The iconic image of King Kong climbing the Empire State Building has been a pop-culture staple since the original King Kong film premiered in 1933. Since then, there have been King Kong remakes, comic books, television series, and even a musical. King Kong also inspired other films, such as the Planet of the Apes franchise and big-ape documentaries. This resource will take readers behind the scenes of these thrilling movies with posters and stills from each era of the King Kong phenomenon, discussion of special effects, and more.

** COMPLETELY UNAUTHORIZED ** Kong fans will go bananas over this collection of essays on one of film's most powerful and evocative figures. Experts in the fields of race, gender, evolution, special effects, and film explore the legend of King Kong from every angle in this study of the magical and unparalleled original film. From Why has King Kong affected the American consciousness so profoundly? to What does the story say about race, gender, and sexuality? and Why have the sequels failed to re-create the original's allure?, the essayists examine all aspects of this landmark film and its impact on society, culture, and media. Insights into the new version, due out this year by acclaimed Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, are also included.

Kong will find himself the center of an charming and enthralling children’s book by New York Times’ author Kiki Thorpe, with illustrations by Nidhi Chanani (Pashmina; I will be fierce). Young fans will be able to follow along as the mighty Titan and his new pal spend a day of fun and adventure exploring the many wonders of Skull Island—proving that friendships come in many sizes and no matter how different we are, no one is too big or small to find a true friend. Kong will find himself the center of an charming and enthralling children’s book by New York Times’ author Kiki Thorpe, with illustrations by Nidhi Chanani (Pashmina; I will be fierce). Young fans will be able to follow along as the mighty Titan and his new pal spend a day of fun and adventure exploring the many wonders of Skull Island—proving that friendships come in many sizes and no matter how different we are, no one is too big or small to find a true friend.

Based on the major motion picture King Kong from Universal Pictures-P. 1] of cover.

Some people lost their sense of proportion, others their sense of scale, but Simon Dykes, a middle-aged, successful London painter, has lost his sense of perspective in a most disturbing fashion. After a night of routine, pedestrian debauchery, traipsing from toilet to toilet, and imbibing a host of narcotics on the way, Simon wakes up cuddled in his girlfriend’s loving arms. Much to his dismay, however, his girlfriend has turned into a chimpanzee. To add insult to injury, the psychiatric crash team sent to deal with him as he flips his lid is also comprised of chimps. Indeed, the entire city is overrun by clever primates, who, when they are not jostling for position, grooming themselves, or mating some of the females, can be found driving Volvos, hanging out on street corners, and running the world. Nonetheless convinced that he is still a human, Simon is confined to the emergency psychiatric ward of Charing Cross Hospital, where he becomes the patient of Dr. Zack Busner, clinical psychologist, medical doctor, anti-psychiatrist, and former television personality—an expert at the height of his reign as alpha male. As Busner attempts to convince him that “everyone who is fully sentient in this world are chimpanzees,” Simon struggles with the horrifying delusion that he is really a human trapped in a chimp’s body. Written with the same brilliant satiric wit that has distinguised Self’s earlier fiction, Great Apes is a hilarious, often disturbing, and absolutely original take on man’s place in the evolutionary chain. In a strange and twisted tale that recalls Jonathan Swift and Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, Will Self’s comic genius is impossible to ignore.

Jack Denham, grandson of moviemaker Carl Denham (who brought Kong to New York in 1933) clashes with a ruthless business magnate, Carlton Hemming, as both attempt to clone the giant ape, Kong, from blood samples discovered by a high-steel worker in 1999. Succeeding beyond their wildest dreams, it is quickly apparent the cloned ape belongs back in his native wilderness and not the wilds of New York. The final life-and-death struggle is played out on Skull Island—a lost world in the Indian ocean, full of monstrous creatures—where the original Kong was found over 70 years ago.