Structure

Under a White Sky is organized into three overarching sections. These sections appear in the following order: "Down the River," "Into the Wild," and "Up in the Air." "Down the River" contains two chapters. Chapter 1 begins with Kolbert's description of her ride down "the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal . . . on a pleasure craft named City Living" (4, Kolbert's italics). This anecdotal introduction creates a fluid throughway into her discussion "of what used to be called, without irony, the control of nature" (5). Chapter 2 details Kolbert's trip to Plaquemines Parish, an area of land at "the southeasternmost tip of Louisiana" (31). This venture furthers Kolbert's discussion of humans' ineffectual attempts to control the environment in order to preserve cultural establishments. Overall, "Down the River" examines life in and around particular rivers, canals, and creeks in order to consider humans' impact particularly on United States waterways.

"Into the Wild" is divided into...