Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah

I've probably bought this book 20 times to give it away. Long before there was Amazon I was buying this. Short easy read, great story. You will become a Richard Bach fan.

Book arrived quickly and brand new. Admittedly, I am not a reader. It’s not that I don’t enjoy reading, but I have a lot on my plate. This is one of just a few books I’ve read on my own doing. In other words, I was forced to read some books in school back in the day, but I was never assigned this book to read. It was recommended to me by a friend that was also quite taken by this book. I’m now a middle aged man (old). Anyway,I read this book as a teen. It blew me away, actually. Not only did I read this, I read it multiple times…the only book in my life I’ve read multiple times. Although I haven’t read many books, this one is simply my all-time favorite. It left a very lasting impression on me. I have suggested this book to many of my friends and family. I believe I ended up giving this away to a friend at some point many years ago. Here I am years and years later and this book popped into my head completely out of the blue. I looked for it here on Amazon and I’m so glad I easily found it, and quickly ordered it. While I haven’t had time to sit down and begin reading this again, just the mere fact of having this wonderful story back in my possession is very exciting. Just seeing this books cover is exciting and takes me back to my younger self, and how blown away I was by it even as a crazy kid.😆 Needless to say, get this book!!! I highly recommend it. It’s a fantastic story, should touch your heart, and maybe leave a very lasting impression on you. Many many lessons in this story.

An excellent Pay it Forward gift. Lots to think about.

I have always been familiar with Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull, and I only picked this up during a Kindle sale wanting to check out some of the pilot-writer's other work. Without much surprise, Illusions is another philosophical deep dive into the transitory difficulty navigation of a world we make much too complicated. The germ for this story is in the title. Donald Shimoda is a messiah who has given up on the messiah lifestyle to become an anonymous pilot that gives rides to people in small farming communities for a few bucks. When he meets up with a writer-pilot named... Well, Richard Bach. The book becomes a simple fairy tale of a mentor-mentee relationship that transpires in the skies above, the water upon, and the earth below Illinois. As with Seagull, Bach’s breezy and optimistic prose carries us through their developing relationship, the curious nature of the enigmatic Shimoda, and the Siddarthan journey upon which we come to many conclusions about the true nature of the illusion of life itself. I enjoyed this book for the sheer joy and easygoing pace of a story told well and simply – something Bach and other writers of the nineteen-seventies were well known for. I certainly didn’t feel like I wasted my time on it, and while some aspects of the novel (much like Seagull) can be perhaps distilled down into core maxims and slogans that can be considered a bit too cheesy for some tastes, the many lessons that can be taken from his simple, impactful, deliberate prose can be quite striking if you’re able to scrape the saccharine glaze from... well... the cynicism that we all carry that his work effortlessly attempts to unburden us from. In this case, as is the case of Seagull, I think he is quite successful.

A great read for that young teenager starting to ask the biggest questions of all: Why are we here? It is not a manual instead it opens the imagination to possibilities. It is for any age but I first read it in high school and it had a positive effect on my life direction.

I've read Illusions easily 30 or more times. It's a book that should be on everyone's list. And, unless you are a religious zealot, you will surely find the book entertaining and stimulating. First of all, regardless of the message, the book is very well written and enjoyable. Moreover, it was written long before the "new age" trend and "dime-a-dozen" inspirational stories, so it's not written with the intent to sell you on a new self-help plan. In this story (as in most of his stories), Bach tries to enlighten readers that maybe life is not as complicated as is often thought. Everyday, from religion to politics, we are constantly presented with the message that life is difficult and you had better follow the highly complex set of rules that governs what you are, where you will go and how you had better get there. In Bach's story, however, the reluctant messiah learns a new perspective. Maybe, he comes to find, he already has the answers to his life, or at least the answers to how to pursue a good life... if he would just stop listening to his pre-conceived ideas of limit and complication. I highly suggest reading the book. I also highly suggest remembering the book is fiction! Think about the message and concepts. Instead of trying to "vaporize clouds," try maybe to vaporize some of your problems. And, instead of walking the world professing a new faith or perspective on "God" after being inspired by Bach's ideas, try instead to overcome one of your own, preconceived limits, or re-examine what you've been taught about the Having met Mr. Bach, hearing him speak and reading every one of his books multiple times, I can assure you he is a real person with real ideas. Moreover, I feel sure that he would agree, that he writes "stories" to help people expand their minds. Too often, his work is misinterpreted to be a "gospel." Instead, in my impression, he simply wants to share new ideas, or as he said, "when he get's an idea, it bothers him until he writes it an let's it go..." We as humans evolve not from one or two ideas, but from a lifetime of learning. Mr. Bach, in my opinion, is one of those highly insightful individuals who has inspired millions to look at life through a slightly different lens. Mr. Bach's Illusions is a fantastic journey - one of many - on the lifelong road of growing as a person. I hope you enjoy it!

I have bought this book many times to give us gifts. I find it uplifting and inspirational. My favorite quote from the book "what the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly."

I read this one when I was younger, and it impacted me so much that I used to carry around quotes from the book in my wallet. I suggest giving this to any boy or a girl in their late teens, as my father gave it to me when I was 17 and it really did impact me. In a good way.

Se tutti gli adolescenti potessero leggere questo libro sarebbero adulti più felici🩵

(Livre en Anglais) Colis arrivé en temps et en heure sans dégâts. D'une façon ou d'une autre ce livre change notre façon de penser ou de voir la vie. J'ai pris connaissance de se livre via une préface d'un autre auteur, il m'a tellement bien vendu le livre que j'étais obligé de l'acheter, et oui ça eu un très bon effet sur ma façon de voir la vie, un excellent livre que je recommande a tout le monde. Le livre est en anglais mais est très facile a lire.

Na minha opinião, um livro essencial de se ler, não importa se você gosta de estórias profundas ou superficiais. Ele é um convite à reflexão e à reavaliação de tudo o que somos. Quando o ler, imagine-se em cada personagem, por menos ou maior que seja, e repense tudo o que há de divino, mundano, altruísta, egoísta, intolerante, coexistente ou qualquer dicotomia de sua vida e dos seus conceitos. Para quem gosta de literatura densa, não a encontrará aqui, mas encontrará oportunidades mil de refletir sobre sua sabedoria corriqueira, quase de buteco, e essas ponderações podem te levar a grandes momentos de descoberta interior. Para quem não quer algo profundo é uma história muito bonita, sobre um estudante e suas aventuras com um messias que não quer mais cumprir o seu "destino".

Great detailing of messiah Shows indirectly what matters and what is real Illusions indeed if you don't understand what is purpose of life

And then again, and again, and again. There are high chances it will help you feel better, which is the ultimate purpose of this and every other book