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Smile UK Store - Jonathan Livingston Seagull: A Story
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List Price: £5.99
Our Price: £3.17
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780006490340
ISBN: 0006490344
Label: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Number Of Pages: 96
Publication Date: 1994-08-22
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Studio: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
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Editorial Reviews:
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"Most gulls don't bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight--how to get from shore to food and back again," writes author Richard Bach, in this allegory about a unique bird named Jonathan Livingston Seagull. "For most gulls it is not flying that matters, but eating. For this gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight." Flight is indeed the metaphor that makes the story soar. Ultimately this is a fable about the importance of seeking a higher purpose in life, even if your flock, tribe or neighbourhood finds your ambition threatening. (At one point our beloved gull is even banished from his flock.) By not compromising his higher vision, Jonathan gets the ultimate pay-off: transcendence. Ultimately, he learns the meaning of love and kindness. The dreamy seagull photographs by Russell Munson provide just the right illustrations--although the overall packaging does seem a bit dated (keep in mind that it was first published in 1970). Nonetheless, this is a spirituality classic and an especially engaging parable for adolescents. --Gail Hudson
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: dreams have no boundaries
Comment: I was given this book some years ago by a good friend - I have dipped into it so many times and yet each time I read it I never cease to see inspiration vitality and encouragement on each and every page - Bach has the ability to see beyond 'an everyday occurance' and is able to turn it into a magical and enthralling experience. If all of this sounds cheesy then so be it - It is the sort of book you either love or loathe - I have bought several of these little treasures and have given them to friends especially those who have been dealing with difficult situations.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Always an inspiration
Comment: Shunned by his flock, Jonathan Livingston lives and flies while they merely survive and eat. His story is a beacon to freethinkers everywhere. It never fails to cheer me up when I'm feeling down. If it doesn't do the same for you, please pass your copy on to the nearest maverick.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Really, really hated this book..
Comment: Yep, 'hated'. It's a very strong word and I being the pale-faced egalitarian liberal that I am, is one I rarely use.
At best it's self-help drivel that will make those with low self-esteem feel (briefly) better about themselves. At worst, it's dangerous right-wing elitist fiction masquerading as a children's allegory.
I have no problem with self-help drivel - I choose not to read it. I do have problems with books that try and pretend to be something else.
A friend sent me a copy of this book a few years ago, which I read in a few minutes and it left me literally shaking with anger. The memory of this book is still etched in my mind..
Burn every copy you find. ;-)
Customer Rating:
Summary: Is Johnathan the true son of the Great Gull?
Comment: A beautiful story that took 1 hour to read.Behind the words is the message that we are poweful beings whose thoughts are powerful and that we need to step away from the crowd and search for higher realms.
I much prefer Richard Bachs book illusions which is more profound.
The message that should be taken very seriously is that our thoughts are truely powerful,this is why the Law of Attraction is such a powerful force in our lives.
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Summary: A True Bond
Comment: This book is Richard Bach's finest work. A simple story told with complex texture, the bird symbolises the ineffable longings within humanity for a transcendental epiphany; a neon in the night of our stumblings; flash! I see! I hear! I fly! Valleys of failure and hills of hope are the topographic text through which the tale travels, and white-winged and wide are our stretchings towards self-actualization. This is a work of singular vision, aided by a slight editorial suggestion offered by his friend, Sean Connery. During a recent interview on 'Parkinson', Connery said, "Bach had just finished the final draft and we were sitting together on Brighton Pier, feeding bread to the gathering gulls. Hundreds of the wretched creatures, all squawking and pecking and flapping. It was like being in the centre of a feathery blizzard and we were covered in gull-goo and crumbs. Fearing for our lives and an exorbitant dry-cleaning bill, we decamped to the safety of a nearby bar. After a dozen or so fortifying flagons, Bach unwrapped the splattered manuscript and showed me the title. Something about it wasn't quite right, so I propped the stupefied scribbler back into his chair and said, 'Richie, sure the bird idea's got legs, but Jonathan Livingston TURKEY? When those flocking gulls disappear, take a stumble along the beach and see what else you can come up with.'"
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