Saint-Exupery: A Biography

Saint-Exupéry: A Biography is a 1994 biographical nonfiction book about Antoine de Saint-Exupéry by Stacy Schiff, and a 1995 Pulitzer Prize nominee. The book traces the life of the famed author, from his noble but impoverished origins, his time with Aéropostale, to his writing of The Little Prince.
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. An internationally celebrated, but absent-minded pilot, Saint-Eupéry crashed frequently, narrowly escaping a full catalogue of deaths, making literature of most of his mishaps. With lively wit and an infectious fascination for her subject, Stacy Schiff bringsSaint-
Exupérywonderfully to show more life in this definitive biography of the enchanting and complex author-aviator. show less

stacy schiff did a great job with this biography of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry the man most well-know for writing The Little Prince. it was clear to me that extreme care was taken with the research for the book, which is always great when reading nonfiction. saint-exupéry was born and lived during quickly changing times - both because of two world wars, as well as because of the advancements in technology. much of the history of the times are framed during this book as well. the book was a slow read for me because it is quite dense with information. i mostly appreciated all of the details, but at times it did seem a bit excessive or over-written, which is why this wasn't quite a 5-star read for me.

saint-exupéry was an interesting and show more odd fellow. he was emotionally needy and immature in many, many ways. but he was also, it seems, quite intelligent. he was a daring (perhaps foolish?) pilot - the need to fly as great as his need to write. this balance was sometimes tricky to maintain as his flying friends/colleagues would rib him (not always good-naturedly) about his other job as a writer. (this type of behaviour, and some hostilities peaked after he was awarded the prix femina in 1931.) he was also an inventor - filing many patents for devices to improve/aid flight. his brain, like many people's, never stopped whirring.

much of the book is dedicated to his flying - which was such a huge part of his life. when he was a young boy, he witnessed a wright brother testing flight in france...something that became a huge, life-changingn inspiration to him.

saint-exupéry was liked by the ladies...what a guy! but he did eventually marry consuelo, and this was a rocky and difficult marriage. each of them had affairs, and tormented one another with childish mind games and behaviours. i wanted to smack them a lot while reading about their interactions.

the ending of the story, exupéry's life was a slight surprise to me - i really did not know that much about him before reading this book. but his ending certainly was curious, and seemed well-planned. hmmmm...... show less