Discovering the hidden wisdom of the Little prince In search of Saint-Exupéry's lost child

The Little Prince needs no introduction, and although several biographies of the author of this beloved children's book, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, have been published over the years (notably by Stacy Schiff), French child-psychologist and author Lassus narrows the focus in this title by directing his attention to how Saint-Exupéry's life influenced the writing of this international classic. Touching on the story of his childhood and teen years, Lassus then moves to the pilot's professional experiences and how time and again they coincide, in ways large and small, with elements in The Little Prince. If Lassus was reaching for his conclusions, this would be the sort of book to easily dismiss as a novelty, but there is a lot to support his well-thought-out argument that Saint-Exupéry's fairy tale is heavily autobiographical. Touching on philosophy and religion and never shying away from Saint-Exupéry's shortcomings, especially in the cockpit, this is a touching and deeply moving analysis of a book that is cherished by millions. It's hard to imagine that its fans will not appreciate what Lassus has uncovered.--Mondor, Colleen Copyright 2017 Booklist

The story behind one of the world's most popular books.Early on in this intriguing quest to solve the "enigma" of The Little Prince, "a true publishing phenomenon," child psychologist Lassus notes that the book is fourth on the list of the world's "most-read" books, after the Bible, the Quran, and Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung. The favorite book of both Martin Heidegger and James Dean was written in America during World War II at the request of the exiled author's American publisher. Antoine Saint-Exupry (1900-1944) was experiencing "deep moral anguish" at the time as well as writing a spiritual autobiography, The Wisdom of the Sands, which was posthumously published. Beautifully illustrated with watercolors by the author, this fairy tale for children, as some describe it, is about a little lost boy/prince from another planet who lands in a desert where a pilot is trying to repair his plane. They both want to go home. Saint-Exupry was an accomplished pilot who wrote a number of hugely popular and award-winning autobiographical books about aviation. He was brought up Catholic in a family dominated by women but never seriously practiced his religion as an adult. Lassus notes that there are no women in The Little Prince and that the author also once crashed a plane in the desert. Lassus goes on to interpret the book as a "metaphor of the author's life," identifying real-life parallels for key elements in the book. He focuses on what he sees as the book's spiritual message, exploring such topics as the annunciation, ascension, and Eden; quotations from the Bible become prevalent. For Lassus, the book seems "more of a parable than a fairy tale." Despite the heavy-handed religious reading of the book and some proselytizing, many will enjoy learning about Saint-Exupry and his life and how he came to write such a beloved book. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.