The Final Summit by Andy Andrews

This is a wonderful book you will not want to put down. It combines a fantasy experience and a dutiful dilemma all at the same time. One remarkable asset of the author is his research into the biographies of the "real" people he introduces into the action. This book required a tremendous amount of historical research and it is reflected in the characters the author revealed in the telling. It is the story of a summit. The participants--all deceased but one--the moderator of the panel who has found entrepreneurial success in life and had been shaped by the words of seven people. Gabriel, the archangel, is the "guy" in charge of making the panel and the moderator stick to a program and reach a decisive decision about what needs to be done at this moment. Each of the deliberations are meticulously researched and presented. In fact, it is fancifully believable. Their final answer came as a surprise to me and, I suspect, it will also surprise most readers. The character of David Ponder, the moderator who is hell-bent on his continued success, is carefully scripted. His characterization is covered in every boardroom in the country and his frustration with failure and people who contribute to "his" failure is eerily evident to the reader. I would be surprised if many readers could not not identify with their own David Ponder. It is a book worth reading and worth thinking about after the reading.