Antoine De Saint-Exupéry, was not only the author of the beloved book The Little Prince, was also a pilot in the profession. He began his career when the air force was still in its infancy and pilots risked their lives every time they flew. He was one of the pioneers of postal flights, traveling between Europe and Africa.

On December 30, 1935, after 19 hours and 44 minutes of flight, the aircraft of Saint-Exupéry and his friend André Prévot falls into the Libyan desert. In this way he loses 150,000 francs which was the prize for the pilot who would cover the distance from Paris to Saigon faster. The fall did not kill them and they all seemed to die of dehydration if they hadn’t be saved by the Bedouins from certain death. In this experience Saint-Exupéry bases the start of the book “The Little Prince”, where a pilot is alone in the desert.

Saint-Exupéry’s love of flying is reflected in many of his books, such as his works “Night Flight”, “The Aviator”, “Wind, Sand and Stars”.

In 1939 Saint-Exupéry joined the French air force and fought against the Germans. When the Germans invaded Paris in 1940, he exiled himself to New York, where he would stay for three years.

When the Americans landed in North Africa in 1943, Saint-Exupéry felt it was time to return to battle. But his health, due to numerous air accidents, is deteriorating and he will need the support of friends to allow him to fly.

One of those who helped him was the photographer John Phillips. To Phillips Saint-Exupéry dedicated the “Letter to an American” who wrote shortly before his fatal flight on July 31, 1944.

John Phillips had made a whole series of photos of Saint-Exupéry, but because of the regrets he felt about helping him fly, he chose not to publish them.