Monkey Dancing: A Father, Two Kids, and a Journey to the Ends of the Earth

Rating:
Summary: Brutal Honesty for Better and for Worse
Review: "Monkey Dancing" is a brutally honest account of a father's trip with his two children to some exotic parts of the world in an effort to find some healing following devastating family tragedies. Glick demonstrates tremendous courage by revealing so much about himself and his family, about losing to cancer an older brother he always looked up to and losing a wife and co-parent who discovered late in life that she was a lesbian. But honest and accurate reporting can sometimes be tedious. For example, those of us who have travelled with children have all experienced bickering and whiny kids. Unfortunately, Glick recounts more of such bickering and whining than is necessary or desirable. In addition, since the journey was one of self discovery and healing from family tragedy, I found the reporter's lens focused more on himself and his children and less on the places they visited. I look forward to Dan Glick's next travel book as he moves further away from the hurt that inspired Monkey Dancing.

Rating:
Summary: Brutal Honesty for Better and for Worse
Review: "Monkey Dancing" is a brutally honest account of a father's trip with his two children to some exotic parts of the world in an effort to find some healing following devastating family tragedies. Glick demonstrates tremendous courage by revealing so much about himself and his family, about losing to cancer an older brother he always looked up to and losing a wife and co-parent who discovered late in life that she was a lesbian. But honest and accurate reporting can sometimes be tedious. For example, those of us who have travelled with children have all experienced bickering and whiny kids. Unfortunately, Glick recounts more of such bickering and whining than is necessary or desirable. In addition, since the journey was one of self discovery and healing from family tragedy, I found the reporter's lens focused more on himself and his children and less on the places they visited. I look forward to Dan Glick's next travel book as he moves further away from the hurt that inspired Monkey Dancing.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: A book about travel, wonderful places to see, a book about environmental problems, an environmental journey, a book about parenthood, expectations, a book about the realities of family life. Realistic and funny. A wonderful combination. Still every part of it quite complete.
I had doubt about going on holiday with my 1 year old daughter: will she be disturbed, will she create problems, are we going to have the very necessary rest? (first travel with her!). Then I read this book and said to myself if this dad has managed to go around the world, in the most difficult countries, with two teenagers I can go to the South of Turkey with my one year old and finally had lots of fun!

Rating:
Summary: A tour of the world, the heart, and life
Review: Daniel Glick's book might become a classic. While mourning the death of his brother and his rather sudden divorce from his wife, Glick finds himself alone with his two children for almost the first time. He chooses to take them around the world in an effort to see some of the planet's endangered species before it's too late. One gets the sense that it's also his effort to become a father before it's too late.
Monkey Dancing works on many levels: environmental journalism, a travelogue, a lesson in parenting. Using the metaphor of world travel, Glick journeys into the heart of fatherhood, marriage, family, loss, conflict, change, and life.

Rating:
Summary: More Monkeys, Less Pickles
Review: Dipper see more monkeys. Dipper tippy. Dipper dance with dreamy monkeys. Sweet ballerina monquita dance for Dipper. Book give me monkeymares.

Rating:
Summary: It's the story, stupid...
Review: I love just about anything written by a seasoned journalist ... this includes Glick. However, as I am also a Buddhist, quasi-environmentalist, adventure lover, traveler, writer/journalist with two kids and a wife, I can't find a thing wrong with this book. If you're a teetotalling Xian who can't stand that a father introduces his son to drugs/alcohol instead of letting him learn on his own under the pressure of other teens, then you might not like this. But, I must point out, that this is merely a single episode in the book. And it also demonstrates that smart people know how to parent.

The book brings together episodes of adventures in other countries, learning to cope with loss, enjoying the weird brilliance of being human, understanding the threats to our environment, and appreciating life in a developed country. And it's written by someone who knows how to write. Glick isn't someone without talent and/or skills that happens to take a fiction writing seminar and gets lucky with a publisher; he knows how to write.

This is my favorite book of 2003.

Rating:
Summary: Monkey Dancing
Review: I read alot of travelogs and found this one kind of boring. Parts of it was good. But then the author goes on and on about his brother and his ex-wife. Plus the fact that he allowed his 13 yr old son to use drugs and drink alcohol on this trip. I just had a hard time finishing it.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic for Book Clubbers
Review: I recently chose this book as a selection for a book club that I am a member of. I bought the book on the basis of the editorial reviews found here at amazon, and based on the fact that it was a top book from 2003. Daniel Glick is a writer of such ease, grace, and intimacy. I felt that i was on this journey with Glick and his young children. The book sparked great discussion in my goup, such topics as loss, tolerance, accountability, conservationism, and parenting. Daniel Glick should be very proud of this work of art and of his most important two works of art, his children!

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't finish it
Review: I should have loved this book. I love travel writing, I'm a mom and I would love to do a trip like this with my own son someday. I just could not finish it. I'm amazed that it made Amazon's top 50.

I didn't find Glick or his kids very appealing. As I was reading I would think -- this part is supposed to be amusing, but it's not; this part is supposed to be touching, but it's not.

Rating:
Summary: Brutal Honesty for Better and for Worse
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was impressed how quickly the dad adapted to his new responsiblities such as making soccer snacks and other jobs traditionally held by "mom."
Reading about the different countries they went to was fascinating. I thinks it's good for children to see that some countries are poorer than us so they might appreciate how good it is here (in the U.S.A.)
What made the book even more interesting was the author's inclusion of the conversations he had with his children. It was evident to me how truly in touch he was of his kids' feelings as well as his own. I felt like I knew all of them personally by the end of the book. I could tell they were beginning to slowly heal from the divorce and Uncle Bob's death.
The message that I got was uplifting -- that it takes time
but yes, one can move on if bad things happen.