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 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......

A great study of Saint Exupery's life and time. It adds immeasurably to your knowledge of the man without reducing his poetic posture. He was a poet. If you have read Little Prince you must read this book.

Just could not plow through all the names and details - this book is probably an excellent source for the serious student of early 20th century France looking for day-by-day details of St-Ex's life and times, but for everyone else it will be tough going...

The most tiresome sort of biography, made up chiefly of uninteresting and trivial facts, and made far worse by Schiff's prissy and affected prose. Saint Exupery's life is not all that interesting, and Schiff lacks the talent to make it so by dint of good writing.

This is a meticulously researched biography, and it brought St-E to life for me in a way that I hadn't anticipated. For all his flaws, he sounds like he was a delightful and lovable human being. I wish, though, that there had been less aviation and more literature. The thin reflections and analysis of lis writing, compared to the aviation minutiae, were disappointing.

The story of Saint-Exupéry is fascinating, and this biography provides a wealth of well-researched details, but sadly Schiff's prose is clunky and sometimes confusing. She had a tendency to--in the middle of a sentence, often intervening between subject and verb--provide extra information, set off by dashes (irony intended). I found it difficult to keep track of who was doing what, and even who was who, in part because of poor sentence structure and ill-constructed paragraphs, in part because Schiff seemed to be assuming at times knowledge that I didn't have. Even the overall structure of the book felt clumsy--it started out with Saint-Exupéry in North Africa, then went back to his childhood, but never made it clear why this in medias res technique was used, or why that point in the author/aviator's history was important (I'm assuming it was because of the importance it played for him later, especially in his writing). I believe this was the author's first biography, so she may have just needed a more proactive editor. I can't help but think that Saint-Exupéry himself would not have approved, based on Schiff's account of his excruciating perfectionism when it came to his own prose.

I couldn't finish it. I loved Schiff's biography of Véra Nabokov, and I love The Little Prince, so I don't know why I was bored to tears with a biography of Saint-Exupéry by the same author.

An excellent book about a wonderful writer! It helps if you know a little french.

A most interesting man whose life was overflowing with adventures and challenges. As the author of "The Little Prince,"(one of my all time favorites!) Saint-Exupery's experiences were in many fields besides being a writer. Knowing why and for whom he wrote "The Little Prince" leads me now to read "The Tale of the Rose," by Consuelo de Saint-Exupery!

Captivating story, well told. I'm glad I read it and learned a lot more than I had previously known about this incredible man... Will be going back to read his works.

Worthy, incredible life of constant discovery and wonder.

There were times when I thought I might never finish this book. It took having a cold to actually do it (the first one in four years). It was fascinating to read about a person who was truly larger than life, who was incapable of following rules, and who pushed the envelope in every moment. I cannot imagine how he would have been able to live longer than he did because his abuses were monumental. He was also an incredible figure with fascinating ideas and one of the great characters of the time. I love the Little Prince and now I have an even better idea as to what brought about its publication. This book was fascinating and my only complaint is its length…