'Driving Toward Destiny' is an engaging and profound journey of self-discovery set against the backdrop of the early 1970s. Tim Scott masterfully tells the story of Jack Higgins, a recent college graduate grappling with the prospect of the Vietnam draft and societal pressures. Seeking personal freedom, Jack embarks on an adventurous escape to Berlin, leading him through a series of transformative experiences.

The novel beautifully captures the essence of youth, rebellion, and the quest for identity. Scott's vivid descriptions of Jack's travels through Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Greece are immersive, making you feel as if you're riding alongside him on his BMW motorcycle. The philosophical undertones and the exploration of love, especially Jack's romance with a captivating Frenchwoman and later with Kara in Crete, add depth to the narrative.

'Driving Toward Destiny' is not just a travel adventure but a poignant exploration of one's destiny and the choices that shape our lives. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys historical fiction with a strong character-driven plot. ( )

Author Tim Scott earned his degrees from the University of Vermont, Northeastern University, and MIT Sloan School of Management, and now makes his literary debut with DRIVING TOWARD DESTINY. With dexterity and verisimilitude Scott has created a novel that captures the 1970s and the intersections life presents to college graduates, searching for meaning in life. His central character, Jack Higgins, embodies the anxiety and wary indecision social demands create on college graduates, a second coming-of-age step in discovering self and enlightenment. With his characteristic immediacy of writing, he opens with ‘It was Christmas 1971. I was seven months out of college. I was in the draft pool for the army and had already taken a physical. I had little control over the course of my life. The lottery system would decide my fate. I believed if I were drafted, I would die in Vietnam. In the summer, I had driven across the country with my best friend, Chris Atwell, to see if I could find answers to my existential questions. I was looking for answers to these questions which were coursing through my brain. I needed to define: Who am I? What would be my future path in life?’

Onto this easily recognizable stage Scott unfolds one very fine travelogue of Jack’s journey to Europe and his excursion to fascinating and meaningful places - ‘he leaves the US to stay with a college friend in Berlin. He learns about other young men who have gone on the same journey, like Siddhartha, which he studies with a philosophy student in the commune. He also finds his first romance with an older, but beautiful Frenchwoman in the commune. In the meantime, Jack's friend, an avid cyclist, talks him into buying a BMW motorcycle. But things fall apart at the commune and Jack has to use his bike to escape West Berlin and winds up taking a 4000km journey through Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Greece. By the time he gets to Aherns he has picked up some friends on the road, but he is drawn to the island of Crete where he feels he has a mystical destiny awaiting him.’ Returning to the US and after a year to remember, Higgins states, ‘So I drove into the future and let the past fade in the rearview mirror.’ Tim Scott has created an Everyman with whom we can all identify - the mark of a fine novel that is a promising beginning for Tim Scott! Highly recommended ( )

Driving Toward Destiny: A Novel by Tim Scott is an engaging story about a young man at a crossroads in his life. Fresh out of college, Jack is frustrated with his life. The year is 1972 and unfortunately, the draft is happening, much to Jake's dismay. He makes a life-changing decision, one that will change his life and his thinking. He moves to Berlin, stays with an old friend, and soon buys a motorcycle. When things go bad where he is staying, he takes to the road and finally experiences his life firsthand, the way that envisioned. This is a down-to-earth novel and shows how sometimes there needs to be a radical change in your life in order to fulfill your dreams. A solid read and recommended. ( )