I am stunned at the many negative reviews of this book!I find it the most expressive, engaging, revealing biography I have every read and I have read a boatload.I am only a third of the way through it and constantly marvel at how much the author conveys in such a conversational, lyrical style. His was a remarkable life and she does full justice to it. It is dense and there is a lot of words in small print. But, every word and every sentence conveys so much, without extraneous verbiage. I started...

As a child, I loved The Little Prince, and as a teenager I revisited it and saw it as the wonderful imaginative creation it is. Later, I read the book to my children, and though I knew a little about Saint-Exupery, my interest in him grew, and I bought this book to learn more. This has led, by the way to a lifelong interest in things French, which has been facilitated by my professional life; I have worked Frenchmen and women on and off for the last twenty years, and have found them, despite Ame...

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.

My hero came to life, and he is more wonderful and terrible than I ever imagined. The Little Prince; A Sense of Life; Wind, Sand, and Stars; Flight to Arras; Night Flight; Saint-Exupery changed me profoundly and forever. Reading Schiff's biography is like stepping into a time machine and getting a first-hand account of the first half of the 20th century, the start of which coincided with the year of Saint-Exupery's birth."He made a virtue of the obstacle; he knew, or discovered, that grandeur lu...

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.

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.

Sometimes I wondered whether I wouldn't have been better off with a less detailed biography, but then another gem of his life would turn up and I'd read on happily. It is hard going sometimes, but gives as full a picture as I think anyone could give. I also wonder whether I should try again to read The Wisdom of the Sands - but read it as showing his state of mind in his last years, rather than for the philosophical work he meant it to be. He was the kind of person that I am grateful exists in t...

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...

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.

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 Sc...

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.

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 mone...

When I told my wife I was reading the biography of Antione de Saint-Exupery, she really couldn't fathom why I pick the books I read. But really, there is rhyme and reason to them. I bought a copy of "The Little Prince" waaaaay back in the day when I worked at Barnes and Noble. It sat on my shelf unread. When I finally got around to reading it last year, I couldn't put the book down, and I found myself reading the beautiful passages, about the Prince's rose that was waiting for him, about his car...

I'm so glad I read this book and discovered Schiff, got to know Saint-Exupery better, and especially, came to a greater appreciation of Saint-Exupery's writing. It completes a beautiful round when you find out that a French fisherman found his plane off the coast of France having caught Consuelo's bracelet in his fishing net.I was most appreciative of Schiff's handling of the relationship with Anne Morrow-Lindbergh. It was shown respectfully and tenderly, and wasn't dwelled on. It's a rare biogr...

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.

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 re...

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 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!

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.