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Richard Bach flew F-84F jets for the US Air Force reserve and was sent to France in 1960. His first book, Stranger to the Ground (1963), is a single night flight from Wethersfield in England to Chaumont in France. He then crossed the United States in a 1929 biplane and spent a summer barnstorming across the Midwest. Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1970), about a gull who practises flying for its own sake, had a first printing of 3,000 copies; in 1972 it reached No. 1 on the New York Times list and stayed there for 37 weeks. In 2012 he crashed his amphibian plane, Puff, landing on San Juan Island, Washington, and two years later published Illusions II. The ten writers below share his subject: flight, freedom, teachers who arrive at the right moment, and the idea that a life can be practised like a skill.
By Lisanne Swart · 10 authors · Spiritual fable · Flying · Updated October 2026
Quick answer
If you love Richard Bach, start with Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, a pilot whose The Little Prince (1943) is the other great fable written from a cockpit. For a seeker’s journey told as a parable, read Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist (1988), and for a teacher-and-student story like Illusions, Dan Millman’s Way of the Peaceful Warrior (1980). Further down is a journalist who thinks positive thinking does real harm.
10 authors like Richard Bach
Where to start if you loved Richard Bach
If you want flying as a way of life, read Wind, Sand and Stars.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s 1939 memoir of the early airmail routes is the classic of the pilot’s memoir.
If you want another fable to give a friend, read The Alchemist or The Prophet.
Paulo Coelho and Kahlil Gibran both wrote short books of wisdom that are read and reread like Jonathan Livingston Seagull.
If you want a student and an unusual teacher, read Way of the Peaceful Warrior.
Dan Millman’s 1980 book has the same shape as Illusions.
If you want the argument on the other side, read Bright-Sided.
Barbara Ehrenreich’s 2009 book questions the belief that thinking positively shapes what happens to you.
If you are new to Bach, start with Jonathan Livingston Seagull.
Then read Illusions (1977) and, for the pilot behind the fables, Stranger to the Ground (1963).
Frequently asked questions about authors like Richard Bach
Who writes like Richard Bach?
The closest matches are Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, a pilot who also wrote fables, Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist) and Dan Millman (Way of the Peaceful Warrior). Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet shares his form of a short book of a teacher’s wisdom.
What should I read after Jonathan Livingston Seagull?
Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince and Coelho’s The Alchemist are the nearest books by other writers. From Bach himself, read Illusions (1977) next.
Which Richard Bach book should I read first?
Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1970). It is short, and his later books build on its idea.
Is Richard Bach like Paulo Coelho?
Yes in form and subject: both write short parables about following an inner calling, and both reached readers who do not usually read fiction. Bach’s books grow out of his life as a pilot; Coelho’s out of pilgrimage and travel.
Is Illusions like Way of the Peaceful Warrior?
Yes. Both are first-person stories in which a young man is taught by an unconventional master, published three years apart, Illusions in 1977 and Millman’s book in 1980.
Does Richard Bach have a new book?
His most recent book is Life with My Guardian Angel (2018). His last novel, Illusions II, appeared in 2014, two years after his plane crash on San Juan Island.
Sources
- Richard Bach — Wikipedia
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry — Wikipedia
- Beryl Markham — Wikipedia
- Robert M. Pirsig — Wikipedia
List last reviewed 31 October 2026.
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