Biography of John Michael Crichton

Name: John Michael Crichton
Bith Date: October 23, 1942
Death Date:
Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Occupations: novelist, screenwriter

John Michael Crichton

Michael Crichton (born 1942) is best known as a novelist of popular fiction whose stories explore the confrontation between traditional social and moral values and the demands of the new technological age. His most successful novel, Jurassic Park (1990), involves the re-creation of living dinosaurs from ancient DNA and examines what can go wrong when greedy people misconstrue the power of new and untested technologies.

Crichton was born in Chicago and raised on Long Island. At fourteen years of age, he wrote and sold articles to the New York Times travel section, and, in 1964, earned a B. A. in anthropology from Harvard University. The following year, while on a European travel fellowship in anthropology and ethnology, he met and married Joan Radam; they eventually divorced in 1970. Returning to Harvard University in 1965, Crichton entered medical school, where he began to write novels under the pseudonym John Lange in order to support his medical studies. While doing postdoctoral work at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, Crichton published The Andromeda Strain (1969), a technological thriller, which garnered literary acclaim and national prominence for the author. Upon leaving medical studies, Crichton began a full-time writing career. Eventually, he also directed his screenplay of his novel Westworld (1973), starring Yul Brynner, and wrote the screenplay for his book, The Great Train Robbery (1978).

Crichton's stories generally take place in contemporary settings and focus on technological themes, although his earliest works were traditional mystery novels. Writing under the pseudonym John Lange, Crichton published a mystery novel entitled Odds On (1966), followed by A Case of Need (1968), written under the pseudonym Jeffrey Hudson. A Case of Need received favorable reviews and the 1968 Edgar Allan Poe Award of Mystery Writers of America. In 1969, Crichton published The Andromeda Strain, a novel that, Crichton acknowledges, was influenced by Len Deighton's The Ipcress File (1962) and H. G. WellsThe War of The Worlds.The Andromeda Strain is a technological thriller about a seemingly unstoppable plague brought to earth from outer space; it became a Book-of-the-Month Club selection and a 1971 motion picture, directed by Robert Wise and starring Arthur Hill. In Westworld (1973), Crichton depicts the ability of technology to blur the line between reality and fantasy, and how that can affect people's lives. As the android creations of the Delos theme park begin to operate on their own recognizance, they attack and threaten the lives of the guests who have come there merely to play and live out their childhood fantasies in the make-believe Old West.

While The Great Train Robbery (1975) recalls the history of an actual train robbery in Victorian England, and Eaters of the Dead (1976) is set among tenth-century Vikings, and is supposedly the retelling of the Beowulf myth, Congo (1980) returns to the dangers of technology, greed, and power. Congo recalls the narrative tradition of Rider Haggard's novel King Solomon's Mines, as it relates the story of a behavioral specialist and Amy, a gorilla that is capable of communicating in human language. In the process of returning Amy to her African jungle home, the specialist and the gorilla encounter a series of dangers and catastrophes. These include the ruthless activities of a group of corporate-sponsored explorers who are searching for the Lost City of Zinj, where a race of hostile apes guards rare diamonds capable of nullifying humanity's need for nuclear weapons and energy. An encounter with alien life forms and alien technology is the central focus of Crichton's next novel, Sphere (1987). Scientists undertake an underwater excavation of an alien spacecraft, believed to have landed in the ocean three centuries earlier. While a raging storm maroons the scientists on board the spacecraft, which is one thousand feet below the surface of the sea, the aliens wreak havoc on the contact team. A film version of the novel was released in February 1998.

In 1990, Crichton published his nationally acclaimed best-seller, Jurassic Park, which recounts the classic tale of greed and a technological experiment gone awry. A wealthy entrepreneur and his scientists lose control of their experiment to re-create living dinosaurs for a wild animal park on a deserted island off the coast of Costa Rica. Steven Spielberg's 1994 Academy award-winning film of Jurassic Park also helped to ensure the world-wide popularity and success of the novel. Turning to Japanese-American relations in today's competitive business world, Rising Sun (1992) begins with the bizarre murder of a young woman, which is pivotal to a plot that explores the exploitative and unprincipled actions of Japanese technocrats. Rising Sun is often criticized for its stereotypical presentation of Japanese villains and Japan-bashing--criticisms that Crichton rejects. Disclosure (1994) continues to focus on the technological business community and its handling of sexual harassment. In a role-reversal, the new female executive of DigiCom seduces a former lover and present employee, and then accuses him of sexual harassment when he spurns her advances. The story focuses on the fight to save his job and the truth of what actually happened. In 1995, Crichton returned to the theme of genetic engineering in The Lost World. Scientist Ian Malcolm and entrepreneur Lewis Dodgson of Jurassic Park join rival expeditions sent to investigate an island thought to be inhabited by dinosaurs. Once again, twentieth-century human technology is challenged by the raw force of prehistoric nature.

Crichton's works have received mixed reviews. While most critics applaud his ability to make technological information understandable and engaging, some fault his traditional and predictable plotlines, such as Disclosure's battle-of-the-sexes plot and Jurassic Park's the-dangers-of-new-science theme. And too, while many critics favorably comment on Crichton's well-organized plots and use of clear and simple prose, they fault his ability to develop realistic characters. For instance, John Hammond and Nedry of Jurassic Park are the traditional unprincipled entrepreneur and scientific genius whose greed precipitates a technological disaster, while Meredith Johnson of Disclosure is the predictable evil enemy of Tom Sanders, the harassed and innocent victim-hero of the story. As Robert L. Sims points out, most of "Crichton's characters are one-dimensional figures whose psychological make-ups are determined by the particular drama in which they are involved." A few commentators also remark at Crichton's ability to identify and successfully capitalize on current public issues and concerns. For example, Disclosure examines the issue of sexual harassment in the business world, while Rising Sun focuses on Japan's growing power in the world of American business. Nevertheless, in spite of traditional plotlines and simplistic characterizations, Crichton's concise prose style, tightly organized plots, contemporary themes, and engaging action continue to make his works popular and successful.

Michael Crichton has had a number of successful careers--physician, teacher, film director, screenwriter--but he is perhaps best known for pioneering the "techno-thriller" with novels such as The Andromeda Strain,Sphere, and Jurassic Park. Whether writing about a deadly microorganism, brain surgery gone awry, or adventures in the Congo, Crichton's ability to blend the tight plot and suspense of the thriller with the technical emphasis of science fiction has made him a favorite with readers of all ages. Crichton's fame is not limited to literary endeavors; he has also directed a number of popular films with subjects ranging from body organ piracy (Coma) to advertising manipulation and murder (Looker). Summing up Crichton's appeal in the Dictionary of Literary Biography Yearbook, Robert L. Sims writes: "His importance lies in his capacity to tell stories related to that frontier where science and fiction meet.... Crichton's best novels demonstrate that, for the immediate future at least, technological innovations offer the same possibilities and limitations as their human creators."

Crichton's first brush with literary success occurred after he entered medical school. To help pay for tuition and living expenses, he began writing paperback thrillers on the weekends and during vacations. One of these books, A Case of Need, became an unexpected hit. Written under a pseudonym, the novel revolves around a Chinese-American obstetrician who is unjustly accused of performing an illegal abortion on the daughter of a prominent Boston surgeon. Critical reaction to the book was very positive. "Read A Case of Need now," urges Fred Rotondaro in Best Sellers, "it will entertain you; get you angry--it will make you think." Allen J. Hubin, writing in the New York Times Book Review, concurs, noting that "this breezy, fast-paced, up-to-date first novel ... demonstrates again the ability of detective fiction to treat contemporary social problems in a meaningful fashion."

Also published while the author was still in medical school, The Andromeda Strain made Crichton a minor celebrity on campus (especially when the film rights were sold to Universal Studios). Part historical journal, the novel uses data such as computer printouts, bibliographic references, and fictional government documents to lend credence to the story of a deadly microorganism that arrives on Earth aboard a NASA space probe. The virus quickly kills most of the residents of Piedmont, Arizona. Two survivors--an old man and a baby--are taken to a secret government compound for study by Project Wildfire. The Wildfire team--Stone, a bacteriologist, Leavitt, a clinical microbiologist, Burton, a pathologist, and Hall, a practicing surgeon--must race against the clock to isolate the organism and find a cure before it can spread into the general population.

Andromeda's mix of science and suspense causes problems for some reviewers. While admitting that he stayed up all night to finish the book, Christopher Lehmann-Haupt of the New York Times feels cheated by the conclusion: "I figured it was all building to something special--a lovely irony, a chilling insight, a stunning twisteroo.... The whole business had to be resolved before I could sleep.... It wasn't worth it, because ... Mr. Crichton resolves his story with a series of phony climaxes precipitated by extraneous plot developments." Richard Schickel, writing in Harper's, is more concerned with a shortage of character development. "The lack of interest in this matter is ... amazing. Perhaps so much creative energy went into his basic situation that none was left for people," he writes. Not all critics are as harsh in their evaluation of the novel, however. "The pace is fast and absorbing," claims Alexander Cook in Commonweal, "the writing is spare and its quality is generally high; and the characters, if not memorable, are at any rate sufficiently sketched in and have been given little personal touches of their own."

Crichton also uses the world of science and medicine as a backdrop for The Terminal Man. The title refers to computer scientist Harry Benson who, as the result of an automobile accident, suffers severe epileptic seizures. As the seizures grow in intensity, Benson has blackouts during which he commits violent acts. At the urging of his doctors, Benson decides to undergo a radical procedure in which an electrode is inserted into his brain. Hooked up to a packet in the patient's shoulder, the electrode is wired to locate the source of the seizures and deliver a shock to the brain every time an episode is about to occur. Unfortunately, something goes wrong, and Benson's brain is overloaded; as the shocks increase, Benson becomes more irrational, dangerous, and eventually, murderous.

John R. Coyne of the National Review finds The Terminal Man "one of the season's best." He adds: "Crichton proves himself capable of making the most esoteric material completely comprehensible to the layman.... Even more important, he can create and sustain that sort of suspense that forces us to suspend disbelief." And, in an Atlantic Monthly review of the novel, Edward Weeks opines that Crichton has "now written a novel quite terrifying in its suspense and implication."

In The Great Train Robbery, Crichton moves out of the realm of science and into the world of Victorian England. Loosely based on an actual event, the book explores master criminal Edward Pierce's attempt to steal a trainload of army payroll on its way to the Crimea. "The Great Train Robbery combines the pleasures, guilt, and delight of a novel of gripping entertainment with healthy slices of instruction and information interlarded," declares Doris Grumbach in the New Republic. Lehmann-Haupt enthuses that he found himself "not only captivated because it is Mr. Crichton's best thriller to date ... but also charmed most of all by the story's Victorian style and content." And Weeks, writing in the Atlantic Monthly, calls the novel "an exciting and very clever piece of fiction."

Congo marks Crichton's return to the field of science and technology. In the novel, three adventurers travel through the dense rain forests of the Congo in search of a cache of diamonds with the power to revolutionize computer technology. The trio is accompanied by an intelligent, linguistically-trained gorilla named Amy, the designated intermediary between the scientists and a band of killer apes who guard the gems. The small band's search is hampered by cannibals, volcanos, and mutant primates; it is also marked by a sense of desperation, as the team fights to beat a Euro-Japanese rival company to the prize. In a review of Congo for Best Sellers, Justin Blewitt terms the novel "an exciting, fast-paced adventure. It rang very true and at the same time was a terrific page-turner. That's a rare combination.... [Congo is] really a lot of fun."

A scientific--and monetary--search is also the emphasis in Sphere. An American ship laying cable in the Pacific hits a snag; the snag turns out to be a huge spaceship, estimated to be at least three centuries old. An undersea research team is ordered to investigate the strange craft from the relative safety of an underwater habitat. Among the civilian and military crew is psychologist Norman Johnson, whose apprehension about the entire project is validated by a number of increasingly bizarre and deadly events: a bad storm cuts the habitat off from the surface, strange messages begin appearing on computer screens, and an unseen--but apparently huge--squid attacks the crew's quarters.

"Michael Crichton's new novel ... kept me happy for two hours sitting in a grounded plane," writes Robin McKinley in the New York Times Book Review, adding that "no one can ask for more of a thriller.... Take this one along with you on your next plane ride." While noting that he had some problems with Sphere--including stilted dialogue and broad characterizations--James M. Kahn muses that Crichton "keeps us guessing at every turn.... [He is] a storyteller and a damned good one." And Michael Collins of the Washington Post notes that "the pages turn quickly." He urges readers to "suspend your disbelief and put yourself 1,000 feet down."

Huge creatures--in this case, dinosaurs--are also integral to the plot of Crichton's next thriller, Jurassic Park.Jurassic Park chronicles the attempts of self-made billionaire John Hammond to build an amusement park on a remote island off the coast of Costa Rica. Instead of roller coasters and sideshows, the park features actual life-sized dinosaurs bred through the wonders of biotechnology and recombinant DNA. There are some problems before the park opens, however: workmen begin to die in mysterious accidents and local children are attacked by strange lizards. Fearful that the project's opening is in jeopardy, Hammond calls together a team of scientists and technicians to look things over. Led by a paleontologist named Grant, the group is initially amazed by Hammond's creation. Their amazement quickly turns to horror when the park's electronic security system is put out of commission and the dinosaurs are freed to roam at will. What ensues is a deadly battle between the vastly underarmed human contingent and a group of smarter-than-anticipated tyrannosaurs, pterodactyls, stegosaurs, and velociraptors.

John Skow of Time considers Jurassic Park the author's "best [techno-thriller] by far since The Andromeda Strain." He adds that "Crichton's sci-fi is convincingly detailed." In a review of the book for the Los Angeles Times Book Review, Andrew Ferguson demurs, remarking that "having read Crichton's fat new novel ... I have a word of advice for anyone owning real estate within 10 miles of the La Brea tar pits: Sell." Ferguson ultimately finds that Jurassic Park's "only real virtue" lies in "its genuinely interesting discussion of dinosaurs, DNA research, paleontology, and chaos theory." Gary Jennings of the New York Times Book Review is less harsh, arguing that the book has "some good bits.... All in all, Jurassic Park is a great place to visit."

Crichton leaves the world of science in Rising Sun. The novel's plot involves the murder of a young American woman during a party for a huge Japanese corporation. The case is given to detective Peter J. Smith, who finds himself up against an oriental syndicate with great political and economic power. As Smith gets closer to the truth, the Japanese corporation uses all it's influence to thwart his investigation, influence that includes corruption and violence. John Schwartz of Newsweek recognizes that "Crichton has done his homework," but still feels that Rising Sun is too full of "randy propaganda instead of a more balanced view" to be effective.

Although Crichton is best known for his works of fiction, he has also written a number of nonfiction books that reflect his varied interests. Five Patients: The Hospital Explained explores how a modern hospital functions using five case studies as examples. The topics Crichton discusses in Five Patients include the rising cost of health care, advancing technology, and the relationships between doctors and their patients. According to Sims, "Five Patients is written by a doctor who prefers writing about medicine to practicing it." Some of the issues raised in Five Patients are also touched on in Crichton's autobiographical Travels. In Travels, the author talks with candor about both his personal and professional life, a life that includes journeys to mysterious lands. "I was ultimately swept away, not just by [Crichton's] richly informed mind, but his driving curiosity," remarks Patricia Bosworth in the New York Times Book Review.

Crichton's ability to mesh science, technology, and suspense is not limited to novels. Many of the films that the author has directed, such as Westworld and Runaway, feature a struggle between humans and technology. Despite the often grim outlook of both his films and novels, Crichton reveals in an interview with Ned Smith of American Way that his primary intention in making movies and writing books is to "entertain people." He notes that one of the rewards he gets from filmmaking and writing lies in "telling stories. It's fun to manipulate people's feelings and to be manipulated. To take a movie, or get a book and get very involved in it--don't look at my watch, forget about other things." As for critical reaction to his work, Crichton tells Smith: "Every critic assumes he's a code-breaker; the writer makes a code and the critic breaks it. And it doesn't work that way at all. As a mode of working, you need to become very uncritical."

In April 1999, Crichton ventured into the realm of interactive software with the formation of Timeline Studios. The company will produce video games using technology developed by the Virtus Corporation. The Thirteenth Warrior, a film version of Eaters of the Dead, was released in August 1999. Meanwhile Crichton's television drama creation ER continued to garner Emmy nominations and awards. The same year (1999) Crichton published Timeline, in which he attempts to do for quantum physics what he did for paleontology in Jurassic Park. In the novel he invents a technology that allows quantum computers to fax human beings to selected target areas of multiple universes, resulting in something akin to time travel.

Associated Works

Jurassic Park (Book), The Andromeda Strain (Book)

Historical Context

The Life and Times of Michael Crichton (1942 - )
At the time of Crichton's birth:
Franklin D. Roosevelt was president of the United States
Albert Camus published The Stranger
Battle of Stalingrad began between Germans and Soviets
John Harold Johnson began publication of the NegroDigest in Chicago
The times:
1930-1960: Modernist Period of American literature
1939-1945: World War II
1950-1953: Korean War
1957-1975: Vietnam War
1960-present: Postmodernist Period of American literature
1991: Persian Gulf War
1992-1996: Civil war in Bosnia
Crichton's contemporaries:
Alice Walker (1944-) American writer
Bill Clinton (1946-) American president
Donald Trump (1946-) American businessman
Salman Rushdie (1947 - ) Indian author and politician
Tom Clancy (1947-) American novelist
David Letterman (1947-) American comic
Selected world events:
1945: Germany surrendered to Allied forces
1946: Cold War began
1949: George Orwell published Nineteen Eighty-Four
1953: Joseph Stalin died
1956: First transatlantic telephone cable was laid
1965: Black activist Malcolm X was assassinated in New York City
1973: U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion
1973: Pablo Picasso died
1984: Britain agreed to return control of Hong Kong to China in 1997
1991: Soviet Union was officially dissolved
1993: Bomb explosion at New York's World Trade Center killed 26