Wind, Sand and Stars (French title: Terre des hommes, literally "Land of Men") is a memoir by the French aristocrat aviator-writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, and a winner of several literary awards.

It was first published in France in February 1939, and was then translated by Lewis Galantière and published in English by Reynal and Hitchcock in the United States later the same year.

Publication history

The book was first published in France in February 1939, and was then translated by Lewis Galantière and published in English by Reynal and Hitchcock in the United States later the same year. Lewis Galantière came up with the English title, which was approved by Saint-Exupéry.

Saint-Exupéry dedicated the book to his friend Henri Guillaumet of Aéropostale.

Tributes

The charity Terre des hommes took its name from this book in 1959. The charitable international federation of humanitarian societies concentrates on children's rights, and is based in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The book's title was subsequently used to create the central theme ("Terre des Hommes – Man and His World") of the most successful world's fair of the 20th century, Expo 67, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In 1963, a group of prominent Canadians met for three days at the Seigneury Club in Montebello, Quebec. In an introduction to the Expo 67 Corporation's book, also entitled "Terre des Hommes/Man and His World", Gabrielle Roy wrote:

Pascal Gélinas & Pierre Harel's short film Taire des hommes (meaning to silence men) has a title homophonic to the book's title, but is instead about the censorship and repression at the riot of the national holiday of June 24, 1968, in downtown Montréal, one day before the federal election.

Awards and recognitions

  • Winner of the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française (Grand Prize for Fiction from the French Academy), 1939, one of France's oldest and most prestigious literary awards.
  • Winner of the U.S. National Book Award for 1939 Nonfiction. Saint-Exupéry only received the prize in early 1942, as he had been flying as a reconnaissance pilot during the Battle of France when the award was announced earlier.
  • The National Geographic ADVENTURE voted the book No. 3 in its all-time list of 100 best adventure-exploration books.
  • Outside magazine voted the book No. 1 in its all-time list of 25 adventure-explorer books.

Notes

References

  • Outside Magazine, "The 25 (Essential) Books for the Well-Read Explorer".
  • National Geographic ADVENTURE: 100 Best Adventure Books
  • Review by Bobby Matherne.
  • The Expo 67 symbol as it relates to Man and His World
  • Complete text of Terre des hommes (French, public domain in Canada)