the trade-off between the protecting the environment of the Amazon Jungle versus the economic benefit of destroying