Richard Bach was born June 23, 1936, in Oak Park, Illinois. He attended Long Beach State College for a year, and on October 15, 1957, he married Bette Jeanne Franks, with whom he had six children. The couple was divorced in 1971. Bach served in the Air Force as a pilot from 1956 to 1959 and again from 1961 to 1962. From 1961 until 1964 he was an associate editor of Flying magazine. He is currently a freelance writer, air-show pilot, and mechanic.

Until 1972, Richard Bach was the little-known author of three books in praise of flying and many articles in flying magazines. Then, with the fame of Jonathan Livingston Seagull he became a barnstorming author who spoke for popular consciousness. The cause of the change, Bach said, was a "voice" that he heard in 1959 that spoke the words "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" and then proceeded to dictate the book up to the point where Jonathan...