Richard David Bach Biography and Works.

Born on June 23, 1936 in Oak Park, Illinois, Richard David Bach is an American writer. Widely known as the author of the hugely popular 1970s best-sellers, he has books like Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah to his credit.

His books advocate his philosophy that our apparent physical limits and mortality are merely appearance. Bach claims to be a direct descendant of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Richard is known for his love for flying and his books related to air flight and flying in a metaphorical context. He has pursued flying as a hobby since the age of 17.

Most of his books have been semi-autobiographical, where he used actual or fictionalized events from his life to illustrate his philosophy.

He has authored numerous works of fictions and non-fictions, including Illusions, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, One and Out of My Mind, etc.

He has also served in the United States Navy Reserve, later in the New Jersey Air National Guard’s 108th Fighter Wing, 141st Fighter Squadron (USAF) as an F-84F pilot.

He has also worked as a technical writer for Douglas Aircraft and contributing editor for the Flying magazine.

Most of his books involve flight in some way, from the early stories which are straightforwardly about flying aircraft to Stranger to the Ground, his first book, to his later works, in which he used flight as a philosophical metaphor.

Trivia

In 1973, the book was turned into a movie, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, produced by Paramount Pictures Corporation.