Bach, Richard

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

"Most gulls don't bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight--how to get from shore to food and back again," writes author Richard Bach in this allegory about a unique bird named Jonathan Livingston Seagull. "For most gulls it is not flying that matters, but eating. For this gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight." Flight is indeed the metaphor that makes the story soar. Ultimately this is a fable about the importance of seeking a higher purpose in life, even if your flock, tribe, or neighborhood finds your ambition threatening. (At one point our beloved gull is even banished from his flock.) By not compromising his higher vision, Jonathan gets the ultimate payoff: transcendence. Ultimately, he learns the meaning of love and kindness. The dreamy seagull photographs by Russell Munson provide just the right illustrations--although the overall packaging does seem a bit dated (keep in mind that it was first published in 1970). Nonetheless, this is a spirituality classic, and an especially engaging parable for adolescents. --Gail Hudson

This is a story for people who follow their hearts and make their own rules...people who get special pleasure out of doing something well, even if only for themselves...people who know there's more to this living than meets the eye: they'll be right there with Jonathan, flying higher and faster than ever they dreamed.

Illusions

In the cloud-washed airspace between the cornfields of Illinois and blue infinity, a man puts his faith in the propeller of his biplane. For disillusioned writer and itinerant barnstormer Richard Bach, belief is as real as a full tank of gas and sparks firing in the cylinders...until he meets Donald Shimoda--former mechanic and self-described messiah who can make wrenches fly and Richard's imagination soar....

In Illusions, the unforgettable follow-up to his phenomenal bestseller Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach takes to the air to discover the ageless truths that give our souls wings: that people don't need airplanes to soar...that even the darkest clouds have meaning once we lift ourselves above them... and that messiahs can be found in the unlikeliest places--like hay fields, one-traffic-light midwestern towns, and most of all, deep within ourselves.

Messiah's Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul

Readers of Richard BachÂ’s Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, will recall that said messiah, Donald Shimoda, carried with him a small book entitled the MessiahÂ’s Handbook. According to Shimoda, all Bach had to do was, "Open it, and whatever you need to know is there." Now, decades after Illusions was first published, Bach has made the handbook available to all of us "advanced souls in training."

Rather than reading it cover-to-cover, Bach counsels us to close our eyes, focus on the question we want an answer to, then open the handbook at random, open our eyes and read whatÂ’s on the page. In this regard, MessiahÂ’s Handbook can be likened to a 21st century version of the I Ching or The Book of Runes, with the same appeal to readers who enjoys such works. Each page is composed of a single, thought-provoking aphorism.

As with all of BachÂ’s books, at the heart of MessiahÂ’s Handbook is his encouragement to his reader to follow the drumbeat of their dreams without compromise or apology, knowing that we can have what we desire so long as we believe we can. Used as directed, MessiahÂ’s Handbook is a delightfully insightful guide for making those dreams come true.--Larry Trivieri Jr.

In Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, Richard Bach met Donald Shimoda, a fellow pilot with the keys to the universe who barnstormed the Midwest in a Travel Air biplane. Part of Shimoda's secret was a small book, bound in a what looked like suede - Messiah's Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul. "Open it," he said, "and whatever you need to know is there." Lost for decades and rediscovered, here it is in print at last - reminders for those who have outgrown cynicism and doubt.

One

I gave my life to become the person I am right now. Was it worth it?

The Bridge Across Forever: A True Love Story

Bestselling author Richard Bach explores the meaning of fate and soul mates in this modern-day fairytale based on his real-life relationship with actor Leslie Parrish. "This is a story about a knight who was dying, and the princess who saved his life," Bach writes in his opening greeting. "It's a story about beauty and beasts and spells and fortresses, about death-powers that seem and life-powers that are." Yes, it is all that, and more. On the earthly plane this is about the riveting love affair between two fully human people who are willing to explore time travel and other dimensions together even as they grapple with the earthly struggles of intimacy, commitment, smothering, and whose turn it is to cook. Their love affair and happy ending inspired many enthusiastic fans. Years later, some of these fans were devastated to discover that this match made in heaven didn't manage to stick (the couple are no longer together). But in an Amazon interview, Bach explains that lovers don't have to stay married forever to be lifetime soul mates. Read this as a lesson about love's enchantments and possibilities, but don't count on this book to keep you and your mate on the bridge across forever. --Gail Hudson

More than one year on the New York Times bestseller list! Richard Bach's timeless and uplifting classic of hope and love

"We're the bridge across forever, arching above the sea, adventuring for our pleasure, living mysteries for the fun of it, choosing disasters triumphs challenges impossible odds, testing ourselves over and again, learning love and love and love!"

"The opposite of loneliness, it's not togetherness. It is intimacy."

"Look in a mirror and one thing's sure: what we see is not who we are."

"Next to God, love is the word most mangled in every language. The highest form of regard between two people is friendship, and when love enters, friendship dies."

"There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn what we need to learn; whatever steps we take, they're necessary to reach the places we've chosen to go."

There's No Such Place as Far Away

When she was about to turn five, a little girl named Rae Hansen invited Richard Bach to her birthday party. Though deserts, storms, mountains, and a thousand miles separated them, Rae was confident that her friend would appear. There's No Such Place As Far Away chronicles the exhilarating spiritual journey that delivered Rae's anxiously awaited guest to her side on that special day--and tells of the powerful and enduring gift that would keep him forever close to her heart.



Written with the same elegant simplicity that made Jonathan Livingston Seagull a bestselling phenomenon, There's No Such Place As Far Away has touched the hearts of thousands of readers since its first publication in 1979. Richard Bach's inspiring, now-classic tale is a profound reminder that miles cannot truly separate us from friends...that those we love are always with us--every moment of the infinite celebration we call life.

A Gift of Wings

Once in a generation a book, a vision, a writer, capture the imagination  and emotions of millions. Jonathan  Livingston Seagull was such a book. Richard Bach's unique vision again shines forth, touching with magic the drama of life in all its limitless horizons. Once again Richard Bach has written a masterpiece to help you touch that part of your home  that is the sky.

Running from Safety: An Adventure of the Spirit

A half-mile up, suspended by nylon wings and the promise of good lift, life hanges on a pledge.  Richard Bach made that pledge, fifty years before, to return to the frightened child he used to be and teach him everything he had learned from living.  His promise went unfulfilled until one day, hovering between earth and sky, Richard encounters Dickie Bach, age nine--irrepressible challenger of every notion Richard embraces....

In this exhilarating adventure, Richard and Dickie probe the timeless questions both need answered if either is to be whole: Why does growing spiritually mean never growing up? Can we peacefully coexist with the consequences of our choices? Why is it that only by running from safety can we make our wildest dreams take flight?

Mind-Reach: Scientists Look at Psychic Abilities (Studies in Consciousness)

Originally published by Delacorte (ISBN 0440056888, 1977, 70,000 sold), Mind-Reach is the book that led to the U. S. ArmyÂ’s psychic spy program and the subsequent prominence of remote viewing. The protocols that physicists Targ and Puthoff developed at the Stanford Research Institute are still in use today and have proven again and again in laboratory settings that psychic ability is universal. Targ is the author of three recent books with New World Library: Limitless Mind (ISBN 1577314131, 2004), The Heart of the Mind (ISBN 1577311566, 2000), and Miracles of Mind (ISBN 1577310977, 1999, 20,000 sold). Mind-Reach is the eleventh title in Hampton RoadsÂ’ Studies in Consciousness series.

Curious Lives: Adventures from the Ferret Chronicles

From the beloved bestselling author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull (Scribner, 1970), comes a single-volume edition of all five novels in The Ferret Chronicles—Air Ferrets Aloft, Rescue Ferrets at Sea, Writer Ferrets Chasing the Muse, Rancher Ferrets on the Range, and The Last War. These fables, originally published by Scribner, are action-packed tales about courage, sacrifice, heroism, creativity, and finding what matters most in life. Readers of all ages will delight in the adventures of Stormy, Monty, Budgeron, Shamrock, and Jasmine as they continue seeking "to fulfill their highest right" and try their best to help us humans too. Richard Bach is the author of Messiah’s Handbook (Hampton Roads,2004) as well as multiple bestsellers including Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Illusions (Doubleday, 1977).