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Cover of Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle

Planet of the Apes

  • 208 pages · about 3 hours
  • First published 1963
  • 61 editions

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1 About this book

La Planète des singes, published in English as Planet of the Apes in the U.S. and Monkey Planet in the UK, is a 1963 science fiction novel by French author Pierre Boulle. It was adapted into the 1968 film Planet of the Apes, launching the Planet of the Apes media franchise.

The novel tells the tale of three human explorers from Earth who visit a planet orbiting the star Betelgeuse, in which great apes are the dominant intelligent and civilized species, whereas humans are reduced to a savage animal-like state.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Science fiction
  • Revolutions
  • Human-animal relationships
  • Monkeys
  • Movies
  • Motion pictures
  • Films
  • Social role

2 About Pierre Boulle

1912–1994

Pierre François Marie Louis Boulle (20 February 1912 – 30 January 1994) was a French author. He is best known for two works, The Bridge over the River Kwai (1952) and Planet of the Apes (1963), that were both made into award-winning films. Boulle was an engineer serving as a secret agent with the Free French in Southeast Asia, when he was captured and imprisoned for two years.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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