The Wonder Within You

Review by Jenn Wright

Author: David Manners, edited by David Morgan Jones

Trafford, ISBN: 1412050138

Nonfiction

Many people may recognize the name David Manners from his days in Hollywood. While his acting career was relatively short (1930-1936), his work was indeed prodigious, with nearly forty films to his credit, including such artistic classics as Dracula, The Mummy, and The Millionaire. Unlike many big-name stars, however, David Manners left the life of monetary success and became rather an ascetic, spending the next half-century as “a metaphysician and philosopher,� plumbing the depths of his own soul for wisdom not only for himself but to share with others. His prolific and vulnerable writings on the soul, spirituality, and the self embrace teachings from Jesus Christ, Buddha, Lao-tzu, Emerson, and Rumi, among numerous others.

In recognition of the 75th anniversary of David Manners’ break into fame, David Morgan Jones has selected and organized a compilation of many of Manners’ journal writings, incorporating entries and letters spanning his entire lifetime. Included is a brief biography of the actor-philosopher, which traces the beginnings of Manners’ search for enlightenment from childhood through his reclusive adulthood. The book is then arranged somewhat topically, with reflections, musings, and excerpts from personal letters grouped by theme rather than by chronology.

Despite my foundational disagreements with Manners’ general concepts of enlightenment and the soul, I found his thinking and expression challenging and insightful. His observations regarding emotion, self-awareness, and Being may take some effort to grasp, but show serious contemplation and a definitive commitment to sharing his enlightenment with others.

It is perhaps this admirable commitment that leaves the reader feeling as if he is reading the same thought over and over, just expressed in a different way. While this is certainly helpful, as different people will connect with certain forms of expression more easily than others, it lends a certain sense of repetition to the compilation as a whole. This is not to belittle the existent wisdom and expression; it is more a recommendation for how to approach the book most effectively. Consider it best served as contemplative hors d’ouevres, most palatable when taken in small bits and savored, rather than making a meal of them and trying to digest them all at once.

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