The Travelers Summit

The Traveler’s Summit explores the historically proven principles that have guided our greatest leaders for centuries, and how we might restore these principles in our own lives…before it’s too late. Dave Ponder is back, and this time, the fate of civilization may be in his hands. Centuries of greed, pride, and hate have sent humankind hurtling toward disaster, far from our original purpose. There is only one solution that can reset the compass and right the ship, and that answer is only two words. With time running out, it’s up to David Ponder and a cast of history’s best and brightest minds to uncover this solution before it is too late. The catch? They are allowed only five tries to solve the ominous challenge. Readers first encountered David Ponder in the New York Times bestseller The Traveler’s Gift. Now, in The Traveler’s Summit, Andrews combines a riveting narrative with astounding history to show us the one thing we must do when we don’t know what to do. Released in a previous edition as The Final Summit.

A New York Times bestseller with over 1.3 million copies sold! Only a few months ago, he was a successful executive. Now he’s a desperate man. Join David Ponder on an incredible journey to discover the Seven Decisions for success that can turn any life around, no matter how hopeless a situation seems. Forty-six-year-old David Ponder feels like a total failure. Once a high-flying executive in a Fortune 500 company, he now works a part-time, minimum wage job and struggles to support his family. Suddenly an even greater crisis hits: his daughter becomes ill, and he can’t even afford to get her the medical help she needs. When David’s car skids on an icy road, he wonders if he even cares to survive the crash. But an extraordinary experience awaits David Ponder. He suddenly finds himself traveling back in time, meeting leaders and heroes at crucial moments in their lives—from Abraham Lincoln to Anne Frank. As David speaks with each of these historical figures, they share their personal philosophies with him. By the time his journey is over, he has received seven secrets for success—and a second chance. Among these crucial decisions for success are: The buck stops here, and I am responsible for my past and my future I will seek wisdom and be a servant to others I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit, and I will forgive myself Today I will choose to be happy and be the possessor of a grateful spirit The message is simple: Life is about choices. While we have little control over the events that occur in our lives, success is determined by the choices we make daily. The Traveler’s Gift will challenge you, inspire you, and give you seven decisions that you can employ to determine your own personal success. Acclaim for The Traveler’s Gift: Good Morning America’s “Read This!” book selection for May 2003 Hit the New York Times bestseller list and remained there for 17 weeks Reached #5 on the New York Times Business Bestseller list Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly bestseller Translated into nearly 20 languages, including Braille

David Ponder is back—and this time, the fate of mankind may be in his hands. This is humanity’s last chance. Centuries of greed, pride, and hate have sent mankind hurtling toward disaster, and far from its original purpose. There is only one solution that can reset the compass and right the ship—and that answer is only two words. With time running out, it is up to David Ponder and a cast of history’s best and brightest minds to uncover this solution before it is too late. The catch? They are allowed only five tries to solve the ominous challenge. Readers first encountered David Ponder in the New York Times bestseller The Traveler’s Gift. Now, in The Final Summit, Andrews combines a riveting narrative with astounding history in order to show us the one thing we must do when we don’t know what to do. “Every generation or so, God produces a person who can communicate like no one else. His words are like cool water to a thirsty civilization. Andy Andrews is one of the best I have ever seen.” —Zig Ziglar, America’s #1 Motivator and Best-Selling author “Is it possible to mix C. S. Lewis, Alfred Hitchcock, and Tony Robbins? The Final Summit is a unique and powerful blend of mystery and suspense and principles and emotional fire. Wow! Bring your highlighter to this party. You’ll want to remember every word!” —Hal Sutton, PGA Champion

From the depths of Death Valley, Daniel Arnold set out to reach Mount Whitney in a way no road or trail could take him. Anything manmade or designed to make travel easy was out. With a backpack full of empty two–liter bottles, and the remotest corners of desert before him, he began his toughest test yet of physical and mental endurance. Badwater Basin sits 282 feet below sea level in Death Valley, the lowest and hottest place in the Western Hemisphere. Mount Whitney rises 14,505 feet above sea level, the highest point in the contiguous United States. Arnold spent seventeen days traveling a roundabout route from one to the other, traversing salt flats, scaling dunes, and sinking into slot canyons. Aside from bighorn sheep and a phantom mountain lion, his only companions were ghosts of the dreamers and misfits who first dared into this unknown territory. He walked in the footsteps of William Manly, who rescued the last of the forty–niners from the bottom of Death Valley; tracked John LeMoigne, a prospector who died in the sand with his burros; and relived the tales of Mary Austin, who learned the secret trails of the Shoshone Indians. This is their story too, as much as it is a history of salt and water and of the places they collide and disappear. Guiding the reader up treacherous climbs and through burning sands, Arnold captures the dramatic landscapes as only he can with photographs to bring it all to life. From the salt to the summit, this is an epic journey across America's most legendary desert.

"Wine was free, but we had to pay for water." Joe Chiriaco and his thirteen siblings heard this from their Italian immigrant father as he recounted his ocean journey to America. In the face of limited water and rudimentary dirt roads, Joe and his Norwegian wife, Ruth Bergseid, founded Chiriaco Summit in the 1930s, a desert travel oasis on today's Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Los Angeles, promising to serve the world on wheels. The twenty-four-seven challenges are lightened with the courtship of two feisty lovers, the frolicking of youngsters in the desert, more loves, and the juxtaposition of some very imposing personalities, including those of Joe Chiriaco and General Patton. After moving through new aqueducts and highways, military camps, societal upheavals, and a welcome new set of hard-working immigrants, the twenty-first century brings provisions for electric cars, modern aircraft, and ATV facilities outside Joshua Tree National Park from whence the first Summit waters flowed.

Summit, fittingly named after its location astride a rise, was built on that low ridge crossed by travelers seeking a convenient route into Americas interior. As a portal to the North American interior, Summits land has witnessed the travels and pauses of Native Americans, French explorers and missionaries, fur traders, the English, and finally Colonial Americans. To this day, it remains synonymous with unsurpassed transportation advantages, having stimulated considerable commercial, industrial, and urban growth. From its earliest hut to its latest futuristic library, Summit has played an irreplaceable role in the progress of the United States.

From the bestselling author of Jurassic Park, Timeline, and Sphere comes a deeply personal memoir full of fascinating adventures as he travels everywhere from the Mayan pyramids to Kilimanjaro. Fueled by a powerful curiosity—and by a need to see, feel, and hear, firsthand and close-up—Michael Crichton's journeys have carried him into worlds diverse and compelling—swimming with mud sharks in Tahiti, tracking wild animals through the jungle of Rwanda. This is a record of those travels—an exhilarating quest across the familiar and exotic frontiers of the outer world, a determined odyssey into the unfathomable, spiritual depths of the inner world. It is an adventure of risk and rejuvenation, terror and wonder, as exciting as Michael Crichton's many masterful and widely heralded works of fiction.

In this exquisitely written journal-turned-journey of self-discovery, international bestselling author Paolo Cognetti examines our universal desire for connection through a voyage in the Himalayas. Why climb a mountain without ever reaching the summit? In 2017, Paolo Cognetti returned to Nepal, not to conquer the mountains but to journey through the high valleys of the Dolpo with a copy of Peter Matthiessen's The Snow Leopard in hand. Drawing on memories of his childhood in theAlps, Cognetti explored the roots of life in the mountains, truly getting to know the communities and the nature that forged this resilient, almost mythical region. Accompanying him was Remigio, a childhood friend who had never left the mountains of Italy, and Nicola, a painter he had recently met. Joined by a stalwart team of local sherpas, the trio started out in the remote Dolpo region of Nepal. From there, a journey of self-discovery shaped by illness, human connection, and empathy was born. Without Ever Reaching the Summit features line illustrations drawn by the author.

Before David Ponder ever visited Truman in The Traveler's Gift, Michael Holder began his journey as the last young traveler to receive the unique gifts of wisdom offered by historical greats. In his senior year of high school, Michael hits rock bottom. Having been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, he has now been suspended from the track team and lost his college scholarship. His coach is angry, his parents are disappointed, and he's diving headfirst into a downward spiral. Facing the bleak future ahead, he sees no way out and wonders if life is really worth living. But with some divine intervention, he's given a second chance when he's offered a once-in-a-lifetime journey of discovery. Rewritten to engage the minds of teens and tweens, The Young Traveler's Gift is sure to encourage and enlighten young men and women as they prepare to face the journeys that lie ahead.

Andrews shares a collection of hilariously heartwarming memories of his hometown of Sawyerton Springs. These reflective essays can help readers remember where life's greatest treasures can still be found.