Let the Battle of the Authors Begin

Dyson v.s. Rose in what seems this week like a ten chapter death match. In several of my classes before this one, I have had to read different books by different authors all discussing and dissecting the same subject. However, I have never read to authors whose writing styles are so vastly different, and their subject exactly the same. Both Rose and Dyson wish to educate the American people on the tragedy that was Hurricane Katrina and the ineffectiveness and neglect that was the U.S. and state government.
But, where Dyson rams facts and figures down our throat as he wags his finger in our faces, Rose speaks softly of the people that he saw days, weeks, and months after the disaster. He gives to us faces of the people whose lives were forever altered on August 29, 2005.
To say that one style is better than the other is to pass a judgement I have no right to pass. However, I do feel qualified to tell you all how I feel about these two uniquely different authors.
At first Dyson grabbed me and appalled me with his facts. I was engrossed by how he could break down a complex subject and lay blame indiscriminately at everyone's feet. Now, six chapters into the book the facts have gotten repetitive and the finger wagging insulting. From the very first word of every chapter I find myself on guard, ready to defend my beliefs or lack of helping during the debacle of 2005. I have started to wonder if all I do is defend and combat him is Dyson still being as effective as he was on the first page of the first chapter?
Rose however, never finger wags, cites many facts, or stands on his soap box yelling. Instead he brings you into his pieces by telling you stories. Humans are creatures who find delight in a good story. Whether or in oral or written form, we for centuries have listened fully engrossed by the tales of our forefathers. Rose is a master at playing on the readers love of a great story. Instead of telling me the statistic of people who trudged through chest deep water searching for relief, he tells me the story of one individual who lived through the hurricane and the tole it took on them and their family. I feel by the end of each of Rose's short stories, that I have at least met one of  the victims of this disaster and follow-up incompetence. Still with only seeing a select few faces and their stories, has Rose shown me the whole picture of what Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans was?

I challenge you to read them both for yourself and decide!