Book Review: The Final Summit

 

As an experienced traveler in his younger years, David Ponder frequently reminisces about his unique travels throughout history.  Now, at an older age, David is summoned by Gabriel the Archangel to attend a unique summit conference.  Every traveler, from various time periods throughout history, attends this summit.  It is facilitated by Gabriel and led by David, who is currently the only traveler living on earth, as well as the only traveler considered to be a common man.

Since humanity is destroying itself, the summit conference is focused on answering a specific question to save mankind.  With an hourglass depicting the remaining time, David and the rest of the travelers must determine how to save mankind, by answering the question with only two words.

The Final Summit: A Quest to Find the One Principle That Will Save Humanity, by Andy Andrews, is an intriguing fictional book with hints of non-fiction (particularly history and religion) included throughout the story.  With faith-based values and a few Biblical characters, there is a hint of Christianity.  However, the majority of the book is a semi-fictionalized narrative of David Ponder searching for the answer to save mankind, along with the assistance of other travelers.

These other travelers include Winston Churchill, Anne Frank, Abraham Lincoln, King David, Joan of Arc, etc.  While some historical figures are simply mentioned by name, some of these travelers share historical events that occurred during their lives, personal anecdotes, and various lessons they learned.

In the author’s note, on page 225, Andrews wrote, “While conversations between the summit’s participants were obviously created, the background information about each character is, without exception, absolutely true.”  Thus, the historical backgrounds are based purely on historical facts and even a little dialogue is accurate.

On page 225, Andrews shared that he is “responsible for most of the words spoken by the historical characters.  A very few of those words, however, are direct quotes from that character that I merely placed in context of the discussion.”

This intriguing book also includes a Readers’ Guide at the back of the book with about three to six questions listed per chapter.

Since The Final Summit is a sequel to The Traveler’s Gift [which I haven't read, yet], it would be ideal to read these books in order.  However, it is not necessary to read The Traveler’s Gift beforehand, since this book nicely sums up the necessary information from the other book for the readers who simply start with this one.  This fiction book is perfect for those interested in history, but it’s readable by anyone…from teenagers to older generations.


Note: I received this book from Book Sneeze, which is a program designed for bloggers to write book reviews in exchange for books, yet the opinions expressed in this review are my own.