Jonathan Livingston Seagull: The Complete Edition

(fade in from commercial)

Oprah Winfrey (O): My next guest is an icon, and a source of inspiration for millions! Please welcome Mr. Jonathan Livingston Seagull!

(audience cheers … seagull flies in from offstage, loops around over the audience, and then alights on the guest chair next to

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Oprah)

Jonathan Livingston Seagull (JLS): Thanks for having me Oprah. It’s great to be here.

O: The pleasure’s all mine! I'm a huge fan; your message of individualism inspires me. Please tell our viewers about your book.

JLS: It’s all about following your own beat; not just doing what's expected. As a young bird, I looked around at my peers catching fish and finding mates. That just wasn’t my scene! So I decided to make my own rules, Man! I taught myself how to fly 190 miles per hour! You should check it out, O, it’ll blow your mind!

O: YEAH! That sounds exciting!! I can see the audience wants to talk to you, so let’s not keep them waiting...

(looks around, then points)

You, the young man in the “Pornstar” t-shirt. What’s your question?

T-shirt guy: Dude! Mr. Seagull! You are so rad! I want to be just like you! You know how you fly 190mph? Well, I drive 190mph! I lost my license, but I’m not gonna let that stop me...

JLS: Hold up! Hold on there just a sec… I’ve been through this with my lawyer and publicist so many times…

(lecturing to the whole audience)

I just want to be clear here, for the record, that I am in no way advising or recommending that anybody do anything illegal.

Now you all heard me say that… right here in front of the camera.

That’s not what I’m about.

O: But then, there are some cases, like Nelson Mandela. He followed what he knew was right, and they threw him in jail for 23 years. But in the end, he was vindicated.

JLS: (shifting uneasily in his seat) Yeah, well… I don’t want to say anything without my lawyer. Twenty-three years is a very long time.

O: Oh, I see one of our viewers has written in on Facebook! ♥♥Missy1997♥♥ writes:
”Wzup J-Unit! UR so KoOl! :-) I M a fResHmaN at NOrThsIDe HiGhsChoOL (go TiGErShaRkS!!!!!!) My ParEntz wOn’T LeT mE daTe my BoyFriEND, BuRt, b-cauZ he’z 37. We JuST GotTa fOlLoW oUr oWn DRummER!!!
PlEEZ talk 2 TheM 4 Me! ThANkZ !!! Byeeeeeeeeeee!”
JLS: (more shifting) Er… well, sometimes, Missy, your parents just know things you don’t know.. from age and perspective… and you just have to do what they say. I wouldn’t fight them on this one.

O: (slowly nodding in agreement, with a disgusted look on her face) Yeah, Missy, don’t argue with your parents.

JLS: (trying to change the subject)
There’s a sweet old seagull in the back with her wing up!
What is your question, Ma’am?

Sweet Old Seagull (SOS): (in a frail, yet determined voice)
Mr. Livingston, my son injured his wing when he followed you and your crazy cult down to Paraguay. To this day, he cannot fly straight…

JLS: (cradling head between his wings)
Ugggh!!! Again with the Jonathantown!
That was thirty-five years ago!!! When are you people gonna give this a rest???

SOS: (shaking her wing at JLS)
…one hundred twenty-seven high-speed, mid-air collisions in the first day alone… followed by weeks of starvation, because not a one of you ever bothered to learn how to catch a fish…

JLS: THEY SHUT US DOWN!!!

(with a sweep of his wing) IT’S GONE!!!...

NO MORE JONATHANTOWN!!!...

ARE YOU HAPPY???...

YOU SHOULD BE HAPPY!!!

SOS: I am concerned about young birds today reading your book…

JLS: FINE!!!

(turns to the camera)

Listen, when I tell people to break the rules and part with convention, OF COURSE it’s a given that you should do it SAFELY!! I mean… safety first, right? Let’s use our heads out there! Nobody needs to get hurt!

(throws himself back in the chair, in frustration)

Isn’t anybody out there thinking about… like, quitting college and starting a software company?? You know? Like Bill Gates? I was kinda’ thinking these questions would be more like that.

(silence)

O: (in a consoling tone) This is a mid-afternoon show. I think most people like that are probably busy at work, or in school.

JLS: (softly) Oh.

Elderly Seagull (ES) in the audience: (waving his wings up in the air) Oooh! Ooooh!!! Mr. Fancypants Author!! Pick me!!!!

JLS: (looking out into the audience): Dad? What are you doing here?

ES: I have an important question for the Bigshot rule breaker.

JLS: (quizzical look on his face) Okay… what is it?

ES: I would like you to answer, here in front of all these nice people, why it is that I have a grown fifty-three year-old son, living downstairs in the basement, eating all my fish, because he never learned to catch any.

JLS: I was developing my high-speed flying techniques! I didn’t hear you complaining when they first published my book!

ES: One book! You write one book. They give you a hundred fish. Then, for forty years...NOTHING!

JLS: Look, Pop, this was never about the fish!

ES: (gesturing towards the door) Your Mother is out there, right now as we speak, catching fish for you to eat tonight! Arthritis in both wings! She should be home, resting! Should I run out there right now and tell her?? ”You can stop now, Bernice! Johnny says ‘It’s not about the fish!’”

JLS: I don’t have to sit here and take this!
(flies off stage)

O: (starts clapping, gestures to the audience) A big hand everybody! That was Mr. Jonathan Livingston Seagull!!

(turning to the camera) You heard it here, folks! Don't conform to society's rules! Follow you heart, and make your dreams come true! ... but don't break any laws! ... and remember: safety first!

Also, kids: do what your parents say, without a lot of backtalk!

Oh, and if your heart's desire could include something marketable, like computers, that would be good.

We'll be right back after this commercial break!
(fade)

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This book is a response to the flawed and disappointing underbelly of humanity, revealed for Bach in Vietnam, the Kennedy assassination, the battles for Civil Rights and Feminism, and the Sexual Revolution. Unfortunately, it is not a work which embraces or explores those changes, but seeks to

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escape the conflicts surrounding them.

Perhaps it should be unsurprising that the author would want to escape the everyday anxieties which marked the changing world. Certainly, there is a sort of optimism in Jonathan Livingston Seagull, though it is merely the sort you get when you take ancient and complex philosophy and distill it down into meaningless fluff. It is from this feel-good denial that the whole New Age movement springs, giving hope without guidance, and offering self-help for our self loathing.

The surface of the pond seems calm and tamed from afar. The ripples almost insensible. It is tempting to hope that the whirling eddies of hate, the tumult of inequality, and the maelstroms of fear do not persist beneath it. We shall someday find, when we must navigate Scylla and Charybdis, whether we have melted down our statues and our cannons both to build a monument to those who will be lost.

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My rating is zero, because this book was putrid. I took it seriously when I was 16, but that was part of adolescence. It was an exploitative, cynical product, marketed to people who wanted to be known as sensitive and concerned with beauty, and to feel good about their taste. It was kitsch.

This book didn't change my life.

(SPOILERS?) So there's a seagull, and he likes racing. He finds ways to go as fast as possible. He dies. Or maybe not. Am I right so far?

I'm not the quickest at spotting allegory, but I'm sure there's a life affirming message somewhere in this story. I just can't

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figure out what it is.

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It starts out very promising, with a thinking individual cast out from a narrow-minded group. The rest is too biblical for me, with its "afterlives", each one more "perfect" than the preceding one (much like the final Narnia book), the comparison of flight with "salvation", and the teachers

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spreading the word of "faith" among their "disciples". Perhaps it could be viewed just as belief in one self, but to me it was in-your-face religious.

Didn't like it, mostly just got annoyed by it. Also, the Finnish translation had poor language.

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I read this when I was a teenager many moons ago growing up in foster care. Wanting to be "free" as Jonathan I definitely could relate..... Always will be a favorite of mine.

Enjoyable and thought provoking on my first read. I'll probably come back to it at some point. A fable, open to a few different interpretations.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is not like the others of his Flock, he does not care for shrieking and fighting for every breadcrumb from the fishing boats, but rather spends his time learning more about and perfecting his flight. Inspirational? Yes. Banal? I do not think so. I remember I liked the

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book as a kid, and now reading it to my son I still found it enjoyable. The book has received a lot of bad reviews and critiques for being shallow and too simple. Of course self-improvement and following one's passion are not the only values in life, but they are still important concepts, and any way the story also focuses e.g. on helping others. And Jonathan's passion - flight - even has practical applications. Some passages may appear with a religious tone, butI think the book has more in common with fantasy, perhaps because there is no subordination to a god, just some fantastical elements.

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It's a decent story, but at the same time I wanted to slam my head against the table at how hard this book was ramming the religious allegory down my throat.

I vacillated between finding Jonathan Livingstone Seagull banal in the simplicity of its message and inspired. Although it definitely has flaws, I've eventually decided it's more inspired than insipid.

The first part of the book has some good writing about Jonathan's love of flying, but also some

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very trite sentiments about being the best you can be. It sometimes reads like the slogans on those awful motivational posters, or the jingles from men's toiletry product adverts. BUT the message is undeniable a valid and worthy one.

The second and third parts, in which Bach develops his themes of personal freedom and loving kindness, I found both more effective and better written. There are clear parallels with the Christ story, and also with Buddhist bodhisattvas, which gives the book some depth beneath the surface triteness.

I had this book for about 25 years before reading it and I'm sorry it took me that long to get to it - I will be reading it again soon, as I have a feeling that it's a book that will grow with re-reading.

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Inspirational, simple and beautiful. Maybe growing up on a beach helps - I find this evocative and full of love.

Waited 50 (!) years to read this book and it didn't really hold up. In junior high, I remember this book was EVERYWHERE. Everyone read it, raved about it. I was curious, but never got around to it. Well, all I can say is that the reader for this book is probably a 5th or 6th grader, maybe even

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younger. I don't understand how it got on the NYT best seller list. The story itself is not horrible, a kind of philosophical fable -- about a seagull who learns he can do anything, if he believes in himself. The problem is that this booklet (it is very short) was taken as some kind of revelation about life. Yikes. I also felt that the black and white photographs that "illustrate" the book are terrible. They add nothing to the story, and are just not very well done. If it had been illustrated by an actual artist, it might have been a really nice kid's book.

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Seagull reaches beyond his role in life, strives for excellence

I could probably read this 10 times and realize 10 different lessons.

One of the most influential books I have ever read. So much of my personal philosophy is tied up in the words of Richard Bach. If you dig JLS be sure to read the much more verbose novel, One (the diary of a Reluctant Messiah). One makes many of the ideas in JLS much clearer, but loses some of the

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poetic sense. JLS is the parable, One is the Users Manual.
BTW, JLS is one of the VERY few books I own that I have ever read more than once, and I have in fact read it hundreds of times. It is very short and makes a pleasant afternoon's read. I still have my original copy, although it now lives in a plastic bag as the glue binding is totally shot.
I understand a movie was made of JLS, with soundtrack by Neil Diamond. I used to have a cassette of the soundtrack, but apparently the movie was never released. What a loss!

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An exquisite story of a dream persued and realized against all the odds. An inspiring read, a beautifully presented book (and an excellent film and sound track).

The best way to read this book is while lying on a sunny, warm ocean beach when young and idealistic, as I was when I first read this book in the early 1970's. If that is not possible, open your mind and this book will probably transport you there.

When I read this book, I feel like I can do anything. And the soundtrack by Neil Diamond is awesome. The movie was released by the way. I heard someone say, it was about a seagull. Too bad some people just never learn to fly.

This is a great alagory. I read it in english class last year and loved it. YOu really have to think about It's meaning ,but every time something comes to you you get that rush of discovery. I have a quote from this book thumtacked to my wall.

Great book, enjoyed the pictures throughout and the story of striving for perfection. I read this one sitting on a 70's armchair in the sun and I would strongly recommend the experience. I think depending on the mood you are in you could find this cheesy or too happy go lucky but if you are feeling

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a little illuminated at the time I think this is a great one to maintain your mood.

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Jonathan Livingston Seagull was not like any other seagull. He did not fly for survival, instead he used it for experimenting and having fun. Eventually, the other seagulls called him an outcast and had nothing to do with him. I then think he went to a heaven for seagulls who are called outcasts

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and trains with the best. He then learns that he is a good flyer and becomes the trainer for future outcast flyers.
I would recommend this book to anyone. It is easy to read and has some photographs that children ould enjoy. This book is inspirational to use all. We all have these people who think we are a disgrace to their name. So they would abandon you, but you have to learn that it is your life and there are others like you. You just need to find them.

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You should read this book at least twice, once as a seagull and once as yourself. As always Richard Bach allows his inner wisdom to shine through to inspire all who read his wonderful books, after all life is what we make it!

loved this when i was about twelve i guess,maybe younger. may have changed my life, probably did.

A great little read. The inspirational story of a bird who learns to trust his instincts and break away from society's conventions to discover his true self. Enjoy reading about Jonathan's journey from timid flock member to wise teacher of avian outcasts. It is easy to relate to Jonathan's tale and

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gather inspiration we can all use in our own lives.

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