A searing and timeless evocation of the nature of humanity The acclaimed aviator and adventurer wrote Letter to a Hostage while waiting in neutral Portugal for a passage to the United States, having just escaped from the terrors of war-torn France. Saint-Exupery's observations on the aimless existence of his fellow exiles in a 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.