Tag Archives: antoine de sainte exupery

It was awesome! It was captivating, fascinating, creative and true. I neither laughed nor cried but only because I was too busy pondering what it means to be human and appreciating my life while reading this book. It’s that good. Don’t take my word for it, read it yourself! (Originally printed in French by the way for all you French reading my blog…I hope there is a lot of you!)

First let me go into practical things I loved about this book. I loved that it was chaptered (I think I just made up a verb) into seperate stories. It was not one long story in itself but a collection of stories that combined together to have a greater meaning. It starts off very practical, describing the men who fly and the airplane itself. The stories get deeper as the book moves. It goes on to talk about an experience trapped in the dessert and life amidst the war in Spain. I loved this about the book. Every chapter was an adventure in itself! I also love that the book is a compilation of true accounts from the author. It is real and you can feel the humanity in it.

Now I also mentioned above that it caused me to ponder what it means to be human and made me appreciate my life. The author of the book is also a philosopher and so what he has to say always ties into the greater vision of what it means to be a human and what life in itself is all about. Perfect! I love these topics! He speaks about slavery. He speaks about the humans involved in war. He speaks about human relationships. He touches on death. He is so accurate when he describes human beings and everything he says I could relate to, if not in my own personal experience but in the compassion I was feeling for those he spoke about.

I loved that a real man wrote this and that he had a seriously dangerous job (which coincidently is one of the safest now-a-days) but was willing to do it because for him, not doing it would not be living. It touches on calculated risk, the risk we are willing to take for the knowing reward.

I also appreciate the flying business more because of how far it has come and what the pioneers of the trade had to go through, with no fear, before this modern-day technology. It reminds me that I too should embark upon my adventures without fear.

I wrote down a few amazing quotes from early on in the book before I became too captivated to focus on writing any more quotes down. These quotes are brilliant! Read them all!

“We forget that there is no hope for joy except in human relations. If I summon up those memories that have left me an endearing savor, if I draw up the balance sheet of the hours of my life that have truly counted, surely I find only those that no wealth could have procured me. True riches cannot be bought.” (page 27)

“Happiness! It is useless to seek it elsewhere than in the warmth of human relations.” (page 29)

“Each man must look to himself to teach him the meaning of life. It is not something discovered. It is something moulded.” (page 29)

“What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step. It is always the same step, but you have to take it.” (page 38)

“To be a man is, precisely, to be responsible. It is to feel the shame at the sight of what seems to be unmerited misery. It is to take pride in a victory won by one’s comrades. It is to feel, when setting one’s stone, that one is contributing to the building of the world.” (page 39)

“There is an ancient myth about the image asleep in a block of marble until it is carefully disengaged by the sculptor. The sculptor must himself feel that he is not so much inventing or shaping the curve of breast or shoulder as delivering the image from its prison.” (page 42)

Those are only quotes from the first 42 pages. Imagine what is inside the other all the other pages!