Published in 1963, La Planète des singes is an ingenious take on the evolution of life and, ultimately, man’s self destructive arrogance and cruelty. Pierre Boulle turns Darwin’s theory on its ear by imagining a world where apes rule supreme. Endowing gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans with human characteristics paints a truthful and decidedly unflattering self portrait of mankind.

*Those of us old enough to remember the 1968 American film adaptation will see many dissimilarities between Pierre Boulle’s novel and Rod Serling’s screenplay. Both work well for their specific medium, though I much prefer Boulle’s ending over Serling’s clichéd but iconic ‘Lady Liberty on the beach.’