Few books of recent times have received such high praise as this ever-popular account of air adventure and personal reminiscence by an artist in prose. The author, whose career ended with his disappearance while on a flight over the Mediterranean in the summer of 1944, received the Grand Prix of the Académie Française for this introduction into literature of the airplanes and the men "who sail the ocean of the sky."
Translated from the French by Lewis Galantiére
Illustrated by John O'H Cosgrave, II
Editorial Reviews
"The Joseph Conrad of the air. This is a book out of a new kind of world that belongs at once to the ranks of enduring fiction." --Christopher Morley
"You don't have to look further for adventure, the reading of the book itself is adventure." --Chicago Tribune
"A beautiful book; a brave book; a book that should be read against the confusion of this world that we may retain our pride in humanity and our excitement in this modern age." --New York Times
Translated from the French by Lewis Galantière
Illustrated by John O'H. Cosgrave, II
About the Author
Antoine De Saint-Exupery was born in 1900 in Lyon. In 1921, he began his training as a pilot. By 1926, he had became one of the pioneers of international postal flight. In 1945 he embarked on a record-breaking attempt to fly from Paris to Saigon. Nineteen hours into the flight, his plane crashed in the Sahara desert. He survived the crash but spent three days battling dehydration, limited food and hallucinations. On the fourth day, the was rescued. In part, this experience was the inspiration for 'The Little Prince'. He continued to fly until World War II, during which he took self-imposed exile. On 31 July 1944, he disappeared over the Mediterranean while flying a reconnaissance mission.
