richard bach biography

born: june 23, 1936

richard bach is an american writer. 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.

bach was born in oak park, illinois to roland robert and ruth helen (shaw) bach; he is a distant
descendant of composer johann sebastian bach. he attended long beach state college (now
california state university, long beach) in 1955.

bach was once an air force reserve pilot, and he later became a barnstormer. nearly all of his
books involve flight in some way, from the early stories which are straightforwardly about
flying aircraft to his later works in which flight is a complex philosophical metaphor. bach had a
huge success with jonathan livingston seagull, a fable about a seagull who flew for the sake of
flying rather than merely to catch food. though his later books have not matched its
popularity, his work has retained a dedicated fan base.

many of his later books contain new age philosophy and wisdom.

bach appeared online in the early 1990s in a section of his own at compuserve, and answered
all e-mails personally until he received too many to deal with. he also had his own website,
which has since disappeared.

bach had six children with his first wife. his second wife was actress leslie parrish, whom he
met during the shooting of the movie jonathan livingston seagull in 1973 and married in 1981;
his book the bridge across forever is based on their courtship. they are now divorced.

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books

stranger to the ground (1963)

biplane (1966)
nothing by chance (1969)
jonathan livingston seagull (1970)
a gift of wings (1974)
there's no such place as far away (1976)
illusions (1977)
the bridge across forever (1984)
one (1988)
running from safety (1994)
out of my mind (1999)
the ferret chronicles: air ferrets aloft (2002) rescue ferrets at sea (2002)
writer ferrets: chasing the muse (2002) rancher ferrets on the range (2003)
the last war: detective ferrets and the case of the golden deed (2003)
curious lives: adventures from the ferret chronicles (oct. 2005. one-volume
edition of previous books)
flying (2003)
messiah's handbook (2004)