Making Wishes Into Reality

“If you will practice being fictional for a while, you will understand that fictional characters are sometimes more real than people with bodies and heartbeats.”—Richard Bach 

 Born in Illinois on this date in 1936, Bach authored some of the 1970s' biggest sellers, including Jonathan Livingston Seagull  (also made into a popular film) and Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah.   A renowned pilot and student of aviation who started flying at age 17, he has written numerous non-fiction flight-related titles.

A pilot in both the Naval Reserve and Air National Guard, he also served as a technical writer for Douglas Aircraft and a writer for Flying Magazine.  After mastering operation of World War I aircraft, he did a stint as a “Barnstormer” at numerous air shows and then was chosen as a stunt pilot for the movie Von Richthofen and Brown.  And he was the driving force behind a documentary film, Nothing by Chance, based on his book and centering on barnstorming in the U.S. during the 1970s.

     The author of 19 books – several of them interwoven through smaller “novellas” – Bach often writes from his own experiences and said that has been a key factor in his success.  

 “You are never given a wish,” Bach said,  “without also being given the power to make it come true.  You may have to work for it, however.”

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