I, like many, was first introduced to St. Exupery by "The Little Prince"; however, I went on to explore his other books (Wind, Sand and Stars) and fell in love with his poetic style of writing, his passion for flight, and his vivid descriptions of the Sahara. His life ended all too soon, insisting on flying in the War, even when he was turned down several times for his age. He died flying at the age of 44. His writing lives on, and if you read just the first page, you will know that this is one of the most talented and excellent writers you will ever read.

"The Wisdom of the Sands" is a collection of Saint-Exupery's very personal reflections published posthumously as a series of parables. The rhythm of his lonely, compassionate, and mystical voice in this work enraptured me. The work concludes with the most profound and moving essay on friendship that I have ever read, one that far transcends his well-known fable "The Little Prince." His reflections on loneliness will resonate with anyone who has struggled with not succumbing to despair, and who has instead found God and love and compassion at the far end of this struggle.

Saint-Exupery weaves his great love for the vast, lonely, and empty Saharan desert of his youth that he crossed many times in the 1920s pioneering airmail routes for Air France with personal reflections and understandings of the Biblical mysteries that transpired in this same corner of the earth thousands of years ago. He returned to the African desert in the last days of his life, where he was based as a P-38 reconnaisance pilot in a world that had turned ugly and that ultimately, I believe, broke his heart, based on the sad voice that resonates from these pages, one trying to make peace with the earth and with life before he dies.

This collection, along with Dag Hammarskjold's "Markings," are my two favorite books, and both are very similar in nature though distinguished by their authors' personal voices and souls and writing style. Both document the spiritual journeys of two lonely European men in this century in a very personal way. Saint-Exupery's soulful reflections on the nature of love, friendship, loneliness, community, and duty are words I turn to again and again and that have grown with me through the years and acquired new meaning as I have matured.

This is a children's book, no matter what people say. This doesn't mean grown-ups can't read it, but only that those who have a child's heart or at least a little something left from their childhood would be able to understand it -and love it-.

I was 5 years old when first I read it. Since then, I have always loved this wonderful book, and I read it every now and then -I'm 21-. In my opinion this book is about love. Love like that from children, that is so simple that is complex to understand it.

Everybody may have his/her own understanding of The Little Prince,- or "El Principito" as I know it because I read it in spanish first, and the english, and then french, that I recommend if you speak any other language-. Some people think the 'rose' meant 'childhood', some others may think it means 'the beloved one',etc. That's why this little book is so fantastic. We don't have to agree on what does it mean because that's grown-up's business.

Every single page is full with a simple life philosophy that is unlikely to read it and not getting any benefit from it (well, only if you are too grown-up to understand it, like those who said that it is impossible to travel with a flock of birds in the space, or that is dangerous to let your children read suicide-related stories... we have to understand them and be patient with them... they are grown-ups. You'd better talk them about ties, business, or golf. They will be thrilled to find such a reasonable person like you.)

My favorite part of the book? I don't have any. All the book is an art-work.

This slender charmer has long been a favorite--since I read it high school French class. The golden-haired boy--an interstellar traveler--touches a responsive chord in many hearts: the fox who wants to be tamed by him; the stranded pilot who sketches for him when he'd rather be repairing his plane; even the small snake who offers to speed his journey home. Adults and young readers alike will treasure this gentle tale.

Critics--those pompous and serious adults--debate St. Exupery's intention in this tiny masterpiece. Is it a fairy tale or an astral fable? Is it a vehicle to offer subtle criticism of Society's foibles, cleverly disguised as a children's story? Is the author trying to Entertain or to Instruct--or just gently offer us a nostalgia trip? Sometimes we jaded adults yearn for the simplicity and faith of childhood. Perhaps we need to see the world with our hearts, as the Essential is often invisible or blurred to our eyes. For when we can bring ourselves to sacrifice "matters of consequence", only then will we recognize our moral and social responsibilities in life. St. Exupery's delightful sketches enhance our literary pleasure. Perhaps you will regard the stars (and roses) differently after reading this.

A pilot who finds himself stranded in a desert with a broken airplane meets an extraordinary little person. The Little Prince who is visiting Earth, just one planet in a long succession of planets already visited, tells the pilot of his journey.

Earth seems just as strange and alien as the other places he has visited. Places inhabited by archetypal manifestations of adulthood. The absurdities of which are crystal clear when seen through the eyes of a child.

The Little Prince's journey through the cosmos - brings us face to face with "things of consequence" - allowing us to see, maybe for the first time, what we really lose in growing old and rigid, instead of growing up.

This book is written at a 9-12 year level - but its depths speak to adults as well. A charming story in itself, can be read, and reread, its layers unfold, revealing deeper and deeper insight.

The artwork in the book is done by the author, too.

When I first read this book when I was a senior in high school and read it for my French class, I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy this book. I'd heard so much about it. After reading it I can say that I love this book so much, no wonder Le Petit Prince is on some French currency! I've read this book in English and French, and I'd have to say that the French is sooo much better if you know French. It's not all that difficult to understand if you are at a beginning level. This is a great book and is worth every penny in both languages!

I do not read a lot of books. I have only read what was assigned to me throughout school and the occasional NY Times bestseller. A friend of mine gave me this book as a gift one day, she said I would enjoy it. She was right - I loved it. I didn't read it right away, but when I did I couldn't put it down. I am not an emotional person, or at least I never thought of myself as one, but this book made me look at myself and it broke my heart. I related with the character of the pilot and I felt as though the Little Prince was talking to me. The book helped me realize that I had forgotten a lot of things since childhood, like the meaning of friendship. The book also reminded me of what love really is. It made me realize what "grown-ups" really are, children who lost their innocence. The greatest thing about the book is that it is universal. It's message is simple: "love has no prejuducies, never dies and always forgives." It is a children's story but it is something all adults should read. There are few books that can do what this "children's story" can do. It will make you laugh, break your heart and make you think about what really is important in your life.

- Jeff

I read this book in its portuguese version when I was stil living in Brazil (my home land); french, when I started learning it as well as spanish . Despite all "nuances" of each language the book keeps its majesty. Everytime I read it I think it was not written for children. In Le Petit Prince, St. Exupery made life wonderful, beyond comprehension.

Saint-Exupery disappeared in North Africa in 1943 while flying reconnaissance flights for the American forces. After reading Wind, Sand and Stars one has a sense that this writer/philosopher, who is probably most well known for his fable The Little Prince, was well prepared for his life to end in this way.

In the opening lines of the original French version Saint-Exupery writes:
"The earth teaches us more about ourselves than all the books.
Because it resists us. Man discovers himself when he measures
himself against the obstacle"

Wind, Sand and Stars is intensely autobiographical as it tells us of this man's adventures from his beginnings as a pilot with the air mail service over France, Spain and North Africa before World War I, through to his musings as an observer of the Spanish Civil War. But far more than an adventurer, Saint-Exupery writes like a poet and has the heart of a philosopher. This wonderful book (a credit to the translator from the original French) has incredibly rich descriptive passages in which he lays out for the reader the details observed in the natural world and the response that these evoke in his mind, heart and soul.

In one section of the book (which a reader familiar with The Little Prince cannot help but conclude was inspirational for that work) Saint-Exupery describes at length his near-death experience after crashing in the Libyan desert, and wandering for days without water or hope:
"Apart from your suffering, I have no regrets. All in all, it has been
a good life. If I got free of this I should start right in again. A man
cannot live a decent life in cities, and I need to feel myself live. I
am not thinking of aviation. The aeroplane is a means, not an end.
One doesn't risk one's life for a plane any more than a farmer ploughs
for the sake of the plough. But the aeroplane is a means of getting
away from towns and their book-keeping and coming to grips with
reality."

Wind, Sand and Stars is not an easy read. But for those with patience and an interest (in a phrase from The Little Prince) in "listening with the heart", here is an insight to one man's struggle to understand and articulate the sacredness and greatness of human life.

"The airplane has unveiled for us the true face of the earth," writes Saint-Exupery; this book unveils for the reader the true face of man. The grim heat of the desert, the stench of diesel, the surreal terror of night and storms, and the elation of flight: his prose evokes all of these with shimmering fluidity.

Just as the most rudimentary of charcoal sketches often manage to capture the very essence of its subject in a few deft strokes, so too do the struggles and joys of pilots in North Africa and South America manage to capture the essence of man, of his relationship with machine, with nature, and with himself in this taut narrative..

Non-pilots will feel that they have been inducted into a world vibrantly unique yet achingly familiar, pilots will recall afresh the sensations of defying gravity with steel, wires, and bravery; all readers, however, will find themselves murmuring "yes, that's it exactly."

Antoine de Saint-Exupery was one of the most interesting figures of 20th century literature. He wrote The Little Prince, a children's book that sold 200,000 copies in the U.S. alone in one year several years ago, and was also the author of several novels and memoirs, all relating to flying, of which this is one. The author was MIA over his beloved France while flying for the Free French Air Force in 1944 (after having to argue to be allowed to fly in combat; he was considered a national treasure). It appears the site of the wreck was discovered in the water just off the Riviera a couple of years ago, though no one's certain.
Wind, Sand and Stars is a recounting of several episodes in Saint-Exupery's life as a pilot, told to illustrate his view of the world, and especially his opinions of what makes life worth living, and who we are or should be. He was a wonderfully insightful individual, and his prose and ideas are the sort of thing you'll carry with you for years. I would highly recommend this book.