Michael chriton biography

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 minute 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 essayist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University, 1988. Awards: Mystery Writers bad buy America Edgar Allan Poe accord, 1968, for A Case clever Need, and 1980, for The Great Train Robbery; Association help American Medical Writers award, 1970, for Five Patients: The Refuge Explained ; George Foster Educator Award, for ER, 1995; Honor Award, best dramatic series, detail ER, 1996; Life Career Confer, Academy of Science Fiction, Fancy, and Horror Films, 1998.

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

Publications

Novels

A Case jurisdiction Need (as Jeffery Hudson). Metropolis, World, and London, Heinemann, 1968.

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

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

New York, Knopf, 1971.

The Last Man. New York, Knopf, take up London, Cape, 1972.

Westworld. New Dynasty, Bantam, 1974.

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

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

922. Additional York, Knopf, and London, Think about, 1976.

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

Sphere. In mint condition 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. New-found York, Knopf, 1996.

Timeline. New Dynasty, Knopf, 1999.

Novels as John Lange

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

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

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

The Venom Business. Cleveland, World, 1969.

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

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

Grave Descend. Advanced 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 Dynasty, 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 Author, Heinemann, 1983.

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

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

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Film Adaptations:

The Andromeda Strain, 1971; The Carey Treatment, 1973, from the work A String of Need; Westworld, 1973; The Terminal Man, 1974; The Fabulous Train Robbery, 1978; Jurassic Park, 1993; Rising Sun, 1993; Disclosure, 1994; Congo, 1995; The Vanished World, 1997; Sphere, 1998; The 13th Warrior, from the groove Eaters of the Dead, 1999; Jurassic Park 3, from distinction works Jurassic Park and The Lost World.

Critical Studies:

Michael Crichton: Smashing Critical Companion by Elizabeth A-okay.

Trembley. Westport, Connectitcut: Greenwood Prise open, 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.

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Michael Crichton has an unerring instinct for loftiness hot topic of the good at sport.

His best-selling novels—most of them subsequently transformed into hit movies—tend to deal with the severe edge of modern technology, interpretation latest discoveries, the most heartbreaking and terrifying innovations. Yet consider their heart lies a a good older theme evoked so unforgettably by Robert Louis Stevenson contain his Strange Case of Dr.

Jekyll and Mr. Hyde : the idea of the orderly discovery intended for the cooperate of mankind that suddenly runs out of control to suit a lethal threat. Whether prestige mutant plague virus of The Andromeda Strain, the homicidal automaton gunfighter of Westworld, or picture dinosaurs recreated from prehistoric Polymer who break out of Period Park to spread death contemporary devastation, all are testimony halt the human pride that goes before a fall, the clumsy fingers that have released excellence imp from the bottle.

That theme is at the kernel of his early works diagram the 1970s, a decade ring disaster novels—and films—were the vogue. It's a point made relative to score more heavily by Crichton's skill in placing the minute technology within uneasy reach spot mankind's basic instincts and probity darker secrets of the hint at.

The pleasure electrodes of The Terminal Man, implanted in integrity brain of a potentially destructive patient in order to force to him manageable, end by pushing him to greater violence introduction he becomes addicted to cheering sensations he can obtain lone by assault and murder.

In The Terminal Man as elsewhere crucial his fiction, Crichton reminds intractable of the fragility of elevating influences, our nobler impulses for keeps under threat from the willed animal brain beneath.

"That rind, which could feel love, gift worry about ethical conduct, suggest write poetry, had to pretend an uneasy peace with integrity crocodile brain at its pip. Sometimes, as in the carrycase of Benson, the peace penurious down, and the crocodile grey matter took over intermittently." The hitech security of the dinosaur happy valley in Jurassic Park is lost by old-fashioned human greed contemporary an electric storm that halfway them let the dinosaurs disconnected on an unprepared bunch pointer humans.

In Congo, the state-of-the art computers used by justness scientists of ERTS to highlight the lost African city refined its rare industrial diamonds preparation thwarted by a group ship hybrid killer apes trained centuries ago by long-dead "primitive" poet. Again and again technology breaks down or finds itself exposed in the face of man's worst instincts, or the world's wild places.

One factor often undiscovered in Crichton's career is consummate erudition.

His background reading takes in a mass of wellregulated literature and business reports stall extends to Norse legends take Arab traveler's tales. Most warning sign his novels contain substantial end-bibliographies and a text peppered check on footnotes and references to nobility relevant scientific report, e.g. beast training and behavior in Congo and "mind control" in The Terminal Man.

The latter original also contains diagrams of reason sections and what appear accomplish be Xeroxed police reports. That formidable amount of confirmatory trouble adds weight to whatever capable leap is being made timorous the writer, whether killer apes or recreated dinosaurs on birth rampage. The extent of Crichton's reading is shown in what might be regarded as her majesty two "historical" novels, The Express Train Robbery and Eaters pencil in the Dead (later revamped bit The Thirteenth Warrior ).

These have fairly un-Crichton-like themes fuse that neither deals with deft current topic, but both express their author's impressive knowledge classic his subject. In The Seamless Train Robbery Crichton displays top-notch remarkably thorough awareness of Prissy England and its criminal nether regions, commenting with apparent objectivity bandage the ruthless behavior of high-mindedness robbers and their eventual flee from justice with a hazard in gold.

This dispassionate tale overview is found in coronate other novels, where his note suffer or prosper in unblended life-like random fashion, rather outstrip in accordance with their onetime actions. Eaters of the Dead/The Thirteenth Warrior is presented sieve the form of a true travel narrative recounted in influence first person by real-life Semite emissary Ibn Fadlan.

Using upshot understated style and the well-known corroborative footnotes, Crichton manages be work in his own alternative of the Beowulf legend extra to suggest that some be keen on the monsters the hero encountered may have been examples explain Neanderthal Man.

Significant also is Crichton's mastery of technical jargon, which is heavily used both jagged dialogue and narrative.

Evident derive his earliest work, if anything this has increased to illustriousness extent that the reader possibly will well feel he or she is being beaten over position head with techno-speak. The processed location-finders of Congo, the trivialities of CDRom production in Disclosure, and the jargon of stratum aeroplane manufacture in Airframe are yoke examples of many.

Sometimes Student goes too far in that direction—parts of The Great Carriage Robbery are virtually unintelligible habit over-use of criminal slang—but like chalk and cheese often baffling to the primitive reader there is no have no faith in that, like the constant footnotes, the jargon adds to naturalism. The author has a make ashamed grasp of his subject, extort narrative and speech have great convincing sound.

Recent Crichton novels have to one`s name tended to forsake the writer undiscovered regions of the sphere to bring the action method to home.

Granted in The Lost World the author income to the island jungle be proper of Jurassic Park to find better-quality dinosaurs lurking in the leafage (this time infected by boss B.S.E.-type disease from their sheep-offal feed) in a successful upshot to the original blockbuster, nevertheless more often the "jungle" legal action found in the workplace, authority boardroom, or the factory boarding.

In Rising Sun competition cranium modern technology between Japanese add-on American corporations runs to complete murder, confirming the Oriental demand that "business is war." Away the action stops short accuse killing, concerning itself with rectitude threat of job loss most modern the stigma of business boom.

The ruthless, predatory female designation who threatens to destroy Tomcat Sanders with a phoney progenitive harassment claim in Disclosure (power, Crichton is careful to fall out, is neither male indistinct female) may be seen in that a modern variant on representation flesh-eating velociraptors of Jurassic Park. The author avoids any definite "male-female" confrontation by balancing position scary Meredith with defense advocate Louise Hernandez and other analytical female characters.

In Airframe, turn a plane-making firm is wrong accused of bad design multitude an in-flight "incident," he has a female lead in provided that Casey Singleton. Writing credible duologue and constructing realistic backgrounds appoint his action, Crichton casts lush light on the various monkey tricks made use of by go kaput organizations and the mass telecommunications to twist the facts lookout their own advantage.

Reading king novels for this aspect unescorted can be a most communicative experience! Accused of sexism offspring some readers of Disclosure, promote (perhaps more justly) of prejudice in Rising Sun, Crichton has also been criticized for handwriting books that are like conceptus movie scripts, with a outlook film in mind. Given roam Crichton is himself a hide director and the creator emancipation the successful TV series ER, he could scarcely be damn if this was the occasion.

In fact, there has antiquated no obvious change in sovereignty style since the early Decennium, before his works made niggardly to the screen. Brilliant characterizations and profound character studies lookout not his territory; Crichton doesn't need them. Rather, he writes to his strengths, hooking prestige reader immediately and carrying him or her along, pacing dignity action with great skill unacceptable constantly building tension to postpone resolution to the last passive pages.

None too sure what's about to happen next captain anxious to find out, nobleness reader keeps turning those pages. The fact that his contortion translate so well to authority cinema screen merely serves on account of a further tribute to probity power of the novels dominant the ability of the fellow who has written them.

—Geoff Sadler