True Summit has proved to be a confusing book thus far. It is difficult to decide what is fiction and what is fact. If nothing else, the book shows that these people are not monolithic in character. It proves that people are contradictory and complex in nature. Some of Herzog’s suspected lies do not make sense, nor do they seem to progress the story in any noticeable way. Perhaps Herzog is simply pathological and does not know when or why he has altered his past.

Maurice Herzog reminds me of a lecture given by a wise young man. “That’s how people like you work, your ego is so out of whack that it will do what ever it can to protect itself and people with the messed up ego can do these metal gymnastics to convince themselves that they are awesome, when really they are just douche bags” (Kyle Broflovski, 2009). This also coincides with Roberts quote on page 104. “ After nearly fifty years, Herzog’s emotions about those dramatic days high on Annapurna had perhaps restructured his memories into what should have been”.

Herzog has either refused to admit that his tenure on the mountain was misguided, or he really thinks that his leadership was justified; it is difficult for me to decide which explanation to believe. Herzog is known to have gotten hold of Lachenal’s diary. Because of this, Herzog knew how at least one other expedition member felt about him and his leadership. Instead of owning up to his mistakes on Annapurna, he altered the diary to better fit his version of the expedition. Later in life he announced that still his ascent on the mountain has left him with a life of “indescribable happiness”(Pg. 22). To support the former, Herzog’s modification of Lachenal’s diary suggests that he knew he had messed up, but was not yet ready for the world to know it. But it seems to me that he changed the diary because it made him second-guess his own memories and he wanted to continue to believe that he did the right thing.

Throughout the book I was rooting for Herzog. I wanted to believe that he and his story were just misunderstood. But there was one line that completely made me turn against Herzog. “I do not believe in friendship anymore”(Rebuffet, Pg. 146).Herzog’s leadership in response to the situation at hand had led Rebuffet to potentially leave his humanity on the mountain; this statement alone speaks volumes of how immoral and catastrophic Herzog’s ego and judgments were. I was further appalled by Herzog’s plan for extraction. His team, after going through a traumatic experience was ready to go home to France, yet Herzog kept pushing the date for selfish reasons. The parades and award ceremonies were far more important to him then the well being of the team members. This is semi-understandable; this was Herzog’s finest moment and he wanted to relish the feeling. Being a true leader means putting the needs of the team above one’s own legacy.

Herzog was a man looking out for his own legacy, and made every attempt to ensure its success; this was done by selling out his own team in every possible way. My conclusion on Herzog is that he fits the above quote by Kyle Broflovski. His ego will not allow him to think that he was a poor choice for Annapurna.