From Publishers Weekly
Despite the wealth of biographical detail in this collection of French wartime hero aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's (1900â"1944) letters, drawings, photographs and private notebooks, both Saint-Exupéry and the genesis of his best-known book,
The Little Prince, remain essentially mysterious. Even though
The Little Prince, that children's book that so many children found somewhat perplexing in its adult themes of exile and loss, is rarely directly addressed, with only a few early sketches of the prince and friends provided among the 9.75" x 11.25" collection's 200 color illustrations, it haunts the narrative of Saint-Exupéry's life. Adoringly written by a great-niece of Saint-Exupéry, the collection provides a wealth of minute details of Saint-Exupéry's childhood and close friendships, yet provides virtually no information on some essentials, such as his mysterious father, who died unexpectedly of a heart attack when Saint-Exupéry was four. These sorts of factual elisions occur regularly throughout the book, despite its oddly repetitive structure, in which central events in Saint-Exupéry's life are described over and over again, creating an almost mythic feel. American readers familiar only with
The Little Prince may find much of interest about Saint-Exupéry, who was also the author of several books based on his daring flights, including
Night Flight and
Flight to Arras, and who stayed in the United States from 1940 to 1943, trying to persuade the United States to enter the war. In fact, his "Letter to an American" could speak directly to today's rift between the United States and France. He disappeared during one last wartime flight on July 31, 1944.
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The French pilot, writer, and inventor Antoine de Saint Exupery (1900-44) is best known for his illustrated children's book,
The Little Prince. But this alluring and brilliantly poetic and philosophical classic for readers of all ages was Saint Exupery's last book, and just one manifestation of a lifelong passion for writing and drawing. Saint Exupery (who disappeared during a reconnaissance mission) was a tireless and entertaining correspondent, covering hotel stationery from all over the world with sketches and reports on his nomadic and "precarious" existence. With those epistolary treasures in hand, as well as a cache of photographs, drawings, and manuscripts, the courageous pilot's great-niece, Nathalie Des Vallieres, an art historian, has assembled a gorgeous monograph that tells the entire story of Saint Exupery's amazing life in both image and text, vividly chronicling his adventures and his urgent need to share his thoughts and experiences. Tragically, war defined Saint Exupery's world, yet he found inspiration and magic in the vast silence of the North African desert and the boundlessness of the sky.
Donna SeamanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved