"David Charles Manners is an inspiring writer and speaker, and I heartily recommend seizing the chance to hear him read, or better still to meet him at one of his book signings. Intelligent and generous, cosmopolitan and compassionate, and an unrepentant polyglot and xenophile, Mr. Manners has led and is leading a big life. Disinclined to squander opportunity, his appetite for experience, as well as his humour and big-heartedness, are palpable on every page of In the Shadow of Crows. Having spent the better part of a quarter century interviewing people, mostly for CBC Radio, I have been on the fortunate receiving end of many, many personal and remarkable stories, and his is one I will always remember. Read him. Meet him. It will be time well spent."

Bill Richardson, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, broadcaster & author

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"An extraordinary story of courage and transformation"

Indigo Books

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"A journey into another world that tells a story which is at once accomplished, intriguing and moving"

Gilda O’Neill, author of Sunday Times Best Seller My East End

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"Highlights with compassion an Indo-British connection that has always been swept out of sight"

Chandralekha Mehta, author of Freedom’s Child

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"Une histoire ... écrit avec une candeur et honnêteté rare ... une histoire très touchante ... un livre que j'ai lu avec beaucoup, beaucoup d'intêret."
["A story ... written with rare candor and honesty ... a very touching story ... a book I read with very much interest."]

Line Boily, Radio Canada

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"I was so moved by this extraordinary story, and by the spiritual strength of the rejected people it describes. We have material wealth but are lost: they have nothing and are found"

Dame Felicity Lott, CBE

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"This is storytelling that touches the heart, a much-needed reminder in this time of fragmentation that it is only through our connecting with each other that we can fully realise our humanity"

Manjari Mehta, Anthropologist

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"Very moving and well written ... 'In the Shadow of Crows' was a book that I found hard to put down. I learned."

Brian Doyle, Author

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"A volume to provoke true soul-searching ... a must read"

Professor Dhirendra Sharma, Editor of Philosophy & Social Action,
Convener of Concerned Scientists & Philosophers, India

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"I have just finished your incredible book. I so identified with many of the experiences you write about with such clarity and sensitivity – it is an excellent, excellent portrayal of the dire life leprosy-affected people continue to lead ... I am greatly moved by your ability to convey the hope, despair, joy & wisdom that you so vividly write about."
Dr. Margaret Burgess, London School of Tropical Medicine

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"I couldn’t put it down: quite amazing & moving & giving one hope – & humility ... I shall recommend the book to as many as I can: an account of lives & courage I shall never forget. Thank you."

Dame Felicity Palmer, CBE

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"[‘In the Shadow of Crows’] is really quite moving and he's a spectacular storyteller."

Patricia Gift, Director of Acquisitions, Hay House, New York

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"In person and in his writing [David Manners] possesses a kind of Edwardian earnestness that reminded me a little of E.M. Forster ... The last chapters are a catalogue of squalor and anguish that possess a rare and, perversely, uplifting spirituality. In the Shadow of Crows is a tough read, but it is one of those books that will linger in the mind for a very long time."

David Gee, writer

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"Two extraordinary life stories collide in India in this remarkable true account."

Cosis, online community for scientists for the exchange of information

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"It's brilliant."

Michael Davies, film director

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"Beautifully written"

Telegraph Magazine - Gus Christie, Chairman of Glyndebourne Opera

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"Wonderful philosophy"

BBC Radio 5 Live - Rod Sharp