Richard Bach

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This article is about the author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull. For the pseudonym of Stephen King, see Richard Bachman.

Richard David Bach (b. June 23, 1936, Oak Park, Illinois) is an American writer. He is widely known as the author of the 1972 best-selling novel, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, and the movie based on the book. He is noted for his love of flying and for his books related to air flight and flying in a metaphorical context. He has pursued flying as a hobby since the age of 17.

Contents

[edit] Life and work

Richard Bach attended Long Beach State College in 1955. He has authored numerous works of fiction and nonfiction, including Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1970), Illusions (1977), One (1989), and Out of My Mind (1999). Most of his books have been semi-autobiographical, using actual or fictionalized events from his life to illustrate his philosophy.

He served in the Air Force Reserve as a pilot, and afterwards worked a variety of jobs. He later became a barnstormer. Most of his books involve flight in some way, from the early stories which are straightforwardly about flying aircraft to his later works in which he used flight as a philosophical metaphor. One of his greatest books that many pilots love is A Gift of Wings.[verification needed]

In 1972, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, a story about a seagull who flew for the sake of flying rather than merely to catch food, was published by Macmillan Publishers after the manuscript was turned down by many other publishers. The book, which included unique photos of seagulls in flight, became a number one best-seller on both the fiction and non-fiction lists. The book contained fewer than 10,000 words, yet it broke all hardcover sales records since Gone with the Wind. It sold more than 1,000,000 copies in 1972 alone.[1]The surprise success of the book was widely reported in the media in the early 1970s.[2]

In 1973, the book was turned into a movie produced by Paramount Pictures Corporation. The movie included a soundtrack by Neil Diamond.

A second book, Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, published in 1977, tells the story of the author's encounter with a modern-day messiah who has decided to quit.

Bach has retained a dedicated fan base throughout the years.[3] During the 1990s, Bach appeared online at Compuserve, where he answered e-mails personally. Bach was interviewed in April, 2005 on Conscious Talk Radio, and this interview was replayed a few times in 2006. Click here to download it.

Bach had six children with his first wife, Bette. They divorced in 1970. His son, Jonathan, is a journalist, who wrote a book about growing up without knowing his father, Richard; and then later meeting him as a college student. (Richard gave his approval; although he noted that it included some personal history he'd "rather not see in print").[4]

Bach married actress Leslie Parrish in 1977, during the making of the Jonathan Livingston Seagull movie.[5] She was a major element in two of his subsequent books — The Bridge Across Forever and One — which primarily focused on their relationship and Bach's concept of soulmates. They divorced in 1999.[6]

[edit] Philosophy

Bach espouses a consistent philosophy in his books: Our true nature is not bound by space or time, we are expressions of the Is (see: Non-duality), we are not truly born nor truly die, and we enter this world of Seems and Appearances for fun, learning, to share experiences with those we care for, to explore - and most of all to learn how to love and love again.[citation needed]

[edit] Books

[edit] References

  1. ^ 20th-Century American Bestsellers. Retrieved on September 9, 2006.
  2. ^ Walters, Raymond, Jr., New York Times Book Review, July 23, 1972, 43
  3. ^ The Christian Science Monitor (archive August 10, 2000) Accessed September 09, 2006
  4. ^ Bach, Jonathan, "Above the Clouds: A Reunion of Father and Son," (1993) ISBN 0-688-11760-0
  5. ^ Leslie Parrish (I) Biography. Retrieved on March 13, 2007.
  6. ^ State Of Oregon Board Of Accountancy meeting minutes,. State Of Oregon Board Of Accountancy (2003-05-19). Retrieved on March 15, 2007.

[edit] External links

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