This book was written by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (Author of the Little Prince). It was in the top 3 of National Geographic’ and Outside Magazines’ top 100 adventure books of all time.
I love St-Exupery, and not just for The Little Prince (although that would be reason enough). I read all his stuff when I was in college, at the same time that I read Richard Bach’s Stranger to the Ground. I think I may have been having a love affair with the idea of flight.