author
David V. (David Van) Bush
1882–1959
A prolific early self-help writer and lecturer, this former Congregational pastor wrote about willpower, silence, health, success, and everyday confidence in a direct, practical voice. His work sits at the crossroads of New Thought, popular psychology, and motivational writing in the early 20th century.
1 Audiobook
The Silence: What It Is and How To Use It
by David V. (David Van) Bush
About the author
Born in 1882, David V. Bush — David Van Bush — was an American author best known for practical psychology and self-improvement books. Library and public-domain catalog records connect him with works including Applied Psychology and Scientific Living, Will Power and Success, and The Silence: What It Is and How To Use It.
Bush also had a religious background. The State Historical Society of Missouri identifies him as Reverend David V. Bush and notes that he served at Memorial Congregational Church in St. Louis from 1917 to 1921. Alongside his church work, he built a wider career as a lecturer and writer whose books aimed to make ideas about success, health, and mental discipline feel useful in ordinary life.
His writing now reads as an early example of the American self-help tradition: energetic, encouraging, and strongly focused on the power of thought, habit, and self-command. He died in 1959.