Jonathan Livingston Seagull (Richard Bach)

Before talking about this book, let me tell you how I stumble upon reading this book. Well, this is the favorite book of my sport Icon Rahul Dravid & hence must read for me :)

This book is a fictional story of a seagull named by name of book. Jonathan seagull happen to be different than all others in the flock of gulls. In contrast to others, gull Jonathan believed in flying for the expression of freedom & not just as a necessity in process of getting food for survival. He strongly wants to fly high to enjoy it expressing freedom & perfect it attaining higher speed through hours of practice. Other older gulls in flock & his parents try to persuade him from this strange desire of flying; saying it is just a waste of time & energy. But upon refusal of Jonathan to stop practising fly higher at speed, he is outcasted of the flock. Determined Jon decide to continue with his love of flying & reach another zone above cliffs, where he happen to meet other gulls like him, who help him learn all the craft of flying at higher altitude & speed.

Author Richard Bach being a retired fighter pilot made me fill like; storyline is somehow relating to the trainees, instructor & training regime at flying academy, as he has detailed flying technically with speed, altitude, stall, curve etc.

Without revealing whole story here, I must say it's an inspiring story of rebel gull Jonathan, who dare to fullfill his extraordinary desire with all the necessary hardwork, discipline & perseverance, even after being outcasted. This inspirational story talks about limitless ability of trying & hardwork. Also it makes us believe, quest of excellence can be lonely & it's okay to be different looking beyond what crowd is doing & also expects us to do the same.

Originally the book was classified into 3 parts. Recently, part-4 is added with many pictures of gulls unnecessarily, adding no value to original book. The added contents dilute the original inspiring storytelling of strong desire, limitless efforts & giving back to society. I feel, skipping part-4 of this book will surely make your reading more impactful.