Two for the Summit: My Daughter, the Mountains, and Me

by Geoffrey Norman

Book Overview

For his fiftieth birthday journalist Geoffrey Norman set a goal: to climb the 14,000 feet of the treacherous Grand Teton summit. As a man who always craved adventure, Norman was both delighted and terrified when his teenage daughter, Brooke, offered to join him. Rock climbing--perhaps more than any other sport--is wholly dependent upon teamwork and trust, a truth that becomes painstakingly clear as they climb on a sheer rock face several hundred feet...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0452280761
• ISBN13: 9780452280762
• Release Date: May 2001
• Publisher: Plume Books
• Length: 242 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Life, Mountains, and Kids

This is a very good book by an editor approaching 50 who decides a mountain climb is just what he needs to prove he's not over the hill. This gets more complicated when his 15 year old daughter decides she'd like to give it a try. Now in addition to his own insecurities, he must confront his relationship with his daughter as she moves to the age where she starts to separate from her parents but also must address the many insecurities that come with growing up. If you are buying this book for a climbing adventure only, this is the wrong book. But if you want detailed climbing info from beginner to the ascent of a continental summit, maybe this will satisfy you.This book really shines describing his family relationships and watching his young daughter grow into an independent woman. Read this book if you climb or like climbing stories. But more importantly read this book to explore interpersonal relationships with your kids.

Wonderfully Refreshing and Real

Certainly not just another climbing book. Geoffrey Norman paints the human faces with the fine touch of an artist. "Two for the Summit" was one of the most delightful books I've read in a long time. It gently probes the relationship between parent and child as each grows wiser and richer through their shared experiences on the mountain. An interesting and gripping book about real people striving for the highest points in life.The question "Why do we climb?" has been answered with as many different twists as it has been asked. However, I suspect most of us that climb do it to look inward as much as we do to see the beauty from the summit. Norman shares his personal glimpses of life with family and mountain in a wonderfully refreshing way.

From the perspective of an independent daughter

When one picks up a book about mountain climbing, one expects it to emphasize thrill and adventure...In many ways, Norman's book is about thrills and adventure, but they have less to do with the climbing (which Norman does explain in fresh and exciting ways making the reader want to run out and find a huge rock to play on) and more to do with the adventure of loving a daughter, a family, and yourself...I bought this book in a book store before getting onto a plane-- four hours and 1000 miles later I had finished it. It initially appealled to me because it was about climbing, a sport that I am interested in (though still quite a novice), and about the relationship between a father and a daughter from the father's perspective--something which, as a daughter who adores her daddy, interested me very much. What I found in the book was the simple truth that while we can learn and even begin to master new skills, we will always be negotiating and defining our relationships. Some of the most poignant moments in the book are when Norman expresses his own self-doubts as a climber, feeling limited by aging, and as a father, feeling inadequate to teach anything to his daughters as they become adult women. Also, as someone interested in climbing, the book did provide me with some direction as to where to look to find out more about climbing and climbers. There are many interesting and fascinating characters that Norman and his daughter, Brooke, meet as they enter the climbing world together, and their stories add much of the humor that can be found in the book. Also, as this is nonfiction, all of the name-dropping will encourage would-be climbers to do some more research and get to know this sport a little better.I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in climbing and/or arm-chair adventures, but I would also recommend this book to any father who wants reassurance that there are ways to connect with his daughter(s) in a meaningful way and to any daughter who needs to know what her dad is thinking and feeling as he watches her grow up.

The secrets of fathers and climbers

Definitely a 'can't put down' book - picked it up and finished six chapters before coming up for air. Geoffrey Norman has written a gem that does as good a job as any in inspecting and explaining the motivations and rewards behind two of the great mysteries of life: climbing and fatherhood. This book was especially poignant for me, a forty-something father of three daughters - all of us beginning climbers. A must read book for any father, climber, or anyone else who would like an insight to either of the above. Congratulations, Mr. Norman, on a job well done and also for a fine book.