You don't love hatred and evil, of course. You have to practice and see the real gull, the good in every one of them, and to help them see it in themselves. That's what I mean by love.

Bach has retained a dedicated fan base throughout the years. Their son Jonathan is a software engineer and journalist who wrote Above the Clouds about growing up without knowing his father Richard and then later meeting him as a college student. Bach married his third wife Sabryna Nelson-Alexopoulos in April 1999.

He is widely known as the author of the hugely popular 1970s best-sellers Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah among others. He has pursued flying as a hobby since the age of 17.