Fortress

Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-09-01
Features: Nietzsche and Gide designed a moral, promoting it through eloquent and inspiring writing, but only Saint-Exupéry embodied it in life amid danger and fulfillment. He made adventure his profession and writing his passion, realizing Kierkegaard's wish in the cockpit of an airplane: "From a rational standpoint, there should be no significant difference between being a thinker and being a person." At the turn of the century, the French held a competition to select the best French-language book of the 20th century, and the result was Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince. However, the author of this best French-language book, who held the most favor in his lifetime, was actually Fortress. He said, "This book will be published after my death, and my other works are merely exercises compared to it." This book is a collection of reflections and meditations, filled with stories, confessions, and discussions. It uses the education of a Berber chief in the desert about a prince to express opinions on civilization, life, society, institutions, and values.