What is the author's tone in This House of Sky: Landscapes of a Western Mind by Ivan Doig?

The tone of the work is quietly uplifting. The author takes real life and crafts it through the art of writing into a cohesive whole that is then shared with others. Much of this is delivered to convey what would otherwise be Ivan's part in a conversation. He is educating the readers, but not in the manner of a university textbook nor a lecture. The book could be used as part of a 20th century American history course, or for a literature class but the tone does not vaguely resemble a university textbook in the more scientific fields at all.