Editing Richard Bach (section)

==Literary career==
In 1963 Bach published his first book, ''Stranger to the Ground'', which describes a mission flight he undertook from [[Wethersfield, Essex|Wethersfield]], [[England]], to [[Chaumont, Haute-Marne|Chaumont]], [[France]]. It was favorably received by [[Martin Caidin]] in [[the New York Times Book Review|the New York Times]]<ref>Caidin, Martin. "[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/09/15/96237480.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 The World of the Cockpit]" ''The New York Times Book Review'', September 15, 1963, p. 18.</ref> and by Edmund Fuller in [[the Wall Street Journal]], and mixedly by Peter W. Brooks in the Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society.<ref>Brooks, Peter W. "[https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/aeronautical-journal/article/abs/stranger-to-the-groundrichard-bach-cassell-london-1964-178-pp-18s/2A6BC2625029CBF6F74639865E86FE1E Stranger to the Ground.Richard Bach. Cassell, London. 1964. 178 pp. 18s.]" ''Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society'', May 1964, p. 351.</ref> By 1972 it had sold 17,000 copies, making it the best-selling of Bach’s first three books.<ref>Walters Jr., Raymond. "[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1972/07/23/91337916.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 Seven Ways Not to Make a Best Seller]" ''The New York Times Book Review'', July 23, 1972, p. 4.</ref>

1970's ''[[Jonathan Livingston Seagull]]'', a story about a seagull who flew for the love and passion of flying rather than merely to catch food, was released by [[Macmillan Publishers]] after the manuscript was turned down by several others. It had first been published in ''Soaring'', the magazine of the Soaring Society of America. The book, which included photos of seagulls in flight by photographer Russell Munson, became a number-one [[bestseller]]. Containing fewer than 10,000 words, the book sold more than one million copies in 1972 alone.<ref>[http://www3.isrl.uiuc.edu/~unsworth/courses/bestsellers/search.cgi?title=Jonathan+Livingston+Seagull "Jonathan Livingston Seagull"]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060426205845/http://www3.isrl.uiuc.edu/~unsworth/courses/bestsellers/search.cgi?title=Jonathan+Livingston+Seagull |date=2006-04-26 }} ''20th-Century American Bestsellers''. Retrieved: December 11. 2015.</ref> The surprising success of the book was widely reported in the media in the early 1970s.<ref>Walters, Raymond, Jr. "Book Review: 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull'." ''The New York Times'', July 23, 1972, p. 43.</ref>

[[File:Von Richthofen LYNN GARRISON - DICK BACH.jpg|thumb|Bach (in leather coat) in front of [[Helio Courier]] G-ARMU used for ''Von Richthofen and Brown'' (1970)]]

In 1973, ''Jonathan Livingston Seagull'' was adapted into a [[Jonathan Livingston Seagull (film)|film of the same name]], produced by [[Paramount Pictures Corporation]], with a soundtrack by [[Neil Diamond]]. Bach then filed a lawsuit against producer/director [[Hall Bartlett]], alleging that Bartlett had destroyed Bach's screenplay for the film and that Bartlett had violated a clause in Bach's contract which stated that the film could not be released in theaters without Bach's approval.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1982&dat=19731011&id=zoBRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=oTMNAAAAIBAJ&pg=4871,2106784 "'Seagull' Author Sues". The Evening News. Vol. 12, no. 210. Newburgh, NY. Associated Press. 12 October 1973.]</ref> Associate producer [[Leslie Parrish]] was appointed to be a mediator between Bach and Bartlett, but the mediation failed. The lawsuit ended with the film being released in theaters with some changes made to the final cut, while Bach had his name removed from the film's screenwriting credits.<ref>[https://viavision.com.au/shop/jonathan-livingston-seagull-1973/ "Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1973) | Via Vision Entertainment - info relayed by Leslie Parrish for the Blu-ray commentary track".]</ref>

In 1975, Bach was the driving force behind ''[[Nothing by Chance (film)|Nothing by Chance]]'', a documentary film based on his book of the same name. The film centers on modern [[barnstorming]] around the United States in the 1970s. Bach recruited a group of his friends who were pilots to recreate the era of the barnstormer.<ref>Pendo 1985, p. 58.</ref>

The second novel, ''[[Illusions (Bach novel)|Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah]]'', published in 1977, tells of an encounter with a modern-day messiah who has decided to quit.

On August 31, 2012, Bach was injured in an aircraft landing accident on [[San Juan Island]] in [[Washington (state)|Washington]]. He was landing a 2008 Easton Gilbert G Searey (N346PE) that he had nicknamed ''Puff'' at a private airport when the landing gear clipped some power lines. He crashed upside down in a field about two miles from Friday Harbor, taking down two poles and sparking a small grass fire.<ref>[https://www.foxnews.com/us/author-richard-bach-injured-in-washington-plane-crash/ "Author Richard Bach injured in Washington plane crash"]. ''[[Fox News]]'', September 1, 2012. Retrieved: December 11, 2015.</ref>

The day after the accident, Bach was reported to be in serious but stable condition with a head injury and broken shoulder.<ref>Valdes, Manuel. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120903005042/http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/48871908#.UEJgUSIi4vs "'Jonathan Livingston Seagull' author crashes plane"].  ''[[MSNBC]]'' ([[Associated Press]]), September 1, 2012. Retrieved: December 11, 2015.</ref> Bach was hospitalized for four months. He reported that his [[near-death experience]] inspired him to finish the fourth part of ''Jonathan Livingston Seagull'', which had been originally published in three parts.<ref>Sullivan, Jennifer. [http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020173139_bachjenniferxml.html "Author Richard Bach, recovering from plane crash, returns to inspirational tale"]. ''Seattle Times'', January 17, 2013. Retrieved: December 11, 2015.</ref>

In December 2012, ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' reported that ''Travels with Puff'' had been sent to his publisher the day before his accident.<ref>Werris, Wendy. [http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/people/article/55167-despite-crash-new-bach-book-set-for-march.html "Despite crash, new Bach book set for March"]. ''Publishers Weekly'', December 14, 2012. Retrieved: December 11, 2015.</ref> ''Travels with Puff'' was released on March 19, 2013.

In 2014, Bach published his sequel to ''Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah'', which he called ''[[Illusions II: The Adventures of a Reluctant Student]]''. The book incorporates the story of Bach's real-life aircraft crash, with the author imagining he is being visited by the "messiah", Don Shimoda, who helps him through his difficult medical recovery.