Book Review: The Manual: A Guide To Achievement & Enlightment In The Urban Community
by James Bennett Jr.
Publication Date: Sep 25, 2012
List Price: $12.00
Format: Paperback, 98 pages
Classification: Nonfiction
ISBN13: 9781478157625
Imprint: CreateSpace
Publisher: On-Demand Publishing LLC
Parent Company: Amazon.com, Inc.
Read a Description of The Manual: A Guide To Achievement & Enlightment In The Urban Community
Book Reviewed by Robert Fleming
In a way, this book, The Manual: A Guide to Achievement & Enlightenment In
The Urban Community, was born when its author, James Bennett Jr., was arrested
on October 12, 2011 by the Lakeland, Florida Police Department and charged with
five felonies, including assault and battery on a police officer. Bennett, a
personal trainer at the Lakeland Family YMCA, claims he didn’t strike anyone on
that day but a possible sentence of 25 years in prison awaited him if convicted.
Unlike many young black people involved with the justice system, Bennett refuses
to submit the dismal stereotypes of inner city youth.
Instead, he, as a journalist, decided to start writing a book, mapping a path to
success using several of the goal-setting methods and business strategies of the
rich. Facing criminal charges, Bennett knew he had to rethink his plan not only
to survive but to thrive, especially since most bosses deemed him unemployable.
First, Bennett should be commended for not slipping into the usual pessimistic
attitudes of the young people dealt his bad hand. So many young black men have a
prison history and can’t get a break. He knew these felony counts were
“devastating and permanent” to a man his age, but he pushed forward as a
certified personal trainer for baby boomers
and later as a writer. He creates a five-year plan, step by step, using careful
preparation, persistence, execution of the goal, and practical evaluation.
Bennett, a keen observer, sums up his game plan to success through his revised
approach for achievement by writing this book and taking a less aggressive
stance to getting justice. To support his theories, he rounds up some of his
friends and associates to testify about choosing other roads out of poverty,
boosting the validity of the thesis of this self-help book. There is nothing
remarkable about what these pals say, but the fervor and intensity of their
statements ring quite true.
Despite the many setbacks of his life, Bennett credits his steadfast faith in
God in bringing him through the crisis in his hometown. He says his devotion has
taught some serious lessons in his journey to recovery and redemption. In the
author’s heartfelt words, he says: To everyone who reads my story, my hope is
that you will see how God can pick up a soul at its lowest point and lift it to
the furthest reaches of the sky. He requires only one thing. Acceptance of his
power.” (pp. 82)
One of the many benefits of the book, a useful reading list is included after
the optimistic testimony of friends and examples of Bennett’s stop-and-start
existence. You can tell a lot about his viewpoint from the authors influencing
his efforts, including books by
Dennis Kimbro,
Eckhart Tolle, Dale Carnegie,
Robert Greene, Steve Stoute,
Marcus Garvey and
Malcolm X.
What sticks with the reader from Bennett’s book is that this young black man
embraces his many problems without trying to shift blame to his family, his
community, or society. His writings seek to identify the obstacles and
challenges of his life and present them as a mirror for all of those
disfranchised black youth in a similar situation. This is the true
value of Bennett’s spiritual narrative against fear and doubt on the arduous
journey to success. That’s why this book deserves attention.