[info] Conversion: 2 Feb 2012 Time: 2h Wiki: Jonathan Livingston Seagull pdf: http://kulichki.com/moshkow/RBACH/seagullengl.txt [/info]

<p>
  The book tells the story of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, a seagull who is
  bored with the daily squabbles over food. Seized by a passion for flight,
  he pushes himself, learning everything he can about flying, until finally
  his unwillingness to conform results in his expulsion from his flock. An
  outcast, he continues to learn, becoming increasingly pleased with his
  abilities as he leads an idyllic life.
</p>

<p>
  One day, Jonathan is met by two gulls who take him to a "higher plane of
  existence" in that there is no heaven but a better world found through
  perfection of knowledge, where he meets other gulls who love to fly. He
  discovers that his sheer tenacity and desire to learn make him "pretty
  well a one-in-a-million bird." Jonathan befriends the wisest gull in this
  new place, named Chiang, who takes him beyond his previous learning,
  teaching him how to move instantaneously to anywhere else in the
  Universe. The secret, Chiang says, is to "begin by knowing that you have
  already arrived." Not satisfied with his new life, Jonathan returns to
  Earth to find others like him, to bring them his learning and to spread
  his love for flight. His mission is successful, gathering around him
  others who have been outlawed for not conforming. Ultimately, the very
  first of his students, Fletcher Lynd Seagull, becomes a teacher in his
  own right and Jonathan leaves to teach other flocks.
</p>