The classic tale of a group of British boys who end up on an uninhabited island after a plane evacuating them from war-time England apparently crashes.  The time is unclear, but could be WWII or it could be some dystopian future since the ‘atomic bomb’ is mentioned.  War continues, however, as a pilot who is shot down parachutes onto the island, becoming THE BEAST for a time, and the boys are eventually rescued by a British cruiser.  In the meantime, Ralph, Piggy, Simon, Jack, Roger, Sam and Eric and a few other recognizable lads turn from proper British students to savages intent on blood and mayhem.  The breakdown of social order, the inherent evil of man, the inability to govern with reason and rules is Golding’s story, told with pace and breath-taking tension up until the final page.