Rating: 
Summary: Encompassing adventure, memoir, and philosophy--a gem.
Review: "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."
Rating:
Summary: A classic of aviation and adventure literature
Review: An absolutely brilliant work. Keep in mind that many of the bad reviews here were for a different version/translation of this book. This one is almost twice as long and sticks far better to the author's orginal work. This collection of stories is the perfect bedtime reading. You can finish off each story in an hour or so and drift to sleep with dreams of adventure and travel. The author relates the early days of air travel, when the pilots were quite often taking their lives in their own hands each time they took flight. Crash landings in the Sahara were part of job, and rather commonplace for those daring pilots that dared to carry mail and supplies over the great desert. The author writes in a simple and magical prose that carries all readers to the co-pilot seat on these amazing true adventures. It is rare to find an individual who lived such an amazing life as Saint-Exupery, and rarer still to find one who could write about their experiences with such clarity, beauty and detail. Highly recommended. A great treasure of literature.
Rating:
Summary: Pilot-Philosopher laureate of France
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: As lofty as flight itself
Review: First off, let me say that there were parts of this book that I thoroughly enjoyed. That truly transported me to another place. And for those moments alone, the book is worth reading. But as far as a consistently good read, it falls a bit short. The writing style is eloquent and high-minded, sometimes to the detriment of enjoyable reading. It seems as though he tried to pack so much meaing into every word that the words together almost seem to be too much. But if you have the time and focus to read this book, there are great moments to be shared between the reader, the author and his subject.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoy the wonder of unadulterated genius at work.
Review: I believe this is the greatest book by one of the best authors of all time. To open a St. Exupery book is to think of the spring sun on a cold, cloudy January day. Where does one go from here? To St. Exupery's soliloquy on finding a meteor in the sands of the Sahara? To his tale of surviving the rigors of the desert? To his description of night over the South Atlantic?
It is a question that cannot be answered. One should not even try, but should only linger rhapsodized over each description of even the most mundane things by this irresistable wordsmith. Some people never wrote badly, even once. He was one of them and the world is much poorer for his early departure. At least he left this peerless work about early mail pilots. Adieu, mon cher ami.
Rating: 
Summary: Wind, Sand & Stars
Review: I can't believe this book is rated so highly! I though it was awful and found the writing very boring. I would read several pages and completely forget what I just read. There were a few good parts, but every time the author would start to draw you in so you feel involved with a character he would stop and completely change subjects. Don't bother with this book. I would highly recommend "West With The Night" instead if you're interested in pilot stories of this era.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful content and style, a delightful find
Review: I loved The Little Prince, and thought that I would give Wind, Sand and Stars a try. Lucky for me that I did! A different kind of book than the children's-tale quality of The Little Prince, Wind, Sand and Stars is nevertheless magical in its own way. St-Exupery's ability to blend philosophy with his fairy-tale renditions of the life of a pilot are inspiring to more than one kind of person who seeks to reach the stars. Well worth reading, this book is a delight for anyone who seeks beauty in the written word.
Rating:
Summary: Wind, Sand and Stars
Review: I lulled over Wind Sand and Stars for a long time, savoring each word to the last drop! Intensely reflective, philosophical and insightful, I felt like I was right in the desert with Saint Exupery, vicariously reaching for that experience of living away from most frivolities of modern civilization in search of that true place and relationship with the sands, the seas, space ... The flight adventures are marvelously described with just enough detail to inform the nonpilots without becoming tedious. The experiences in solitude of the Sahara are vividly portrayed - you definitely can feel you are a part of the landscape. In addition to St-Ex's hallmarked "idealism" and childlike perspective, his thoughts on the importance of duty are equally compelling. St-Ex did seem to lecture a bit excessively close to the end as far as his rampant musings on war and man and such, but all in all this was a fabulous read.
Rating: 
Summary: Was Very Boring
Review: I thought the book was horrible cuz it was nothing that i thought was exciting and also cuz it was very hard to read i hated it but that is my opinion but everyone i asked said they thought the same thing i just said!!!
Rating:
Summary: Was Very Boring
Review: I'd been meaning to read Antoine de Saint-Exupery's 1939 tale of his early flying days for many years. It's only a little book, some 120 pages long, and you can read it easily within a day. Overall, I sort of enjoyed it and the introduction by the English translator. (I read the new 1995 translation published by Penguin Paperbacks).
Antoine de Saint-Exupery was an aviation pioneer and he and his friends' many crash survivals are retold in lurid detail. There are tales of fantastic escapes following mountain-side crashes in the Andes. There is also lament for those free-spirited pioneers who never returned. Even so, I wouldn't say this is the classic that many have made it out to be. It's fairly entertaining. His earlier works are supposed to be better and more fluid and I'll give them a go at a later date.
But for now, the main problem I found with Wind, Sand and Stars is that it is more a collection of shorts inter-woven with Saint-Exupery's philosophical musings on life and death behind the joy-stick. As such, it isn't a tale that begins, gains momentum and races towards a final frenetic conclusion. It reads more like a series of diary entries with orders to the existential milkman thrown in between.
The biggest disappointment for me was the so-called classic account of his miraculous escape from the clutches of the sandy Libyan desert. Try as he might de Saint-Exupery's writing didn't inspire the same dry-mouthed anticipation made marvellous by Camus in his shorter works.
Overall, Wind, Sand and Stars is great for a lazy day in the garden when you want a bit of escapism. The world of de Saint-Exupery's, in his early pioneering days, was very different to the cushy world most of us inhabit. Where Saint-Exupery and friends risked life and limb heading off into mountainous terrain in little more than motorised kite, the biggest risk most of us ever take is deciding which stocks to buy to where to go on holiday. For this reason alone, I'd recommend giving Wind, Sand and Stars an afternoon's attention.
Three/four stars.
| 
