Wisdom of the Ages

The use of a compelling story or parables (fables) is a great way to deliver a message. In this book, Wisdom of the Ages, Jim Stovall creates such a compelling story about leaving an enduring legacy and how to find such a legacy. He invents a story about a king who wants to leave his mark for future generations. The King being very kind and open seeks the counsel of others. Stovall's detailed description of each of the witnesses is exceptional. He provides opportunities for each witness to argue a compelling case as to what is the wisdom for the ages. One would think his characters are from the 21st century instead of some time long ago. From my perspective, there are three central messages within this book. First is simply seek and ye shall find. If we choose not to seek, we shall not find what we are looking for and possibly settle for less than the best. The second message is connected with our ethics and beliefs and how we integrate those beliefs within our decision making process. Finally, one must take action. Just to think without action is nonsense. This book allows anyone to be The Red Jacket in a sea of gray suits

Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas and many others have addressed this topic in a far more profound way. Mr Stovall has given us a popularization of a topic that merits a more serious presentation. While there are many signs pointing to wisdom from several points of view within his few pages, a possibly more important source of wisdom is, surprisingly, ignored: he has no representative of religion! Is he trying to inform his readers that religion has no wisdom to offer? Still, it is an interesting read, and quite possibly provides an insight as to what is sadly lacking in our society.

This book is phenomenal. I had previously read Jim Stovall's book The Ultimate Gift and was blessed. I picked this book up while browsing the shelves in a bookstore and read it in about 90 minutes. I'm not certain if this book was a sequel to The Ultimate Gift, but it most definitely could have been. I recommend both of these books to anyone wanting to effect a positve change in their life in 2004.