Antoine Saint Exupery ("The Little Prince")
Today...June 29th 2008...would be the 108th birthday of Antoine Saint Exupery, the author of "The Little Prince" "Night Flight" and others. But it is for "The Little Prince" that he will forever be remembered and untold generations to come will be mesmerized by the allegory of a pilot shot down in the Saharan Desert who meets a young prince from a tiny asteroid who reveals to him the secret of life. "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly: what is essential is invisible to the eye." He wrote "The Little Prince" at Asharoken, Long Island during the summer of 1942.
He returned to France and flew reconnaissance for the Free French Forces when he was shot down over the Mediterranean Sea offshore from Toulon on July 31, 1944. In 1998, a fisherman netted his silver ID bracelet and in 2004 the remains of his P-38 Lightning was recovered off the coast of Marseilles.
In March of 2008, a former Luftwaffe pilot, 85 year old Horst Rippert, claimed it was he who shot down the author who had been a childhood hero. This has yet to be verified.
A posthumous birthday toast to Antoine Saint Exupery. The author of my favorite book. A book and story that changed my life.
The Little Prince is a fantasy story? I had no idea!
Now I have to go find and read it. Thanks Jim, my to-be-read pile is already overflowing!
Reply to this
I was turned on to TLP about 4 yrs ago by a great friend. I read it all in one sitting and was deeply moved. I never would have read this had it not been brought to my attention. I will be eternally gratefull. I have since purchased many copies of TLP and given it as gifts to my family and friends. It is usually greeted with a laugh, as it appears to be a "childs" book/story. However once they begin with, "Once when I was six...and finish with, 'And no grown-up...'" they too are swept away. TLP magically wraps you up in its pages, and tugs at your heart. I am delighted to be able to "pass forward" this awesome story that will enrich all lives who dare read young and old alike. Being in my 30's, I hope to spread TLP to a new generation of e-somethings. Encourage the magic of holding, turning pages, and crimping corners. Feel the texture, experience the fragrance of a new or used text. I now have a son almost 3, my wife and I experience such contentment reading TLP to him, and we look forward to the time when, he too will read the TLP on his own. The circle will then be complete.
" All grown-ups were children first." (But few of them remember it).
Reply to this
Sounds like an interesting story. I'll have to check it out.
Also, great info on the author, makes it that more intrigued.
Reply to this
But the eyes are blind. One must look with the heart...
A classic and a must read for children and adults alike. One of the greatest books of all time.
-Hanna
Reply to this
I was just reading "The Little Prince" the other day and it got me wondering what was this authors life story. And to find out that he was shot down on a reconnaissance mission is just a travesty. I know if I was the man to shoot down a childhood hero I would not be going public with that information, that's something you wait to tell when you are on your death bed.
David
Reply to this