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As I began to read Erik Larson’s book Isaac’s Sorm, I was surprised by the style of wrting. I expected the book to follow more traditinal historical writing, but it rather read like a narrative found in a popular novel. The writer utilizes techniques commonly found in novel writing; such as establishing the setting. Larson introduces the setting in a third person perspective as if the events of history were unfolding in front of the reader. He even treats the historical figures as characters in his narrative style. For example, he introduces the reader to Isaac by describing his clothing from a photograph and making inferences on his personality. In the readings of the past weeks analyzing the personality of a person from the past would be irrevelevant to the larger argument, but in Larson’s book it seems to fit perfectly.
I actually enjoy Larson’s style of writing in comparison to other historical writing. Using a narrative engages the reader and incorporates many details into a more digestible form. For others who may not be interested in history or the particular topic, they may become enticed by the story-like form that the information is presented. Personally, I would rather read military history of the type joshuadw88 referenced in his post. Despite my interests, Larson’s writing can be described as stepping into the pages of history and experiencing the event first-hand which is very appealing.