One day Jonathan meets two gulls who take him to a "higher plane of existence" in which there is no heaven, but a better world found through perfection of knowledge.
Now an outcast, he continues to learn, becoming increasingly pleased with his abilities while leading a peaceful and happy life. His increasing unwillingness to conform finally results in his expulsion from the flock.
Seized by a passion for flight, he pushes himself and learns everything he can about flying. The book tells the story of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, a seagull who is bored with daily squabbles over food.
Bach wrote it as a series of short stories that were published in Flying magazine in the late 1960s. Jonathan Livingston Seagull, written by American author Richard Bach and illustrated by Russell Munson, is a fable in novella form about a seagull who is trying to learn about life and flight, and a homily about self-perfection. His books include Illusions and Running from Safety.978-1-4767-9331-3 (2014 paperback edition) Richard Bach was a tactical fighter pilot, a motion picture stunt pilot, and flight instructor before becoming one of the world’s bestselling authors. ‘Richard Bach with this book does two things. The dreamy illustrations by Russell Munson provide just the right illustrations for this spirituality classic that has inspired thousands of readers to follow their own path in life and so fulfill their true potential.
By not compromising his higher vision, Jonathan learns the meaning of love and kindness and gets the ultimate payoff – transcendence. This bestselling modern classic is a fable about seeking a higher purpose in life, even if your flock, tribe or neighbourhood finds your ambition threatening (at one point our beloved gull is even banished from his flock). For this gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight.’ Flight is indeed the metaphor that makes this story soar. ‘For most gulls it is not flying that matters, but eating.
‘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. The complete edition of a timeless classic, includes the recently rediscovered Part Four and ‘Last Words’ by Richard Bach.Jonathan Livingston Seagull, the most celebrated inspirational fable of our time, tells the story of a bird determined to be more than ordinary.