Saint Exupéry: A Biography [Paperback]

Stacy Schiff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1997

When he vanished in 1944—disappearing into thin air as the Little Prince does in his best-loved work—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was already a legend. His name is synonymous with the golden age of aviation, when pilots flew through desert sandstorms in open cockpits and without instruments, fired at by rebellious tribes. The author of many of the classics of aviation literature, he also wrote the children's classic The Little Prince, the most widely translated book in the French language. Stacy Schiff, with an infectious fascination for her subject, has brought Saint-Exupéry to life in this definitive, humane, and hugely entertaining biography.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Born in 1900 into one of France's oldest families, impoverished aristocrat Antoine de Saint-Exupery became a pioneer aviator, braving the Pyrenees, Patagonia and the Sahara, as well as serving as a mail pilot in the 1920s and '30s, and then turning his adventures into lyrical novels. The Little Prince, his children's fable for all ages, secured his fame. This captivating biography deftly separates the man from the myth, revealing an awkward, petulant idealist, an elitist who advocated oligarchy, a pilot known for his mishaps and absentmindedness, and an unhappily married adventurer whose abusive wife eventually reached an uneasy accommodation with his mistress. Fleeing German-occupied France for New York City in 1940, Saint-Exupery felt he was shirking his duty as a Frenchman; he attained the noble death he sought in 1944, missing in action on a reconnaissance flight over southern France. Schiff is a former senior editor at Simon & Schuster. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Antoine de Saint-Exupery, heroic in flight, inept in everyday life, comes alive in this well-documented portrait by first-time author Schiff. Saint-Exupery spent his happiest days flying the mails for Aeropostale during the 1920s. When he arrived in Algiers in 1943 after a painful stay in New York during the early days of World War II, where he completed The Little Prince, he believed that he was finished. He had refused to support either De Gaulle and the Free French or the Petain Vichy government and had expressed the desire to die for his country. In 1944 he died mysteriously in the cockpit of a wartime reconnaissance plane while flying a mission over Italy. Like his Little Prince, he had seen only 44 sunsets. A stimulating biography recommended to everyone with an interest in early aviation and Saint-Exupery.
Bob Ivey, Memphis State Univ., Tenn.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (March 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306807408
• ISBN-13: 978-0306807404
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #813,706 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stacy Schiff is the author of Véra (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov), winner of the Pulitzer Prize; Saint-Exupéry, a Pulitzer Prize finalist; and A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America, winner of the George Washington Book Prize and the Ambassador Book Award. Schiff has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. The recipient of an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, she lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wind, Saint(-Exupery)and Stars *****, September 13, 1999

By 

Mary Miller ([e-mail]) (Georgetown, Delaware) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saint Exupéry: A Biography (Paperback)

I went through a period in my early twenties when I read most of Saint-Exupery's books. I could not read them without a pencil for underlining since his thoughts and insights touched a deep chord within me. This was my Rilke and Whitman period and Saint-Ex kept perfect company with them. When I learned of Schiff's biography recently, I ordered it immediately. I have 100 or so pages left to read and I find I am reading it very s_l_o_w_l_y like the long goodbyes I have with friends I don't want to leave. She writes beautifully and does not canonize this Saint but surely lets us know he has earned his place in the stars. Thank you,Ms Schiff, for reacquainting me with a lost love.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good overview of the life, August 7, 2001

By 

R. Bartlett "REB" (Boston MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Saint Exupéry: A Biography (Paperback)

Unfortunately most people know St. Ex as a kind of iconic figure, with no sense of who he actually was. This biography provides a good overview of the various phases of his life, although it tends a little much (for me) toward psychological analysis. The first few chapters, which describe what probably was for St. Ex the best period in his life, are particularly well done.

I had two minor problems with the book, which does not reduce its value as a good general biography. One was the tendency to treat St. Ex's work in terms of how close or far it strays from "true" fiction, as if fiction is the ultimate form, rather than assessing the work on its own terms. I also found the ending quite abrupt -- I would have expected a little more discussion about his legacy as an author and how his reputation has fared since his death. Otherwise, a beautifully written book and a good read. REB

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ignorance is bliss, July 2, 2001

By 

David Cox (Plant City, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saint Exupéry: A Biography (Paperback)

I have read much of Saint-Exupery's work and created a vision of the man and the personality he had. My first reaction while reading this book was absolute horror with my ignorance. After I recovered from the shocking truth I found this book to be extremely well written and most likely very accurate. If you want to live with visions of the Little Prince in mind this is not the book for you. If you want to gain an understanding of what Saint-Exuprey was like and how his life trials contributed to his work then this one's for you.