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guardian.co.uk

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Wind, sand and stars

You probably know of Antoine de Saint-Exupery as the author of The Little Prince, but if you're like me you may not know much else about him. In Wind, sand and stars he tells the story of some of his life.

Saint-Exupery lived in the first half of the 20^th century. Born into the French aristocracy, he struggled to find any purpose to his life until he signed on as a pilot for one of the early airlines. Now you might think that after the pioneering aviators, the job of an airline pilot wouldn't be particularly adventurous, but remember that if anything went wrong they were often on their own. The book tells of occasions when things did go wrong, and he and his comrades dealt with such situations. One crashed in the Andes and walked for five days in the snow without food. Saint-Exupery himself faced days in the desert without food or water.

The last chapter tells of the an episode during the Spanish civil war, when the author was working as a reported, and he tells his thoughts on the real reasons why people go to fight and die in such conflicts. Overall the book gives a unique look at human capabilities and motivation.

Amazon.com info

Paperback 240 pages
ISBN: 0156027496
Salesrank: 23725
Weight:0.5 lbs

Published: 2002 Mariner Books

Amazon price $10.04

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Amazon.co.uk info

Paperback 144 pages
ISBN: 0141183195
Salesrank: 44755
Weight:0.26 lbs

Published: 2000 Penguin Classics

Amazon price £6.23

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Amazon.ca info

Paperback 144 pages
ISBN: 0141183195
Salesrank: 243017
Weight:0.26 lbs

Published: 2000 Penguin Classic

Amazon price CDN$ 12.40

Marketplace:New from CDN$ 4.77:Used from CDN$ 18.89

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Product Description

Recipient of the Grand Prix of the Académie Française, Wind, Sand and Stars captures the grandeur, danger, and isolation of flight. Its exciting account of air adventure, combined with lyrical prose and the spirit of a philosopher, makes it one of the most popular works ever written about flying. Translated by Lewis Galantière.

A mixed review ***

the first and last chapters were philosophical reviews of life (comparing the exciting aspects of flying which makes life seem so vibrant) against the mundane life of bureaucrats and peasants who live and die without seeing the world (as he does from the air). A line in the closing chapter is poignant: the infant that he is sitting next to has the potential to be anything and everything; but due to its parents and its probable future life, it wont ever realize its potential (they killed Mozart).

the second to last chapter is a number of stories of the war in Spain (Franco; remember this was written about the late 1920s to the 1930s), with people fighting; it's a social commentary on war from the perspective of life and death (and has NOTHING to do with flying). This is a very long chapter (50 pages out of a 229 page book) and I was disappointed because I was'nt into reading about this.

all the other chapters were of flying (and crashing, such as surviving in the desert), were good, and I wished there were more of them.

overall, its an uneven book because it covers more areas than just flying (or even flying from the perspective of life & death). As a recommendation, I could take it or leave it.

Fabulous adventure *****

After reading this thrilling autobiographical account of the authors adventures it is easy to understand why this book has been rated by National Geographic as one of the top 10 adventure books of all time. The reader is treated to a series of dangerous adventures including airplane crashes, desert survival in Libya, flying a mail plane above and through the Andes and Pyrenees mountain ranges, visiting inhospitable regions of Chili and Argentina, and observing up close the Spanish Civil War.

All the way through the book the author gives us his thoughts about men and mankind and what drives some to risk their lives for their beliefs, and how that impacts all of us.

A great read. Highly recommended.

Living defines Man *****

Faced with the absurdity of life, French existentialists threw their hands up in the air and gave up. They failed utterly to place man within the universe. Saint-Exupery lived through the same depressing times as did Sartre and Camus feeling just as lost as they did but he never gave up on living. Man defines himself by the act of living.

One of the most famous passages describes how Henri Guillaumet made his way out of the Andes after a plane crash. Walking several days and nights through the snow, he refuses to stop because he knows his comrades and his wife believe that if he lives, he walks. He fell once and accepted he would die buried in the falling snow. He got up so he could wedge himself on a rock and that way his body would be found in the spring. That way his wife would be able to collect the insurance money without having to wait the statutory seven years after a mere disappearance. When Guillaumet reached the rock, he simply continued walking. "What I did , no animal would have done." said Guillaument when found, broken but alive.

We read of young peasant girls bursting with joy at caring for a pet and of soldiers fighting because that is their trade, despite knowing war is futile and horrible. Later, when Saint-Ex relates his own crash in the middle of a desert, he goes on the same way Guillaumet went. Dying of thirst, he is not even tempted to use his gun to end his suffering. Living is its own end.

Vincent Poirier, Tokyo

This book is a #1 winner, a book that needs a comeback in our society today! *****

I absolutely felt lifted above the earth, into the French author's big world view of 1936, as he spoke of his adventures and thoughts about life from the vantage point of an early aviator. Please read this book!

Just Superb *****

A short review.
You can't walk away from this true adventure book without feeling great about mankind, its accomplishments and its future.
Every young man with a future ahead of him should read it (and any young woman who can stand a book without any female characters).
The prose is simply beautiful, and I never thought I would say that about any book. The translator deserves a prize.

A second shorter piece at the end talks about the authors experience in observing the 1930's Spanish Civil War, between the fascists and the nationalists / socialists.
Shorter, as emotional and more readable than Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" - it deals with the same civil war. The fascists won.

Simply Superb *****

I stumbled upon this book by chance whilst looking for desert related literature and such were the comments from previous reviewers I felt compelled to purchase a copy. I am so glad I followed that impulse as I found this little book an absolute gem.

On the face of it 'Wind, Sand and Stars' recounts some of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's adventures whilst serving as a pioneering airmail pilot crossing the Sahara and later the South Atlantic. If you venture beyond the rather slow start to the book your perseverance will be justly rewarded as it blossoms into a wonderfully intense almost poetic form incorporating not only the author's airborne adventures but also experiences from the Spanish Civil War and form his earlier life in France.

The description of his crash landing in the desert, and subsequent deliverance, details not just the terrible physical suffering he and his companion endured but also the powerful effect it had upon his spiritual being - a truly moving narrative.

This book is a wonderfullly thought provoking, perceptive and uplifting piece of literature and is highly recommended.

Breathless *****

Having read hundreds of Amazon book reviews over the years, and getting through a varied array of works along the way, Saint-Exupery's novel (this is my first) is the only one that has compelled me to jot down my thoughts, and more importantly, give my whole-hearted recommendation.

I think that the other reviewers have done a fine job in summing up the man, his work, and how it can relate to us all on some level. I put the book down on finishing it and went off to do some chore, my mind elevated to some stratosphere it had never entertained before. Having returned in the evening I immediately lifted it off the side and whizzed through it again. This is far from common in terms of my reading habits.

The last chapter 'Men' will leave the enlightened soul breathless with its observation and insight. In these failing economic times the pitch and resonance of Saint-Exupery's words remain strong.

This book is accessible, wondrous, and timeless. I cannot recommend this novel enough.

Very evocative, but watch the translation... ****

I assume Saint-Exupery wrote this in French and that explains the trouble I had starting this book.

10 pages in I seriously considered giving up on this book, so convoluted, flowery and stodgy was the prose, something I have done with less than 5 books ever.

That I didn't and give the book 4 stars is testament to chapter two and beyond, but be aware that you might have to persevere to get to the greatness of this book.

This MIGHT be down to translation into English and some versions may be easier to read than others.

The episode of the crash in the desert is a page turning thriller, though, and his experiences in Spain during the civil war are a diverting counterpoint to the rest of the book.

A great read, if you can get into it.

Just get it now stop messing around :) *****

With this book you will take away more than the sum of its words. I think I will read this again and again and hopefully pass it on to at least one person.

Crash landing in the Sahara desert...profound insight... *****

I know a man who sees beauty in everything around him - the expression on people's faces, the way the wind blows things round, in smells and everywhere else. For him too, "Wind, Sand and Stars" has been a guide his whole life.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery was one of the pioneers of flying aeroplanes, first with Aeropostale between France and Northern Africa, and later trans-Atlantic flights from South America. This book is a collection of wonderful tales and deep insights from that life.

In his time, aeroplane engines were far from reliable, and his experiences of crash landing in the Sahara desert, or the Chilean Andes, are astounding. Face to face with life and death, his mind has given birth to the most beautiful paragraphs of enlightened prose I have read.

[I am uncomfortable with the translation of William Rees. Maybe it is because I had read first an earlier translation by Lewis Galantiere (now unavailable). Galantiere had convinced de Saint-Exupery to include passages in the English version that had been left out of the French, and a few other changes. Maybe it is merely "familiarity breeds contempt", but I feel the Rees translation to be inferior. ]{****NOTE to AMAZON: this paragraph may be unsuitable as it refers to another edition.}

This book is my bible. The tenderness and beauty of his observations and view of what is essential is special. Fiercely exciting descriptive passages are blended perfectly with reflections and wisdom. This is my No.1 book of all time.

A classic of aviation and adventure literature *****

An absolutely brilliant work. Keep in mind that many of the bad reviews here were for a different version/translation of this book. This one is almost twice as long and sticks far better to the author's orginal work.

This collection of stories is the perfect bedtime reading. You can finish off each story in an hour or so and drift to sleep with dreams of adventure and travel. The author relates the early days of air travel, when the pilots were quite often taking their lives in their own hands each time they took flight. Crash landings in the Sahara were part of job, and rather commonplace for those daring pilots that dared to carry mail and supplies over the great desert.

The author writes in a simple and magical prose that carries all readers to the co-pilot seat on these amazing true adventures.

It is rare to find an individual who lived such an amazing life as Saint-Exupery, and rarer still to find one who could write about their experiences with such clarity, beauty and detail.

Highly recommended. A great treasure of literature.

For adolescent romantics *

Perhaps the translation was bad? After all, the book won a big prize in France. But for me the prose was pedestrian when not purple. The tone was basically puffery for being a pilot. This is the sort of book that would likely excite a schoolboy or girl who is full of romance for adventure. But not for the mature.

I loved it. *****

It was sometimes slow, sometimes pretentious and not a very long book at all. I don't really know what I liked about it...
It's just one of those warm fuzzy feeling books i guess.
A view of the world from an author who loved life and felt pity for those who couldn't. He was a good story teller. He had a childish romantic view of the world which is part of the charm.
I think if you can't identify with him, then you won't like the story.

Was Very Boring **

I thought the book was horrible cuz it was nothing that i thought was exciting and also cuz it was very hard to read i hated it but that is my opinion but everyone i asked said they thought the same thing i just said!!!

Wind, Sand & Stars *

I can't believe this book is rated so highly! I though it was awful and found the writing very boring. I would read several pages and completely forget what I just read. There were a few good parts, but every time the author would start to draw you in so you feel involved with a character he would stop and completely change subjects. Don't bother with this book. I would highly recommend "West With The Night" instead if you're interested in pilot stories of this era.