Pierre Boulle

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. These experiences inspired The Bridge over the River Kwai, about the notorious Death Railway, which became an international bestseller.