Order of Book Series
0

Richard Bach Books in Order

Richard Bach has written 25 books, published between 1963 and 2018. The first book is Stranger to the Ground (1963) and the newest is Life with My Guardian Angel (2018). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
25
Published
1963–2018
Pages on record
4,669 in 23 of 25 books
Reading time
78–117 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,669 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 23 of 25 titles with a page count on record.

See all 25 books in order Printable Richard Bach checklist
Photo of Richard Bach, author

Richard Bach is an American author whose books circle flight. The catalogue holds 25 titles dated 1963 to 2018, opening with Stranger to the Ground (1963) and Biplane (1966), and grouped into an Aviation set, the Illusions books and the Ferret Chronicles. Jonathan Livingston Seagull, from 1970, ranked among the largest sellers of its decade, and so did Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, published in 1977. Air pilots, ferrets, space and time, and metaphysical fantasy are the catalogued subjects. Much of the work is semi-autobiographical, and Bach has flown as a hobby since the age of 17. Life with My Guardian Angel (2018) is the last catalogued title.

How many Richard Bach books are there?

Richard Bach has 25 books, released between 1963 and 2018. They include 3 series and 14 titles listed outside any series.

Richard Bach Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 25 Richard Bach books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Stranger to the Ground by Richard Bach, book 1 of the Aviation series (1963)
  2. Cover of Biplane by Richard Bach, book 2 of the Aviation series (1966)
  3. Cover of Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach (1970)
  4. Cover of A Gift of Wings by Richard Bach (1974)
  5. Cover of Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach, book 1 of the Illusions series (1977)
  6. Cover of There's No Such Place As Far Away by Richard Bach (1979)
  7. Cover of The Bridge Across Forever: A True Love Story by Richard Bach (1982)
  8. Cover of One by Richard Bach (1988)
  9. Cover of Running from Safety by Richard Bach (1994)
  10. Cover of Out of My Mind: The Discovery of Saunders-Vixen by Richard Bach (1999)
  11. Cover of Rescue Ferrets at Sea by Richard Bach, book 1 of the Ferret Chronicles (2002)
  12. Cover of Air Ferrets Aloft by Richard Bach, book 2 of the Ferret Chronicles (2002)
  13. Cover of Writer Ferrets Chasing the Muse by Richard Bach, book 3 of the Ferret Chronicles (2002)
  14. Cover of Rancher Ferrets on the Range by Richard Bach, book 4 of the Ferret Chronicles (2003)
  15. Cover of The Last War by Richard Bach, book 5 of the Ferret Chronicles (2003)
  16. Cover of Messiah's Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul by Richard Bach (2004)
  17. Cover of Curious Lives by Richard Bach, book 6 of the Ferret Chronicles (2005)
  18. Cover of Hypnotizing Maria by Richard Bach (2009)
  19. Cover of Thank Your Wicked Parents by Richard Bach (2012)
  20. Cover of Illusions II: The Adventures of a Reluctant Student by Richard Bach, book 2 of the Illusions series (2013)
  21. Cover of Travels with Puff: A Gentle Game of Life and Death by Richard Bach (2013)
  22. Cover of Life with My Guardian Angel by Richard Bach (2018)
  1. 1
    Stranger to the GroundAviation #11963 · 178 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1963178
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    BiplaneAviation #21966 · 176 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1966176
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Jonathan Livingston Seagull1970 · 112 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1970112
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    A Gift of Wings1974 · 299 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1974299
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Nothing by ChanceAviation #31974 · 223 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1974223
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant MessiahIllusions #11977 · 144 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1977144
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    There's No Such Place As Far Away1979 · 48 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197948
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Bridge Across Forever: A True Love Story1982 · 400 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1982400
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Three Books1988 · confirmed 1/4
    1988–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    One1988 · 320 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1988320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Running from Safety1994 · 346 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1994346
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Out of My Mind: The Discovery of Saunders-Vixen1999 · 101 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999101
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Rescue Ferrets at SeaFerret Chronicles #12002 · 138 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002138
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Air Ferrets AloftFerret Chronicles #22002 · 139 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002139
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Writer Ferrets Chasing the MuseFerret Chronicles #32002 · 189 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002189
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Rancher Ferrets on the RangeFerret Chronicles #42003 · 143 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2003143
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Last WarFerret Chronicles #52003 · 136 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2003136
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Messiah's Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul2004 · confirmed 1/4
    2004–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Curious LivesFerret Chronicles #62005 · 371 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2005371
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Hypnotizing Maria2009 · 154 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2009154
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Thank Your Wicked Parents2012 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2012128
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Illusions II: The Adventures of a Reluctant StudentIllusions #22013 · 148 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2013148
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Travels with Puff: A Gentle Game of Life and Death2013 · 222 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2013222
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Part-Time Angels2015 · 426 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2015426
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    Life with My Guardian Angel2018 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2018128
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Richard Bach books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Ferret Chronicles in order

6 books
  1. 1. Rescue Ferrets at Sea
  2. 2. Air Ferrets Aloft
  3. 3. Writer Ferrets Chasing the Muse
  4. 4. Rancher Ferrets on the Range
  5. 5. The Last War
  6. 6. Curious Lives

Aviation in order

3 books
  1. 1. Stranger to the Ground
  2. 2. Biplane
  3. 3. Nothing by Chance

Illusions in order

2 books
  1. 1. Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah
  2. 2. Illusions II: The Adventures of a Reluctant Student

Standalone books

14 books

14 Richard Bach titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Richard Bach books in order?

You only need to read Richard Bach books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Richard Bach

Start with Stranger to the Ground (1963), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Richard Bach book?

Life with My Guardian Angel (2018) is the newest Richard Bach book released so far.

Is there a new Richard Bach book coming?

No next Richard Bach book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Richard Bach at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Richard Bach title on record dates from 2018, 8 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Richard Bach books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
4,669 pages across the 23 of 25 books with a recorded length, a median of 154 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Richard Bach books, 8 of 25, were published in the 2000s.

What the Richard Bach books are about

20 of the 25 Richard Bach books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: air pilots is tagged on 7 of 20. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.