One of the miracles of the airplane is that it plunges a man directly into the heart of mystery…A needle trembles on your manometer, and this green clump below you becomes a universe.

Distinguished as a National Geographic Top Ten Adventure Book of All Time, this effusive, poetic memoir recounts Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's unparalleled experiences as a French aviator. Via tales of wreckages in the Sahara, bizarre saviors in Paraguay, and the vulnerable disillusionment born of the Spanish Civil War, Saint-Exupéry warns of the indifference of Mother Earth and the tenacious but judgmental heart of man. Written in lyrical, philosophical prose (albeit sprinkled with a few outdated ideologies), Wind, Sand and Stars will take hold of your heart and never let go. (RR)