Andy Andrews believes that good answers come only from asking the right questions. Through the powerful, provocative question, "How do you kill eleven million people?"-the number of people killed by the Nazi German regime between 1933 and 1945-he explores a number of other questions relevant to our lives today:
Does it matter that millions of ordinary citizens have checked out of participating in the decisions that shape the future of our country?
Which is more dangerous: politicians with ill intent, or the too-trusting population that allows such people to lead them?
How are we supposed to tell the difference between the "good guys" and the "bad guys"?
How does the answer to this question affect not only our country but our families, our faith, and our values?
What happens to a society in which truth is absent?
Andrews issues a wake-up call: become informed, passionate citizens who demand honesty and integrity from our leaders, or suffer the consequences of our own ignorance and apathy. Furthermore, we can no longer measure a leader's worth by the yardsticks provided by the left or the right. Instead, we must use an unchanging standard: the pure, unvarnished truth.
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"Several years ago I asked myself three questions: Where do we begin to find common ground in regard to what we want (or don't want) for the future of America? Is it possible to write something that doesn't use the words Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, yet conveys a message with which everyone could agree? Can it be written in a concise fashion allowing anyone to read it, clearly understand the message, and be empowered in less than fifteen minutes?
Here, then, is my answer to those questions."
- Andy Andrews
About the Author
Hailed by a New York Times reporter as "someone who has quietly become one of the most influential people in America," Andy Andrews is a best-selling novelist and in-demand speaker for the world's largest organizations. He has spoken at the request of four different United States presidents and at military bases worldwide. Zig Ziglar said, "Andy Andrews is the best speaker I have ever seen." Andy is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Noticer and The Traveler's Gift. He lives in Orange Beach, Alabama, with his wife, Polly, and their two sons.
What could this one man possibly have to say that is important enough for the Commander of the Allied Air Forces to ask his help? Why did every senior leader the United States Air Force has in Europe and the Middle East recently assemble in one room at one time to hear him speak?
Who is this man, that he would walk the golf course with Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez as she played her last tournament as a touring professional? Why was he invited to spend an afternoon with General Norman Schwarzkopf and his son, who was about to depart for college? What would he be asked to discuss with a ninety-one-year-old Bob Hope alone by the swimming pool in the entertainer's back yard?
Hailed by a New York Times writer as a 'modern-day Will Rogers who has quietly become one of the most influential people in America,' Andy Andrews is an internationally known speaker and novelist whose combined works have sold millions of copies worldwide. He has been received at the White House and has spoken at the request of four different United States presidents.
Andrews'best-selling book, The Traveler's Gift: Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success, is an international sensation, remaining on the New York Times bestseller list for four and a half months and being translated into nearly twenty languages. Featured on ABC's Good Morning America as a book-of-the-month selection, The Traveler's Gift is the stunning story of one man's search for meaning and success in life by traveling back into time and conversing with seven historic individuals. Its message of hope, faith, and perseverance is transforming thousands of lives worldwide every day, spawning a teen version, The Young Traveler's Gift; The Traveler's Gift Journal; a home study audio program, Timeless Wisdom from the Traveler; and life-study curriculum's in high schools, mental-health organizations, and prisons nationwide.
Andrews lived a relatively normal life until the age of nineteen, when both his parents died, his mother from cancer, his father in an automobile accident. 'I took a bad situation and made it much worse,' Andrews says with a rueful smile, referring to choices he made during this tragic period of his life. Within a span of several years, the young man found himself literally homeless (before that was even a word!' he says), sleeping occasionally under a pier on the gulf coast or in someone's garage.
It was at that time when Andrews asked the question that would focus his search for what would ultimately affect millions of people. The question? 'Is life just a lottery ticket, or are there choices one can make to direct his future?' To find the answer, he first went to the library. There, over time, he read more than two hundred biographies of great men and women. How did they become the people they were? he wondered. Were they simply born this way? Or were there decisions made at critical junctures in their lives that led to such success? The young Andrews finally determined that there were seven characteristics that each person had in common. 'What will happen,' he mused, 'if I study these seven common denominators and harness them in my own life?
The rest is history. 'The Seven Decisions,' as he calls them, were the engines used to carry Andrews' life in a different direction. And twenty-plus years later, these same Seven Decisions became the outline around which he built the story of The Traveler's Gift and the basis of his PBS Special.
- Andy's Latest Work -
Since the success of The Traveler's Gift and Mastering the Seven Decisions, Andrews has released an array of well-received literature, including the New York Times bestseller The Noticer. Offering a fresh and insightful perspective on how people can change their view of the world, and their place within it, The Noticer has succeeded tremendously in furthering Andrews' prevailing message of finding hope in the face of adversity. Based on the remarkable true story of Andrews' own life, the book teaches its readers that, "Sometimes, all a person needs is a little perspective."
Released in the same year, Return to Sawyerton Springs features Andrews' trademark wit and humor as he weaves tales around an enchanting town that can be found in the hearts of those who long to take a deep breath, relax, and find time for the humor and meaning in everyday life. "I dare you to read the first chapter aloud to a friend and not fall on the floor laughing," said Mark Victor Hansen, creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. By reflecting on the seemingly ordinary aspects of everyday life, Andrews reveals them for what they truly are--extraordinary aspects of something much greater.
Released in 2010, The Heart Mender has created a stir in literary circles. Elegantly blending a riveting story, extensive research, and a powerful message of hope, the novel is a true adventure set against the warm waters and white sand of the America's Gulf of Mexico during World War II. Lieutenant Josef Landermann is a German U-Boat officer betrayed and left for dead. When he washes ashore in a sleepy coastal town, he looks to a young war widow for survival. Robert Silvers, executive publisher of The Saturday Evening Post calls The Heart Mender an "unforgettable experience."
2010 also saw the release of two more books, The Butterfly Effect, a book exploring a scientific theory based on physics within the context of our own lives, and The Boy Who Changed the World, Andrews' first children's book. The Butterfly Effect shows readers that every action, however big or small, matters. Andrews accomplishes this by introducing historical examples that illustrate how one person can set off a spark that, in turn, ignites the lives of unforeseen others.
The Boy Who Changed the World illustrates this same principle to children, enabling them to see how they can have a meaningful impact on the world around them. It is full of vibrant, full-page illustrations by Philip Hurst and chronicles the true story of the young Norman Borlaug--the boy who grew up to change the world. Children will be delighted by the illustrations and excited by the story as they learn that they too can change the world, just like Norman.
On April 12, 2011, The Final Summit, the long-awaited follow-up to The Traveler's Gift, was released. The Final Summit finds David Ponder, the hero of The Traveler's Gift, at a completely different time in his life. Now older--and with the wisdom of the Seven Decisions he discovered in The Traveler's Gift--David Ponder and a cast of historic figures have been charged with the task of discovering the one principle that will save all of humanity from dire consequences. And the answer they seek is only two words.
Andrews' latest book and New York Times Bestseller, How Do You Kill 11 Million People?, arose from a question Andrews asked himself several years ago: Where do we being to find common ground in regard to what we want (or don't want) for the future of America? From the question came a challenge: Is it possible to write something that doesn't use the words Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, yet conveys a message with which everyone could agree? Can it be written in a concise fashion allowing anyone to read it, clearly understand the message, and be empowered in less than fifteen minutes? How Do You Kill 11 Million People? is his answer to those questions.
Driven by his own personal moving story, Andy Andrews communicates to his audience through the heart--an uncommon style in today's media-driven world. Arguably, there is no single person on the planet better at weaving subtle yet life-changing lessons into riveting tales of adventure and intrigue--both on paper and on stage.
I have read well over 1000 books over the past 10 years. And out of all those books, there are probably about 20 to 30 of them that I could honestly say were paradigm-shifting, life-altering in their implications and/or profound in their application. This book is now in my Top 20.
Let's begin with 2 facts: 1. The book is short. It will probably take you an hour to read from cover to cover. The "meat" of the book only takes up the first 47 pages. The remainder is a candid interview with the author, a reading guide, and a bibliography. Believe when I say that the "shortness" of the book doesn't diminish it's value in the slightest. Those 47 pages are Gold, not just because of what the author wrote (You, me and everyone else could stay up all night, every night for a week and not think of half the stuff this guy comes up with), but for the questions, ideas, and impications he leaves the reader with that he didn't have to write down. 2. Andy Andrews is known best for his "Fiction with a Moral" approach. This is not one of those books. It isn't warm and fuzzy. It won't make you feel giddy when you finish it. It's Nonfiction, non-religious, non-partisan and borderline unclassifiable. The only way I know how to put it is by analogy: Two speakers of antiquity, Cicero and Demosthenes. It was said of Cicero that when he would finish speaking, everyone would agree that he had given a well-worded, finely-crafted speech. It was said of Demosthenes that when he would finish speaking, the people stood and said "Let Us March!". This book is more Demosthenes than Cicero. Just like every other book this author has written, it is neither a call to emotion nor intention. It's a call to Action. It's a call to Honesty, first and foremost with ourselves.
I'm a big believer that books don't change people's lives, people do. But the books help. They provide the structures that allow us to climb a little higher and see a little farther than we would on our own. And the best of them don't confirm what we already thought, but challenge us to ask the questions we never thought to ask (or were too afraid to ask). No book has all the answers, and you should never let any one author do all the talking. But after reading as much as I have, I can honestly say I was sincerely affected by what this author was able to do in such a limited space. This book is bigger than its size or length give it credit for. But when all is said and done, it's a small book that can be as profound or as trivial as you are willing to make it. I hope it inspires you, as it did me, to ask the good questions, and then go looking for the honest answers. Enjoy.
You've heard the joke: "How do you know a politician is lying? If his lips are moving." Politicians lie. It's become an accepted axiom in American politics. But the consequences of a populace that simply accepts lies as part of the political process can be devastating.
It's no coincidence that Andy Andrews' new book releases on the same day as the Iowa caucuses kick off the election season. Andrews doesn't focus on Republican or Democrat, left or right. Instead, he seeks the one piece of common ground everyone should be able to agree on. Whatever your political leanings, do us all a favor and pick up a copy of "How Do You Kill 11 Million people?"
We've been lied to for so long that lying has become an accepted part of our culture. What if everyone told the truth? In a book you can read in one sitting Andy Andrews has punched us in the stomach with a truth so profound you can't forget it. This book can change the way you think about politics and politicians and the direction of our nation. And it can even change the way you see yourself. Please read it.
