It was translated from the french by lewis galantiere. The earth teaches us more about ourselves than all the books. Wind, sand and stars chronicle by saintexupery britannica. Stfepa c oming late to the wind, sand and s tars this month, timhannigan wrote. In wind, sand and stars, his 1939 account of his aviation adventures, he recollects a crash landing he was forced to make in the sahara desert. On reading wind, sand and stars recently, a lyrical work first published in 1939 mainly based on stxs flying the african mails, i came across an episode that could have been taken from recent headlines. The main characters of this non fiction, autobiography story are. Wind, sand and star antoine saint exupery first edition signed.
He stares in expectancy for the coming of dawn the way a gardener awaits the coming of spring. Theyd get lost no mattr how you translate it, though. After reading wind, sand and stars one has a sense that this writerphilosopher, who is probably most well known for his fable the little prince, was well prepared for his life to end in this way. When wandering bedouins would take potshots at you as you passed overhead. The windof the spirit, blown from the stars, enters the sandof the physical body and life begins anew.
I like the traditional english title, wind, sand, and stars, but the puns all get lost. Nothing can match the treasure of common memories, of trials endured together, of quarrels and reconciliations and generous emotions. In 1926 i was enrolled as student airline pilot by the latecoere company, the predecessors of aeropostale now air france in the operation of the line between toulouse, in southwestern france, and dakar, in french west africa i was learning the craft, undergoing an apprenticeship served by all young pilots before they were allowed to carry the mails. In our very essencewe are all wind, sand, and stars. In his wanderings across the desert, saintexupery had a number of hallucinations, including an encounter with a fennec, a type of desert sand fox that bears a striking resemblance to the fox depicted.
The story is taken from the forthcoming book, wind, sand and the stars, to be published in the spring of 1939. The central incident details the 1935 plane crash he survived in the libyan. It deals with themes such as friendship, death, heroism, and solidarity among colleagues, and illustrates the authors opinions of what makes life worth living. Wind, sand and stars simultaneous distinct english version winner of the u. Provided to youtube by cdbaby wind, sand and stars kittyhawk race for the oasis.
I wouldnt dare hazard a definitive translation for that ambiguous phrase but one literal rendition. Flying is a mans job and its worries are a mans worries. It is idle, having planted an acorn in the morning, to expect that afternoon to sit in the shade of the oak. I do recall reading his most famous work, the little prince, in my high school french class. His writings include the little prince, wind, sand and stars, night flight, southern mail, and airmans odyssey. The pilot and philosopher recounts several episodes from his years flying treacherous mail routes across the sahara and the andes. He talks of the almostmystical manner in which pilots related to the world from their lofty perch and how they had to view the land beneath them both to find their way and to successfully land in case of emergency. Life isnt about seizing the frayed edges of the passing day.
In 1944, while flying a reconnaissance mission for his french air squadron, he disappeared over the mediterranean. There is no wind, there is no sand, there are no stars, if we are not there to observe them, or even more, to appreciate them. Provided to youtube by believe sas wind, sand and stars izem hafa. In his autobiographical work saintexupery evokes a series of events in his life principally the period when he was working for the airmail carrier aeropostale. In english this humanist adventure tale is titled wind, sand, and stars, evocative but lacking. The experiences and philosophy of a french airline pilot whose flying career began in 1926 and ended when his plane disappeared in 1944. The reading was excellent except for 2 typos i could not relate to rhe english version wind, sand and stars. The american booksellers association voted wind, sand and stars the best nonfiction work of 1939 while the french version, terre des hommes, received the academie francaises prize for best novel of the year. This penguin modern classics edition is translated from the french with an introduction by william rees. The french have particularly excelled at this genre. A pilot at twentysix, he was a pioneer of commercial aviation and flew in the spanish civil war and world war ii.
The french title, terre des hommes, or land of men, is better. Translated from the french by louis galientiere a harvesthbj. The pilot and philosopher recounts several episodes from his years flying treacherous mail routes across the sahara. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 240 pages and is available in paperback format. Profoundly personal and universal, wind, sand and stars is one mans meditation on what it means to live.
Wind, sand and stars begins with him bumbling along as a novice flying mailman over france, spain and africa, and takes us through to when the spanish civil war breaks out. A pilots business is with the wind, with the stars, with night, with sand, with the sea. In the opening lines of the original french version saintexupery writes. It was first published in france in february 1939, and was then translated. His fable le petit prince the little prince has become a modern classic. Because of his aviation exploits, the author had a worldwide reputation. The book was published in multiple languages including spanish, consists of 96 pages and is available in paperback format.
Rather its about weaving yourself into lifes tapestry and living the part of the story that only you can live. First edition of antoine saintexuperys wind, sand and stars. He used the memoir as a platform to extol cooperation, individual responsibility, and. Forgive me for banging the same drum, but i want to say again that wind, sand and stars is one of the most wonderful books we have so far encountered on the. Saintex is generally beloved for his heroic flightsincluding his last one, as an overage p38 pilot. He puts us in the cockpit in a day when the wind whipped your face and you navigated by the stars. Free download or read online wind, sand and stars pdf epub book. Within a few lines you know you are flying with a pilot of the highest calibre. The book won the grand prize for fiction from the french academy and the national book award. Its exciting account of air adventure, combined with lyrical prose and the spirit of a philosopher, makes it one of the most popular works ever written about flying.