He was said to be one of the best pilots of his time, “ Je n’en ai pas connu de plus grand” ( I’ve never known a greater one), said Didier Daurat, director of l’Aéropostale.
Henri Guillaumet was another pioneer of French aviation who contributed to the opening of airmail routes through the South Atlantic and the Andes. Those were years in which aviation differed very much to what it is today, and that is reflected in “ Terre des Hommes“, where he pays tribute to some of his colleagues, mainly Henri Guillaumet and Jean Mermoz, and he shares some experiences which seem today unbelievable.Those years at Latécoère (which airline later became L’Aeropostale) must have been truly remarkable. He flew first for the French Air Force, then he was a pioneer in the international postal flight, flying for the Aéropostale between Toulouse and Dakar, and later other lines. While doing his military service, he took flying lessons and there he discovered his passion. Saint-Exupery failed to enter to Naval Academy and started studies of Fine Arts, which he did not finish.
His most known book, “ Le Petit Prince“, was published a few years later, in 1943. “ Terre des hommes“ (of which English version was titled “Wind, Sand and Stars”, and apparently differs greatly from the French version which I read) is a compilation book of some memories of the aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, of his time at the airmail carrier l’Aéropostale.The book was published in 1939, two years later he received the US National Book Award for this book.
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