I have to admit that, when I started reading “Wind, sand, and stars”, my expectations were quite high, and not without good reason, since Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is a famous writer with many accolades under his belt.
Thus, in this book, he gives an account of different stories that cover a large part of his career as a pilot, culminating with a story of how he and his mechanic-navigator crashed with their plane into the Sahara desert, managed to survive on virtually nothing, and were finally saved by a passing Bedouin.
The early days of aviation
The whole book is a hymn to the pioneers of aviation who risked their lives to establish aviation routes in different parts of the world, in highly challenging and extreme weather conditions, and in an era that airplanes had not yet become the state-of-the-art machines and examples of traveling safety, luxury, and comfort that we enjoy and admire today.
These pioneers set the foundations of the modern aviation industry, and paved the way for today’s pilots.
Genuine aviation enthusiasts will love the book, just like car enthusiasts show their passionate interest in and appreciation of historic car models, because this book contains real-life experiences from that era, and thus, it can be described as an authentic part of aviation history.
Lessons from reading the book
Apart from describing the dangers of his profession during those early days, which he does in a straightforward and clear language, which is similar to the language used by pilots when they give a report, rather than the sophisticated language of a literary author, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry also speaks of his experiences that result from having direct and close contact with local people during his journeys.
In this way, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry has the privilege of getting to know the customs, habits, values, and lifestyles of people in as diverse and faraway regions of the world as Africa and South America.
As a result, he ends up gaining a deeper understanding of human nature, which he would probably never gain, if he did another job.
Flying an airplane during those heroic days of aviation undoubtedly had its own risks that no people other than those early, highly adventurous and risk-taking, pilots were ready and willing to face.
On top of those risks, meeting people from other cultures and places, even if these people harbored hostile feelings to them, resulted in an additional boost in the pilots’ adrenaline levels, since this was yet another challenge that they had to face.
Conclusion
The book titled “Wind, sand, and stars” (or, “Terre des hommes”, in French), has more to offer to the reader than meets the eye.
In fact, a passionate interest in flying an airplane only serves as a pretense.
The author is more interested in knowing the fine, deep details of human nature that come to the surface in challenging conditions, just like the conditions faced by himself, his colleague, and his plane while flying.
Then, through an “eagle eye” that he has developed as a skilled and experienced pilot, he proves to be capable of demystifying the different routes of the human soul, as if they were the routes followed by his plane on its way to new and established destinations.