The Ultimate Life (The Ultimate Series #2) [Paperback]

Jim Stovall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2007

A profound follow-up to the bestselling book and major motion picture, The Ultimate Gift. When Jason Stevens found out he had to jump through hoops to maybe get an unnamed inheritance from his billionaire grandfather, he was not amused. By the time he'd finished learning the lessons he'd become a different man. Ready to tackle the duties of running a multi-billion dollar trust, he is once again derailed, this time by his pugnacious family. Not content with their cattle ranches and oil fields, his aunts, uncles, and even his parents are determined to see every last dime entrusted to their own self-serving pockets.

With none of the reluctance he initially showed for the Gift, he eagerly accepts the challenge and pushes himself to prove not only to his family and the court but also to the world, that with determination and the simple tenets of the Gift, anyone can lead The Ultimate Life.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jim Stovall has been a national champion Olympic weightlifter, a successful investment broker and entrepreneur. He is Co-Founder and President of the Narrative Television Network, which makes movies and television accessible for our nation's 13 million blind and visually impaired people and their families. Although originally designed for the blind and visually impaired, over 60% of NTN's nationwide audience is made up of fully-sighted people who simply enjoy the programming.

Jim Stovall hosts the Network's talk show, "NTN Showcase." His guests have included Katharine Hepburn, Jack Lemmon, Carol Channing, Steve Allen, and Eddie Albert, as well as many others. The Narrative Television Network has received an Emmy Award and an International Film and Video Award among its many industry honors.

NTN has grown to include over 1,200 cable systems and broadcast stations, reaching over 35 million homes in the United States, and NTN is shown in 11 foreign countries.

Jim Stovall joined the ranks of Walt Disney, Orson Welles, and four United States presidents when he was selected as one of the "Ten Outstanding Young Americans" by the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce. He has appeared on "Good Morning America" and CNN, and has been featured in Reader's Digest, TV Guide and Time magazine. He is the author of a previous book entitled You Don't Have To Be Blind To See, as well as his new book Success Secrets of Super Achievers. The President's Committee on Equal Opportunity selected Jim Stovall as the 1997 Entrepreneur of the Year.

From AudioFile

The sequel to THE ULTIMATE GIFT, which was recently made into a movie, follows the hero of that book through a prolonged court case to prove the efficacy of the gift featured in the first book. The story by Stovall, a recipient of the International Humanitarian of the Year Award, is a discussion of humanitarian efforts and how they can positively affect others. Rob Lamont breathes life into the story, giving the two-dimensional characters the veneer of depth, but ultimately he cannot rescue the work from its bland and predictable track. Lamont shows how minor inflections and vocal pacing can effectively differentiate voices. S.M.M. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 190 pages
• Publisher: David C. Cook; New edition (September 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0781445477
• ISBN-13: 978-0781445474
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,160 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jim Stovall has been a National Olympic weightlifting champion, the President of the Emmy Award-winning Narrative Television Network, and a highly sought after author and platform speaker. He is the author of the best selling book, The Ultimate Gift, which is now a major motion picture starring James Garner and Abigail Breslin.

Steve Forbes, president and CEO of Forbes magazine, says, "Jim Stovall is one of the most extraordinary men of our era."

For his work in making television accessible to our nation's 13 million blind and visually impaired people, The President's Committee on Equal Opportunity selected Jim Stovall as the Entrepreneur of the Year. He was also chosen as the International Humanitarian of the Year, joining Jimmy Carter, Nancy Reagan, and Mother Teresa as recipients of this honor.

More information is available at www.jimstovall.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars If you read The Ultimate Gift...you've already read this one, too!, October 27, 2008

By 

Dan Panetti "Worldview Director" (Plano, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ultimate Life (Hardcover)

If you read The Ultimate Gift, don't waste your time reading The Ultimate Life. I hate to start a review with a negative statement like that, but The Ultimate Life was such a disappointment after reading the first book (and watching the movie). Stovall knew he had a good thing in The Ultimate Gift, so he went back and tried to dip the proverbial bucket in the well - this time it came up dry. Oh, and by the way, this isn't a sequel to the first BOOK...it's a sequel to the movie, so if you read The Ultimate Gift but didn't see the movie, Stovall has changed some characters in this book to correlate to the movie.

In The Ultimate Life, young Jason Stevens is now on trial with his family suing for the billions that Red Stevens bequeathed to young Jason through his will in The Ultimate Gift. The various trials that Jason had to endure to learn life's most valuable lessons, he now has to reiterate and rehash to demonstrate that he, indeed, learned those lessons to the satisfaction of Judge Davis. The story is told through the eyes of Judge Davis and the attempt is made to add suspense and intrigue into the most obvious, least surprising story ever written. Young Jason wins the case, keeps the money, makes a magnanimous gesture to his "family" so they are able to keep their millions and gets married to his wonderful fiancé Alexia (again, from the movie, not the first book) and rides off into the sunset - okay, they don't ride off into the sunset - I guess that was the only thing too cheesy for Stovall in this book.

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but predictable, January 14, 2008

By 

J. Bragdon (Gainesville, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ultimate Life (The Ultimate Series #2) (Paperback)

The Ultimate Life is largely an elaboration of The Ultimate Gift, in which the author faces off good and evil, but the conflict between the two is one-sided and minimal. The main premise of the book--that a court of law must decide the legitimacy of a billionaire's will--seems flawed because the whole point of the will was that his longtime friend would have the right to decide if the grandson fulfilled its requirements. So to have the outcome subsequently decided "again" through lawyers and ultimately a judge seems somewhat contrived. What should have been on trial was the right of the friend to make the decision. The characters are for the most part one-dimensional...and thus everything about the plot is predictable. Perhaps a good read for middle school and a "feel-good" book with some good examples for all to follow, but lacking in literary depth.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars great message, June 16, 2009

By 

Robin M. Wald - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Ultimate Life (The Ultimate Series #2) (Paperback)

This book offers great messages about the most important things in life. Unfortunately, it's not the most well-written book. It gets repetitive, predictable, and trite in how it delivers its message.