I have long suspected that I was in love with Saint-Exupery. Now I am certain of it. I also realized that I really need to read his other books (i.e. not The Little Prince).

Schiff focuses on Saint-Exupery's adult life weaving together his experiences as a pilot, his writing, and his personal life. Through her account and analysis, Saint-Exupery's person comes alive. She includes some literary criticism of his works, including noting the real people and events from which he drew, personal and national situations which influenced him or which he addressed, and evaluations of his prose and philosophizing. I found the book quite riveting.

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A great read about a great and colourful man.

I started this book a long time ago, but this extraordinarily detailed account of Saint-Exupéry and his fascinating life required more of a commitment than I could make at the time while juggling a demanding teaching load. So, having consigned it to the bottom of my stack over a year ago, I decided, finally, to prioritize it as a summer read and commit to finishing its 455 pages. Once in, I was totally engrossed by the story of this incredibly complex and brilliant man. Schiff's take on Saint-Ex, the man, and every inch of his rich and varied, but complicated life is grounded in her thorough, painstaking research and astute, nuanced understanding of the history and people of the period Saint-Ex inhabited. Schiff brings him to life and sucks her reader into his dizzying intellectual and emotional life, filled with adventure and risk, friendship and love, humor and melancholy. As a French teacher, I have re-read and taught Saint-Exupéry's, Le Petit Prince, to high school students over the last 24 years, and never tire of it. With each new reading and each new class come more discovery, more insight, more reflection. Having read Schiff's beautiful rendering of this man and the arc of his life, I look forward to what this spring's reading with my classes will bring.

Like Saint-Ex, I am a pilot, and I was born and raised in France.

After a few decades in Aviation, I thought I knew most of of the truths and legends surrounding this very charismatic gentleman.

So, reading an English language biography by a woman, written half a century after his death, I was interested but more curious than expectant...

Stacy Schiff blew my mind with clear and very profound insights.

Not only does she understand and describe the man with superior clairvoyance, but she also paints a story of France, my original homeland, that is more precise and picturesque that I ever knew or imagined.

I loved it.

I had high hopes for this one as I am very interested in the author. However, there was SO much description and attention to tedious details, that I just couldn't keep up with it. It never brought me in as a reader. I was bummed because I wanted to know more about his life, but really might need to find a different, shorter and easier to read version that will give some of the facts.

Best writing I have seen in a Biography. Covers minute details without losing your attention, and should appeal to a wide audience. Emotional without being too sappy. The little prince would be proud.

Saint Exupery was a pioneer in the early days of aviation and a gifted author. This book is a bit tedious at times, but worth slogging through.

I believe this book was meant to be read by individuals already familiar with Saint-Exupery's life and legacy. The chapter on his desert adventures was promising, but I couldn't get into it after that. Such a shame, because I've enjoyed other Stacy Schiff books!

Biographies are never like fiction, as the author can not change or add whenever needed.
This book was sometimes very slow and tiring and sometimes interesting and a page-turner. It did not have a fixed trend. There were moments that were confusing and I felt things were repeated. At the same time this book revealed things about Exopery's life which were amazing. Things like his concerns in terms of financial life, career, his youth, relation with his mother and family, the way he spent his money, his personal love life, the procedure which results in writing his books, etc.