Customer Reviews

Flight to Arras

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I bought this book on a wet Cornish holiday in '63 because it had a crude scrawl of an aeroplane on the cover, and I like flight. I little dreamed that by pure chance I had picked up a masterpiece, but I had. St. Exupery was one of those superb freaks that - all too infrequently - nature can produce: a man of action with the mind of a philospher and the soul of a poet, with the ability to express them all with lucid clarity.

He was said to be a terrible pilot, and intellectuals will pooh-pooh his 'metaphysics'. Forget that. When he disappeared, flying reconnaisance over the Med. during the war, we more normal mortals lost a marvellous example of how fine humans can be when given the chance, and humanity lost one of its graces. He was only forty or so, and had he lived he would have been recognised as one of the greats both of literature and of cultivated thought. As it is we have only these few little jewels of books by which we can appreciate his qualities and perhaps realise that we, too, can be so much better than we are.

'Flight to Arrass' is an account of a reconnaisance flight over occupied France, probably based on his personal experience, first at high altitude, then lethally low. In this extraordinary pilot-writer's mind, potential sudden death becomes transmuted into a magical account of memories which provide beauty, humour and wisdom, and his extraordinary ability as a writer puts you in the pilot's seat as you have never been before. You live with him the peril of being there, and you enter the wonderful world of his mentality in his detached response to terror and imminent abrupt extinction. All his books give you immediate access to a world of experiences which you otherwise will never meet, seen through eyes of unique maturity and intelligence.

Listen, in the same way that flowers are their own best advertisement, St. Ex's books are their own best recommendation. For me, 'Flight to Arrass' is one of his best, and it will cost you less than a cheap lunch. You owe yourself contact with this better example of humanity. The work of the translator in the case of St. Ex. is also as near perfection as you will find - A pleasure to read. If you have not read any of his books, then lucky you, in that this magical world as seen through his eyes is waiting all fresh for your discovery. Don't wait. Buy it now. I recommend it to you.

This is an intellectually emotional musing of a pilot while on a reconnaisance mission in the midst of the hopeless Battle of France in the summer of 1940. Do not expect graphic descriptions of air combat, for only one eventful, though dangerous mission was told, interspersed by Saint-Ex's recollection of the human virtues and the war itself.

In this work he delves with clear logic about life and the meaning of life, of loyalty, love of country, the meaning and feeling of facing mortal danger while looking through his life in one slow kaleidoscope.

It is easy to see the prevailing athmosphere of defeatism that have enveloped France, and his writing was no exception, though justified. France cannot go it alone, with its 40 million against the 80 million (population) across the Rhine, and how the way of life that predominate in his country differs from its more industrial neighbor.

One of the great modern French stylist, Saint-Ex must have given headaches to the translator, for he wrote in a lyric poetic fashion difficult to translate (this is the Lewis Galantiere translation). One must pose occasionally to savor his prose. Here in colorful intensity he lays down in vivid detail his humanity and shows what made his writing different from other aviation literature. His popularity is such that people sometimes stresses the "Saint" in his name in order to prop him higher than the rank of hero worship. But his life does not fit that image. A man of many talents---cardplayer, mathematician, caricaturist, chess player, poet, writer and of course, aviator---he was however a baffling personality who defied straight description: A gifted mathematician, he rejected that intellectual circle; a man who likes action, he hated to exercise; one of the great writers of France, he did not wish to be a professional writer; a skeptic, he wanted to believe in God.

There are critics who described his writing as sentimental hogwash, the harbinger of hollow ideas, the man who can "replace the human brain with an aeroplane engine", et al..but his writings displayed (in this reviewer's modest opinion) a noble image, and for good or bad, he must be judged in the end by what he wrote. The sale of his books speaks for itself.

This is a highly recommended reading experience.

the book is st.-ex's thoughts and reflections as he flies a suicide recon mission during WW2. it is not an action novel, but does have some exiting parts to it. it is a thoughtful look at life. the book is not just an interesting look into the mind of someone on a doomed mission, but is motivating, thougth provoking and insightful, and has some great lines to live by. i liked it better than his other book wind, sand and stars, and my copy is all marked up and highlighted and i refer back to it often. i would reccommend this book without hesitation.

In this autobiographical story, Saint-Ex tells of the already lost battle he found himself in during 1940 in desperate, war-torn France. He and his crew get sent on a hopeless reconnoissance flight mission over the burning City of Arras. Faced with almost certain imminent death, he is brought to the point of where he can't help but ask himself: "Where's the sense in all this? What am I doing? Why am I doing this?" And as we live through the harrowing experience with him, he lets us see into his heart and mind as he tries to find some answers.. What he comes up with is defined by solid thought resulting from acute observation (Metaphysics my foot!) of man and mankind, certainly more poignant now than ever and therefore surely timeless... And since it's Saint-Ex who relates all this in his unique humble-but-not-so-humble and profoundly human style, this is not only an exciting read about a dangerous time, but it is infused with charme and humour like some superb wine with its unique flavour and aroma. A great little book by a great man.

It took more than one try for me to really get into Flight to Arras. Saint-Exupery is not the easiest of writers to follow, despite a superb writing style, because of being so deep into philosophy. And, once I did finally reach the point of being ready for this book, I was astounded. Absolutely! As always, St-Exupery taught me So Much.


To anyone who likes Saint-Exupery and wants to read this, I would say: Go for it. Don't force yourself through it, though. Wait until you're really at the place where this book will take to you, on its own.

Saint-Exupéry is best known for his children's classic The Little Prince. He is also known for a classical account of peacetime aviation - of flying in the days when it was both fun, and quite dangerous - rendered in Wind, Sand and Stars. Jules Roy, a pied-noir (an Algerian of French extraction), and fellow pilot, wrote a portrait of the author in the eponymous Saint-Exupery (Les Classiques de la Manufacture French Edition). The present book is another facet of the writer, when he flew in combat for the French air force.

Arras is the capital of Pas-de-Calais, in the far northeastern part of France. The month is May, 1940, when France suffered its catastrophic defeat at the hands of the German army. The author is ordered to perform a reconnaissance mission over Arras, which has already fallen to the Germans, and the town is in flames. Only one in three "routine" missions (sorties) of his squadron return to base. His assignment is much more dangerous. In many ways, it is a suicide mission. He survives though, and this is his account, a brilliant one that combines the adrenaline-rush of being shot at, and having the bullets miss, with a philosophical mind that is attuned to the particulars of a bullet's trajectory as well as the macro picture of a great nation experiencing defeat.

It is a short book (and in my opinion, would have been better if it was 15 pages shorter), but Saint-Exupéry packs a lot it. There is the succinct analysis of the General Staff's "logic" in sending him, and his crew, on a reconnaissance mission whose findings could not possible be used. He understands the "military mind" all too well. There is also an excellent descriptive analysis of flying a plane at high altitude (33,000 ft., plus) long before the Boeing jet liners made such flights routine, with the major inconvenience being the middle seat. Saint-Exupéry wears three layers of clothes due to the cold; he has to exert himself strenuously to manually shift the lever mechanisms; the oxygen lines tend to freeze, which lead to partial blackouts; he has 103 gauges that he must watch, etc.

Sartre's novel Troubled Sleep: A Novel covers the same terrible month for France, and depicts the long column of refugees moving south. Saint-Exupéry covers the same ground, better, and briefer. The author writes movingly, in some brilliant chapters, on the disintegration of the French army, the contempt of the civilians for it, and the civilians own plight as they took to the road. Rumors abound when all normal communications is severed: "crazy rumors that sprouted by the roadside every mile or two in the form of ludicrous hypotheses... The United States had declared war. The Pope had committed suicide. Russian planes had set fire to Berlin. The Armistice had been signed three days ago. Hitler had landed in England." 150,000 French died in a single fortnight.

Descriptive passages? Consider: "The peace that is on its way is not the fruit of a decision reached by man. It spreads apace like a gray leprosy." Or: "The bullets were transformed into lightning. And I flew drowned in a crop of trajectories as golden as stalks of wheat." Philosophical insights? Consider: (concerning his one flight to Arras) "...we had learnt even more about ourselves than we should have done after ten years in a monastery." Or one for our times: "What a paradox- that men who possessed wealth should claim the right, over and above their possessions, to the gratitude of those who were without possessions!"

I really was considering giving this book 6-stars, until I got to the last 15 pages or so. His loose philosophical ramble, about the concept of "Man" vs. "man," the needs for sacrifice, the equality of man (in the military?! "The private and the captain are equal in the Nation"), and in the midst of massive killing, "My civilization was the inheritor of Christian values." which was not used ironically, all in all, didn't make much sense. My dominant thought was that he wrote these pages while still suffering from oxygen deprivation. Overall, an essential read; a vital book on war, but I'd consider the end of the book with a tolerant view to some new-age mumbo-jumbo. Thus, I'd take a star off of six. 5-stars.

How can an author do better than "The Little Prince"? He can't. And once the dull reader--myself--accepts that, Saint-Exupery's other wonderful books become what they are meant to be: special gifts from a memorable writer.
Read "Flight to Arras" to learn about the nature of warfare, the nature of defeat and, in the midst of all this overwhelming distress, the importance of the individual.

One of the best books I've ever read or reread(3 times). Capsulates, no frills (no sentimentalism, or excessive religious gushings), what makes human beings so incredible, especially in face of imminent death -- their humor, their compassion. Also, a well to be remembered reminder to us Americans of the hundreds of thousand Europeans who lost their lives BEFORE we entered World War II. A very forgiving attitude to our procrastination. A must book to be read -- right up there with the likes of Camus

St-Exupery has found the meaning of life in the near-death experinces of combat flying during the early defeat of France during WWII.

my favorite book of all time. his writing, perfect, deep, haunting, poetic, magnificent. if i could give 6 stars i would. read this book!!!!!!