The acclaimed aviator and adventurer wrote this letter while waiting in Portugal for a passage to the U.S., having just escaped the terrors of war-torn France, and dedicated it to the 40 million Frenchmen, hostages of the Germans. Saint-ExupÔery's observations on the aimless existence of his fellow exiles in Lisbon filled with parties, gambling, and spies leads him to examine the nature of existence itself. The particularity of this moment, as the world seemed to be coming to an end, makes for a searing and timeless evocation of the nature of humanity.