Pierre Boulle.

Pierre Boulle, born on February 20, 1912, in Avignon and died on January 30, 1994, in Paris, was a French writer famous for his adventure and science fiction novels. Born into a bourgeois family, he developed an early taste for nature, hunting, and fishing, which fueled his love of adventure. After studying engineering at Supélec, he went to work in Malaysia on a rubber plantation, an experience that would inspire several of his novels, notably Le Sacrilège malais (The Malay Sacrilege).

During World War II, he joined the Resistance in Southeast Asia and joined the Free French Forces under the identity of Peter John Rule. Captured by French soldiers loyal to the Vichy regime, he was sentenced to hard labor, but escaped and joined Force 136 in Calcutta. These experiences inspired his novel The Bridge on the River Kwai, adapted for the cinema by David Lean in 1957.

After the war, Boulle devoted himself to writing. Between 1950 and 1992, he published nearly one book a year, exploring different genres: adventure, storytelling, fantasy, science fiction, and social criticism. His most famous work remains Planet of the Apes (1963), which was adapted for the cinema and became a global franchise.

Boulle skillfully blended humor, humanism, and critical observation of society in his books, successfully navigating between fiction and personal memories.

He is the author of Le Sacrilège malais (The Malay Sacrilege) and Les Oreilles de jungle (The Jungle Ears), published by Éditions du Pacifique.