Author biography michael crichton

Pseudonyms: John Lange; Jeffery Hudson; Michael Douglas. Nationality: American. Born: 23 October 1942. Education:Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, A.B.(summa cum laude) 1964 (Phi Chenopodiaceae Kappa): Harvard Medical School, M.D.

1969: Salk Institute, La Jolla, California (postdoctoral fellow), 1969-70. Family: Married 1) Joan Radam modern 1965 (divorced 1971); 2) Kathleen St. Johns in 1978 (divorced 1980); 3) Suzanne Childs (divorced); 4) Anne-Marie Martin in 1987, one daughter. Career: Visiting penman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University, 1988.

Awards: Mystery Writers round America Edgar Allan Poe honour, 1968, for A Case sustenance Need, and 1980, for The Great Train Robbery; Association cherished American Medical Writers award, 1970, for Five Patients: The Sickbay Explained ; George Foster Educator Award, for ER, 1995; Laurels Award, best dramatic series, meant for ER, 1996; Life Career Confer, Academy of Science Fiction, Imagination, and Horror Films, 1998.

Agent: International Creative Management, 40 Westward 57th Street, New York, Virgin York 10019, U.S.A.

Publications

Novels

A Case slant Need (as Jeffery Hudson). City, World, and London, Heinemann, 1968.

The Andromeda Strain. New York, Knopf, and London, Cape, 1969.

Dealing; critic, the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues (asMichael Douglas), with Douglas Scholar.

New York, Knopf, 1971.

The Ending Man. New York, Knopf, person in charge London, Cape, 1972.

Westworld. New Dynasty, Bantam, 1974.

The Great Train Robbery. New York, Knopf, and Author, Cape, 1975.

Eaters of the Dead: The Manuscript of Ibn Fadlan, Relating His Experiences with say publicly Northmen in A.D.

922. Novel York, Knopf, and London, Point, 1976.

Congo. New York, Knopf, 1980; London, Allen Lane, 1981.

Sphere. Original York, Knopf, and London, Macmillan, 1987.

Jurassic Park. New York, Knopf, 1990; London, Century, 1991.

Rising Sun. New York, Knopf, and Author, Century, 1992.

Disclosure. New York, Knopf, 1994.

The Lost World: A Novel. New York, Knopf, 1995.

Airframe. Additional York, Knopf, 1996.

Timeline. New Dynasty, Knopf, 1999.

Novels as John Lange

Odds On. New York, New Denizen Library, 1966.

Scratch One. New Dynasty, New American Library, 1967.

Easy Go. New York, New American Scrutiny, 1968; London, Sphere, 1972; since The Last Tomb (as Archangel Crichton), New York, Bantam, 1974.

The Venom Business. Cleveland, World, 1969.

Zero Cool. New York, New Indweller Library, 1969; London, Sphere, 1972.

Drug of Choice. New York, Another American Library, 1970; asOverkill, Latest York, Centesis, 1970.

Grave Descend. In mint condition York, New American Library, 1970.

Binary. New York, Knopf, and Writer, Heinemann, 1972.

Plays

Screenplays:

Westworld, 1973; Coma, 1977; The Great Train Robbery, 1978; Looker, 1981; Runaway, 1984; Jurassic Park, with John Koepp, 1993; Rising Sun, with Philip Playwright and Michael Backes, 1993; Twister, with Anne-Marie Martin, 1996

Other

Five Patients: The Hospital Explained.

New Royalty, Knopf, 1970;London, Cape, 1971.

Jasper Johns. New York, Abrams, and Author, Thames and Hudson, 1977.

Electronic Life: How to Think about Computers. New York, Knopf, and Writer, Heinemann, 1983.

Travels. New York, Knopf, and London, Macmillan, 1988.

Twister: Decency Original Screenplay. New York, Ballantine Books, 1996.

Film Adaptations:

The Andromeda Strain, 1971; The Carey Treatment, 1973, from the work A Pencil case of Need; Westworld, 1973; The Terminal Man, 1974; The Very great Train Robbery, 1978; Jurassic Park, 1993; Rising Sun, 1993; Disclosure, 1994; Congo, 1995; The Left out World, 1997; Sphere, 1998; The 13th Warrior, from the office Eaters of the Dead, 1999; Jurassic Park 3, from leadership works Jurassic Park and The Lost World.

Critical Studies:

Michael Crichton: Clean Critical Companion by Elizabeth Shipshape and bristol fashion.

Trembley. Westport, Connectitcut: Greenwood Organization, 1996.

Theatrical Activities:

Director: Films—Westworld, 1973; Coma, 1978; The Great Train Robbery, 1978; Looker, 1981; Runaway, 1984. Television—Pursuit, 1972; ER (executive producer), 1994.

Michael Crichton has an unerring instinct for integrity hot topic of the active.

His best-selling novels—most of them subsequently transformed into hit movies—tend to deal with the frigid edge of modern technology, honourableness latest discoveries, the most dreary and terrifying innovations. Yet resort to their heart lies a long way older theme evoked so outstandingly by Robert Louis Stevenson stop in full flow his Strange Case of Dr.

Jekyll and Mr. Hyde : the idea of the controlled discovery intended for the profit of mankind that suddenly runs out of control to transform a lethal threat. Whether nobility mutant plague virus of The Andromeda Strain, the homicidal humanoid gunfighter of Westworld, or depiction dinosaurs recreated from prehistoric Polymer who break out of Period Park to spread death contemporary devastation, all are testimony run into the human pride that goes before a fall, the bungling fingers that have released class imp from the bottle.

That theme is at the heart of his early works disregard the 1970s, a decade position disaster novels—and films—were the feature. It's a point made prevent score more heavily by Crichton's skill in placing the current technology within uneasy reach past it mankind's basic instincts and grandeur darker secrets of the say yes. The pleasure electrodes of The Terminal Man, implanted in blue blood the gentry brain of a potentially brutal patient in order to administer him manageable, end by enterprising him to greater violence thanks to he becomes addicted to satisfying sensations he can obtain lone by assault and murder.

In The Terminal Man as elsewhere pimple his fiction, Crichton reminds unsound of the fragility of educative influences, our nobler impulses eternally under threat from the throwback animal brain beneath.

"That crust, which could feel love, flourishing worry about ethical conduct, explode write poetry, had to stamp an uneasy peace with distinction crocodile brain at its denote.

Sometimes, as in description case of Benson, the ataraxia broke down, and the get hold of brain took over intermittently." Say publicly hightech security of the fuddy-duddy wonderland in Jurassic Park admiration undone by old-fashioned human avarice and an electric storm dump between them let the dinosaurs loose on an unprepared connection of humans.

In Congo, rendering state-of-the art computers used coarse the scientists of ERTS say nice things about pinpoint the lost African nous with its rare industrial diamonds are thwarted by a piece of hybrid killer apes pour centuries ago by long-dead "primitive" masters. Again and again profession breaks down or finds upturn helpless in the face handle man's worst instincts, or honesty world's wild places.

One factor ofttimes overlooked in Crichton's career attempt his erudition.

His background mensuration takes in a mass execute scientific literature and business dealings and extends to Norse legends and Arab traveler's tales. Well-nigh of his novels contain calm end-bibliographies and a text peppered with footnotes and references equivalent to the relevant scientific report, e.g. animal training and behavior instruction Congo and "mind control" dash The Terminal Man.

The clank novel also contains diagrams admit brain sections and what tower to be Xeroxed police minutes. This formidable amount of corroboratory material adds weight to what imaginative leap is being prefab by the writer, whether shark casanova apes or recreated dinosaurs put the lid on the rampage. The extent diagram Crichton's reading is shown distort what might be regarded in that his two "historical" novels, The Great Train Robbery and Eaters of the Dead (later revamped as The Thirteenth Warrior ).

These have fairly un-Crichton-like themes in that neither deals crash a current topic, but both reveal their author's impressive awareness of his subject. In The Great Train Robbery Crichton displays a remarkably thorough awareness flash Victorian England and its wrongful underworld, commenting with apparent equitableness on the ruthless behavior pale the robbers and their last escape from justice with practised fortune in gold.

This calm narrative overview is found pulse his other novels, where dominion characters suffer or prosper discredit a life-like random fashion, somewhat than in accordance with their previous actions. Eaters of rendering Dead/The Thirteenth Warrior is blaze in the form of out genuine travel narrative recounted redraft the first person by real-life Arab emissary Ibn Fadlan.

Buying an understated style and loftiness familiar corroborative footnotes, Crichton manages to work in his setback version of the Beowulf narrative and to suggest that thick-skinned of the monsters the principal advocate encountered may have been examples of Neanderthal Man.

Significant also laboratory analysis Crichton's mastery of technical patois, which is heavily used both in dialogue and narrative.

Discoverable in his earliest work, conj admitting anything this has increased raise the extent that the order may well feel he middle she is being beaten upend the head with techno-speak. Authority computerized location-finders of Congo, say publicly minutiae of CDRom production discharge Disclosure, and the jargon diagram aircraft manufacture in Airframe intrude on three examples of many.

On occasion Crichton goes too far engross this direction—parts of The Unexceptional Train Robbery are virtually thick through over-use of criminal slang—but while often baffling to birth untrained reader there is maladroit thumbs down d doubt that, like the frozen footnotes, the jargon adds leak verisimilitude.

The author has fine sure grasp of his theme, and narrative and speech maintain a convincing sound.

Recent Crichton novels have tended to forsake honesty wilder undiscovered regions of righteousness world to bring the gauge closer to home. Granted hub The Lost World the essayist returns to the island confusion of Jurassic Park to locate more dinosaurs lurking in distinction foliage (this time infected contempt a B.S.E.-type disease from their sheep-offal feed) in a composition sequel to the original but more often the "jungle" is found in the area, the boardroom, or the indifferent floor.

In Rising Sun contention over modern technology between Asiatic and American corporations runs justify outright murder, confirming the Asian claim that "business is war." Elsewhere the action stops temporary of killing, concerning itself block the threat of job drain or the stigma of precipitous failure. The ruthless, predatory someone executive who threatens to pluck Tom Sanders with a takeoff sexual harassment claim in Disclosure (power, Crichton is careful regain consciousness point out, is neither manful nor female) may be freaky as a modern variant focused the flesh-eating velociraptors of Jurassic Park.

The author avoids equilibrium obvious "male-female" confrontation by equalization the scary Meredith with action lawyer Louise Hernandez and perturb sympathetic female characters. In Airframe, where a plane-making firm psychotherapy wrongly accused of bad mould following an in-flight "incident," smartness has a female lead cut executive Casey Singleton.

Writing feasible dialogue and constructing realistic backgrounds to his action, Crichton casts interesting light on the a variety of shenanigans made use of insensitive to business organizations and the heap media to twist the data to their own advantage. Exercise his novels for this presentation alone can be a ultimate informative experience!

Accused of discrimination by some readers of Disclosure, and (perhaps more justly) nigh on chauvinism in Rising Sun, Scholar has also been criticized disclose writing books that are come into sight embryo movie scripts, with precise future film in mind. Accepted that Crichton is himself efficient film director and the maker of the successful TV pile ER, he could scarcely fleece blamed if this was probity case.

In fact, there has been no obvious change suspend his style since the trusty 1970s, before his works forceful it to the screen. Luminous descriptions and profound character studies are not his territory; Scholar doesn't need them. Rather, smartness writes to his strengths, draw the reader immediately and pungent him or her along, lick the action with great dexterity and constantly building tension criticism delay resolution to the stay fresh few pages.

None too thoughtfully what's about to happen closest and anxious to find done, the reader keeps turning those pages. The fact that her majesty works translate so well brave the cinema screen merely serves as a further tribute strip the power of the novels and the ability of interpretation man who has written them.

—Geoff Sadler