Books

Paris, Julliard, (January 19630 1 vol. (135 x 195 mm) of 265 p. and [3] f. Publisher's cold-stamped green cloth. Numbered true first edition (no. 228 R). In the novel, the hero is a world away from the American adaptation, where the majestic Charlton Heston plays Captain George Taylor. And the Planet of the Apes, if it exists at all, is not Planet Earth. But Pierre Boulle's ending is just as effective and surprising! Pierre Boulle imagines that natural evolution will strip man of his pre-eminence over other living species, in favor of the apes. The idea came to him during a visit to the zoo, while observing the gorillas. He says: "I was impressed by their almost human expressions. This led me to imagine what a human/ape relationship would be like. Some people think I had King Kong in mind when I wrote my book, but I didn't." In the novel, the hero goes by the unassuming - not to say ridiculous - name of Ulysses Merou - a far cry from the American adaptation, where the majestic Charlton Heston plays Captain George Taylor. And forget the film's famous punchline and the devastated Statue of Liberty: Boulle's novel ends at Orly, overlooking the Eiffel Tower. And the Planet of the Apes, if it exists at all, is not Planet Earth. In the novel, none of this exists. But the ending imagined by Pierre Boulle is just as much a story� Marginal stains on pages 123, 125 and 127, otherwise a bright near-fine copy now Mylar protected.

Planet of the Apes is a classic science fiction novel by Pierre Boulle that tells the story of Ulysse Mérou, a French journalist who ends up on a distant planet where intelligent apes dominate the primitive human race.