Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, trans. by Lewis Galantiére, 4/5

The stories in this book, based on Saint-Exupéry’s experiences as an airmail pilot and member of the French Air Force, are beautifully told – the product of a poetic soul.  His bravery, adventures, eloquent love of the desert and romantic point of view remind me of a sort of French version of T.E. Lawrence.  While the book is very enjoyable and quotable (occasionally even enlightening), Saint-Exupéry’s patronizing post-modernism results in a lack of intellectual/philosophical depth that makes itself increasingly felt as the book unfolds.