so long

RIP, great man.

This makes me very sad. On top of already being sad. Not fair.

I'd sing taps for him
but I have done it already this week
and am tapped out it seems

I actually haven't read any of his books, as I prefer non-fiction, but I know many fans of his work. May he be at peace and his family comforted.

This sucks

RIP. He knew how to spin a good yarn.

Anyone who has not done so already should read his State of Fear. He was a clear thinker and will be missed.

Damn. That is bad news.

Now cracks a noble heart. Good night sweet prince:
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!
William Shakespeare, "Hamlet",

I don't read a lot of fiction, but his books actually made you think. RIP.

Yep, a day that just keeps on giving. R.I.P.

I am so sad about this news. He was one of my favorite authors and always looked forward to reading his books.

Condolences to the family.

RIP Michael Crichton, one of the sharpest and most honest minds out there.
Man will I miss him.

RIP, Mr. Crichton.

Fabulous writer.

We still watch 'Jurassic Park' at home.

Damn it! This man was brilliant!
When you get on it, go to his site and read his non-fiction papers, his speeches. This man had it pegged. Damn! Michael Crichton

The guy could really tell a story & his research was first rate.
My favorite was 'State of Fear", where he took on the Global Warming hysteria.

To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub:
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil

Jurassic park

Damn. What'd he die of?

A great non-idiotarian mind lost. My early nominee for this year's Fallaci.

As I said in the other thread, a shame. He wrote so many good, informative, and entertaining books. He will be missed, but we can always read his books in memory.

re: #19 Rain Patriot

Damn. What'd he die of?

Cancer

I read Andromeda Strain way back when but haven't read anything of his since. Maybe I'll have to rectify that. RIP, Mr. Crichton.

A prolific writer with remarkable success in having his work adapted for the movies.

R.I.P.

A moving editorial (seriously) about last night's election by blogger Basil on IMAO...

[Link: www.imao.us...]

I learned more about how an airplane is built from "Airframe" than from any other source.

RIP

One of my favorite authors. Great storyteller!

I read:
Jurassic Park - 3x
Lost World - 2x
The Andromeda Strain
The Great Train Robbery
Eaters of the Dead
Sphere
Congo
and Timeline
All but Timeline while in high school.
I will truly miss him. He had a gigantic impact on my late childhood to teenage years and opened and influenced my mind and imagination in a way that lasts to this day.

That's a tremendous loss. Jurassic Park the book was even better than the movie; it's where I first heard of chaos theory. Not like I really understand it. Plus, he was a fully qualified physician and he created the TV show "ER."

I wonder how much inspiration The Andromeda Strain was for King's The Stand.

Man, another bummer in a bummer of a day. Crichton could write imaginative stories that seemed highly plausible. R.I.P.

I never cared much for his novels, but I loved his essays, and his ideas.

I will miss him.

re: #4 Sharmuta

Pick up "Timeline" at least. It's a great read.

A lot of great things have passed away today...

I read Jurassic Park, The Lost World, Congo and Sphere. I think that's it.

RIP.

Rest in Peace, Michael. You will be missed.

This is a sad day indeed. When I was younger, I must have read Jurassic Park/Lost World at least three times each, but my favorites were by far Sphere and State of Fear. I must have read Sphere half a dozen times and State of Fear inspired me to actually research global warming and I soon became a skeptic.

Dang. Absolutely loved The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park. Good stuff. The books (as usual) are much better than the movies. And Muldoon isn't a maroon...

RIP sir.

Prey wasn't too bad either...

"In my view, our approach to global warming exemplifies everything that is wrong with our approach to the environment,'' he said in a 2005 speech at the National Press Club in Washington. ``We are basing our decisions on speculation, not evidence.''

Michael Crichton

The man sure had the ability to create prolific work. Look at the movies from his books - Andromeda Strain (done twice), Great Train Robbery (w/Sean Connery), Jurassic Park (and sequels), and the lesser known Congo and Eaters of the Dead (w/ Antonio Banderas) - not to mention the long running ER (in its 15th season).

I've read most of his books, but was scared witless by Eaters of the Dead.

Thank you for the hours of reading pleasure, Michael. May you rest in peace and your loved ones be comforted in their time of loss.

Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

re: #4 Sharmuta

I actually haven't read any of his books, as I prefer non-fiction, but I know many fans of his work. May he be at peace and his family comforted.

Read the one about Global Warming. I can't remember the name of it, but it's one of his most recent. It's very political, although it is fiction.

Oh suck. I've read all his novels. depressing to think that now I've read all his novels.

re: #44 Griffon

Read the one about Global Warming. I can't remember the name of it, but it's one of his most recent. It's very political, although it is fiction.

State of Fear. Great read

re: #19 Rain Patriot

Rain Patriot,
News outlets are saying it was cancer.
RIP Mr. Crichton

re: #44 Griffon

Read the one about Global Warming. I can't remember the name of it, but it's one of his most recent. It's very political, although it is fiction.

State of Fear.

re: #44 Griffon

State of Fear

re: #19 Rain Patriot

Damn. What'd he die of?

Cancer. He must have kept it very private.

re: #42 Intrepid

My son had to read "Eaters of the Dead" for English class. No one bothered to tell him it was a retelling of Beowulf. We both preferred the original but it wasn't too bad. I believe the movie was called "The Thirteenth Warrior."

I read Rising Sun. Pretty good, even though the subject of Japanese dominion turned out not to be so pressing.

RIP

I read "jurassic Park" a couple of years before it was made into a movie. It was excellent. Full of science and suspense. The movie was good but had little in common with the book. The sequal to "Jurrassic Park" read like a screenplay for a movie. Not nearly as good (I can't even remember the title). I think he wrote it just for the money, and was bored with the idea.

RIP Mr. Crichton.

OT: California had some surprising results last night:

Green Initiatives Get Slaughtered in California, Will Media Notice?

California Voters Pass Ban on Gay Marriage

I read the Andromeda Strain back in high school; my all-time favorite was State of Fear. He could tell a good yarn.

re: #54 gmsc

OT: California had some surprising results last night:

Green Initiatives Get Slaughtered in California, Will Media Notice?

California Voters Pass Ban on Gay Marriage

Happens every time they deem to let lowly citizens vote on it.

They'll be fixing that glitch in the works soon.

re: #54 gmsc

OT: California had some surprising results last night:

Green Initiatives Get Slaughtered in California, Will Media Notice?

California Voters Pass Ban on Gay Marriage

Ironic that the black voters who voted for Obama also voted overwhelmingly for the gay marriage ban.

I grew up reading Michael Crichton. It pains me to know there won't be any more of his wonderful books. You just couldn't put his books down once you started reading. I still have to watch the Andromeda Strain every time I see it on TV.

aw, our family loved his work... I remember with fondness my 13 year old daughter, not far graduated from comic books, MAD magazine, Seventeen's fashion and Tiger Beat's teen idols, telling me with passion that she loved to read Crichton and AC Clarke because she always learned something new about science/physics in their novels.

Lord rest him.

How many people or names really voted?

[GP]

There are still votes being counted on the West Coast this morning. But, these outstanding ballots in California, Oregon and Washington will add no where near 10 million votes to the tally.

Politico is missing millions of votes then.

But, that's not as bad as MSNBC.
HotAir noticed this morning that they are missing nearly 20 million votes.

It will be interesting to see if the 2008 numbers were really historic or if they even surpassed 2004.

Was Turnout Really Over the 2004 Numbers

Michael Crichton, RIP

I had a long standing personal beef with him.

About fifteen years ago, the Motion Picture Academy assigned him to investigate software innovations that significantly contributed to film.

Crichton gave an Oscar to one of my !@#$!@#$ distributors! I only found out about it ten years later. When I did, he wouldn't talk to me.

AUGH!

(It was the method screenwriters use to automatically format character names, dialog, etc. The method is still used, but my software is long gone, alas.)

re: #54 gmsc

Unfortunately, IIRC, they passed the ballot initiative requiring a tripling the size of cages for egg laying chickens. That is gonna kill the egg industry in California. Good for the surrounding states though.

re: #57 redstateredneck

Ironic that the black voters who voted for Obama also voted overwhelmingly for the gay marriage ban.

Issue-by-issue, over half of Dems are Republicans, they just don't know it or believe it.

They vote Dem because they do believe it when told Republicans are just greedy, rich, old, white, Christian men who hate the environment, gays, etc.

Crichton passes away,
The Dow is down 300 points,
Muslim Brotherhood pleased with our election...

breathe...acceptance is the solution of all my problems today...breathe...this won't be easy...breathe...

RIP Mr. Crichton. I grew up reading your books and would like to say thank you for your great literature.

One of his speeches is a favorite of mine.
It's called "Aliens caused Global Warming."
It is on the web.
It is about how pure, peer-reviewed scientific research morphed into phony consensus science because scientists wanted to please politicians for grant money.
And it is a fun read, too.

re: #51 doppelganglander

My son had to read "Eaters of the Dead" for English class. No one bothered to tell him it was a retelling of Beowulf. We both preferred the original but it wasn't too bad. I believe the movie was called "The Thirteenth Warrior."

The critics hated 13th Warrior but it is one of my favorites:

"Do we have any sort of plan?"

"Ride 'til we find them. Kill them all."

(quoted from poor memory)

re: #23 joncelli

The Andromeda Strain was just on Turner Classics.

re: #54 gmsc

OT: California had some surprising results last night:

Green Initiatives Get Slaughtered in California, Will Media Notice?

California Voters Pass Ban on Gay Marriage

but in Milwaukee . . . it has become the third city in the country to require private employers to provide paid sick days. Did any of these morons think what will happen to their jobs when this becomes law? (Can't afford to give you paid sick leave - you're fired).Did any of the moronic city officials pushing this think what will happen when businesses start moving outside of the city limits - bye bye tax base"

Fools.

re: #62 kayawanee

Unfortunately, IIRC, they passed the ballot initiative requiring a tripling the size of cages for egg laying chickens. That is gonna kill the egg industry in California. Good for the surrounding states though.

Not to mention allow yet another government official access to anyone's (rural) property.

It must be mind-bending to live in California.

Sorry...still mourning the election...

If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on Earth. And this idea that government is beholden to the people, that it has no other source of power except to sovereign people, is still the newest and most unique idea in all the long history of man's relation to man. This is the issue of this election. Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves. —Ronald Reagan

Address on behalf of Senator Barry Goldwater
Rendezvous with Destiny
October 27, 1964

re: #64 IslandLibertarian

Crichton passes away,
The Dow is down 300 points,
Muslim Brotherhood pleased with our election...

breathe...acceptance is the solution of all my problems today...breathe...this won't be easy...breathe...

dont worry, you wont have to pay for fuel or lodging ever again.

re: #57 redstateredneck

Ironic that the black voters who voted for Obama also voted overwhelmingly for the gay marriage ban.

Or that they consider electing a racist church attendee a triumph over racism.

Jurassic Park was one of the first novels I ever read. This is so depressing because I was constantly checking out his website for new essays and speeches. He was brilliant...

re: #63 Silhouette

Issue-by-issue, over half of Dems are Republicans, they just don't know it or believe it.

They vote Dem because they do believe it when told Republicans are just greedy, rich, old, white, Christian men who hate the environment, gays, etc.

They are certainly social conservatives.

OT:

So, what do you think George Soros is going to do with the country, now that he's bought it and placed his puppet in the White House?

re: #69 Creeping Eruption

but in Milwaukee . . . it has become the third city in the country to require private employers to provide paid sick days. Did any of these morons think what will happen to their jobs when this becomes law? (Can't afford to give you paid sick leave - you're fired).Did any of the moronic city officials pushing this think what will happen when businesses start moving outside of the city limits - bye bye tax base"

Fools.

the businesses will head down to Waukesha and over to Wawatosa and Oconomowoc.

What?
Only tripling the size of their cages?
I saw a commercial with 5 hens in a huge yard, in the foreground a girl was lovingly cradling another in her arms.
The hens will be disappointed.

The day just keeps getting worse!

re: #76 gmsc

OT:

So, what do you think George Soros is going to do with the country, now that he's bought it and placed his puppet in the White House?

I was thinking something similar only to the effect of the Chicago Money Machine running the white house.

re: #70 Sol Roth

I believe that's why they refer to it as the "People's Republic of California"

re: #62 kayawanee

Unfortunately, IIRC, they passed the ballot initiative requiring a tripling the size of cages for egg laying chickens. That is gonna kill the egg industry in California. Good for the surrounding states though.

What in the world?

Michael Crichton was the only popular culture figure I'm aware of that called bullshit on "climate change".

In addition to being a savage critic of the scientific quackery in the movement, he felt the trillions of dollars necessary to fight 0.2 degrees of global warming would be better spent on very real present day problems.

re: #77 Eowyn2

the businesses will head down to Waukesha and over to Wawatosa and Oconomowoc.

Where they will be welcomed with open arms. Like I said: bye-bye Milwaukee tax base.

You in this neck of the woods?

re: #42 Intrepid

The man sure had the ability to create prolific work. Look at the movies from his books - Andromeda Strain (done twice), Great Train Robbery (w/Sean Connery), Jurassic Park (and sequels), and the lesser known Congo and Eaters of the Dead (w/ Antonio Banderas) - not to mention the long running ER (in its 15th season).

I've read most of his books, but was scared witless by Eaters of the Dead.

Thank you for the hours of reading pleasure, Michael. May you rest in peace and your loved ones be comforted in their time of loss.

I didn't know The great Train Robbery was made into a movie. Sean Connery as Edward Pierce? The Great Train Robbery is one of my favorite Crichton novels.

The movie has just been added to my "must see" list.

Thanks for the info.

re: #64 IslandLibertarian

Crichton passes away,
The Dow is down 300 points,
Muslim Brotherhood pleased with our election...

breathe...acceptance is the solution of all my problems today...breathe...this won't be easy...breathe...

I'm thinking of taking up smoking pot again.

Read his stuff on climate change hookum

re: #84 Creeping Eruption

no but I have tried to learn geography. It comes in handy when I have to deal with clients all across the nation.

re: #62 kayawanee

Unfortunately, IIRC, they passed the ballot initiative requiring a tripling the size of cages for egg laying chickens. That is gonna kill the egg industry in California. Good for the surrounding states though.

But the voters put their foot down on the initiative requiring HDTV in the henhouse.

re: #62 kayawanee

Unfortunately, IIRC, they passed the ballot initiative requiring a tripling the size of cages for egg laying chickens. That is gonna kill the egg industry in California. Good for the surrounding states though.

I'm from Iowa and my FIL had an egg-laying house for several years. I hated that place because the chickens were so crammed in those wire crates and they starve them to get them to lay longer. Egg-laying practices drive ME crazy and I'm no animal rights activist. I think the way they are treated is barbaric and I have seen it first-hand. This is one industry that NEEDS to be overhauled everywhere. I don't care if they are chickens, no living creature should be treated the way they are for the sake of money. Yes, I'm also against fois gras and veal.

re: #78 mean Gene

What?
Only tripling the size of their cages?
I saw a commercial with 5 hens in a huge yard, in the foreground a girl was lovingly cradling another in her arms.
The hens will be disappointed.

That reminds me, I saw 5 wild Turkeys this morning dropping my son at his pre-school. That reminded me that I could use 5 shots of wild-turkey, which made me wish I could have shot those 5 wild turkeys.

No - I am not kidding.

re: #90 Griffon

I'm from Iowa and my FIL had an egg-laying house for several years. I hated that place because the chickens were so crammed in those wire crates and they starve them to get them to lay longer. Egg-laying practices drive ME crazy and I'm no animal rights activist. I think the way they are treated is barbaric and I have seen it first-hand. This is one industry that NEEDS to be overhauled everywhere. I don't care if they are chickens, no living creature should be treated the way they are for the sake of money. Yes, I'm also against fois gras and veal.

I can see that POV very easily.

In 1993, he predicted the demise of the MSM:

[Link: www.wired.com...]

re: #82 MandyManners

It was an "animal rights" ballot initiative. Cuddly chickens and all that.

re: #85 Semper Gumbi

I didn't know The great Train Robbery was made into a movie. Sean Connery as Edward Pierce? The Great Train Robbery is one of my favorite Crichton novels.

The movie has just been added to my "must see" list.

Thanks for the info.

Here's the Wiki site - it also has Donald Sutherland in it.

Here

re: #81 kayawanee

I believe that's why they refer to it as the "People's Republic of California"

There are many more than CA in the Union that are of the Peoples governance. They haven't figured out the danger of playing catch with Marx's handgrenade.

This election just removed the safety pin.

re: #83 Dirk Diggler

Michael Crichton was the only popular culture figure I'm aware of that called bullshit on "climate change".

In addition to being a savage critic of the scientific quackery in the movement, he felt the trillions of dollars necessary to fight 0.2 degrees of global warming would be better spent on very real present day problems.

He shed light on what is really drfving the Global Warming Movement, cash. The competition for grant money & creation of "green" industries founded on tax payer money is huge.

re: #89 doppelganglander

But the voters put their foot down on the initiative requiring HDTV in the henhouse.

LOL

I loved his books. Every one was a page-turner.

re: #96 Sol Roth

There are many more than CA in the Union that are of the Peoples governance. They haven't figured out the danger of playing catch with Marx's handgrenade.

This election just removed the safety pin.

Well, that's a comforting thought. Thanks a bunch! =)

re: #93 Izzy Dunne

From the link but OT:

"I am the author of a novel about dinosaurs, a novel about US-Japanese trade relations, and a forthcoming novel about sexual harassment -"

I almost forgot about Disclosure. Also fantastic.

re: #93 Izzy Dunne

In 1993, he predicted the demise of the MSM:

[Link: www.wired.com...]

Can't happen soon enough for me. I'll be happy to help it along any way I can.

re: #74 DeathtotheSwiss

Jurassic Park was one of the first novels I ever read. This is so depressing because I was constantly checking out his website for new essays and speeches. He was brilliant...

That book was great. I rarely read fiction as I have gotten older ...but I still read some.
Rest in Peace Michael and may Perpetual Light shine upon you.
May your family be comforted ...
Sad day...all the way around.

re: #45 LynnfromNZ

Oh suck. I've read all his novels. depressing to think that now I've read all his novels.

He's got one more coming, Lynn. On my wholesaler's site (I own a bookstore), it's listed as an untitled work by Michael Crichton, and was scheduled to be released Dec. 2, 2008. But there is also a notation that it has been postponed by the publisher (HarperCollins). I don't know whether that means crichton was too ill to finish the book and Harper is scrounging for a ghost writer to finish it up from Crichton's notes or whether it's to give Harper a chance to develop a different launching strategy to take into account Crichton's death. It might be something totally different.

I loved Congo. It was the book that made me understand the possibilities of satellite communications. Jurassic Park was by far my favorite. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do it. State of Fear took on and beat the global warming hysterics, demonstrating the greed feeding the panic. Next scared the hell out of me because I can see it coming true right now.

I will truly miss Michael Crichton and his highly literate and highly entertaining method of truth in the face of hysteria.

Oh no!

I was looking him up just last week! He was BRILLIANT... I was thinking of writing to him. I can't believe it!

My first Crichton novel was The Andromeda Strain and this may have been the gateway drug for a lifetime addiction to science fiction. I enjoyed Congo, Airframe, The Eaters of the Dead which became the movie The Thirteenth Warrior), and my favorite Jurassic Park. I'm glad to hear there is at least one work in progress that may make it out to us.

His talent was to take science just beyond our technical level and make it at once believable and dangerous. His medical background grounded his science, and his blending of the the boundary between real and fictional science so seamlessly made us realize how close we were to the implications of science.

We have lost a very smart, entertaining writer. Condolences to his family.

As a native citizen of the People's Republic of California, I must report that not only did we pass the chicken initiative, but we also passed a ridiculous high-speed rail bond act. It will cost billions, no doubt, and travel about 5 blocks. I always wanted our own 'Big Dig'. :/

But wait - there's more! We lost a crucial state senate seat (by 108 votes) which may have put us at the tipping point where we no longer have enough Republicans to stop the Dem spending madness. I believe Ahnold just lost his veto power...

On the upside, I'm sure that the Feds will give California a bailout, for we all know that "as California goes, so goes the Nation." So I just want to say thanks in advance to all of you in the other 49 (or is it 56) states that will be paying for it. Please remember to thank your Dem-voting fellow citizens in any way you see fit. ;)

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide...

re: #4 Sharmuta

I actually haven't read any of his books, as I prefer non-fiction, but I know many fans of his work. May he be at peace and his family comforted.

He didn't only write finction. This paragraph is by him:

The religion of environmentalism is a perfect 21st century remapping of traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs and myths. There's an initial Eden, a paradise, a state of grace and unity with nature, there's a fall from grace into a state of pollution as a result of eating from the tree of knowledge, and as a result of our actions there is a judgment day coming for us all. We are all energy sinners, doomed to die, unless we seek salvation, which is now called sustainability. Sustainability is salvation in the church of the environment. Just as organic food is its communion, that pesticide-free wafer that the right people with the right beliefs, imbibe.

Eden, the fall of man, the loss of grace, the coming doomsday---these are deeply held mythic structures. They are profoundly conservative religious beliefs. These are not facts that can be argued. These are issues of faith. Facts aren't necessary, because the tenets of environmentalism are all about belief. It's about whether you are going to be a sinner, or saved. Whether you are going to be one of the people on the side of salvation, or on the side of doom. Whether you are going to be one of us, or one of them.

I was almost jealous when I read it, because he had articulated what I had independently been thinking for a long time.

Wow, this is very sad news. RIP, sir.

On topic, I will greatly miss Chrichton. State of Fear was my favorite. I have never read a novel so thoroughly foot-noted, and I have to say I checked a good 50-60% of them.

A couple of years ago Lori David (Davis?) was on a Fox talk show with Mike and Juliette hocking Al Gore's stupid movie like one of the Disciples spreading the Word. An audience member challenged her, referencing State of Fear. Her response - a condescendingly spat "He's just a fiction writer." The poor guy didn't know what to say, but I was sure yelling at the screen about stacking Chrichton's scientific credentials against Gore's, or hers, any time, any place!

The plot of most Michael Crichton books:

Characters A, B, and C are locked up. They escape.

Bad guy recaptures A.

C and B try to rescue A.

A escapes, but B is captured.

A finds C, and they plan to rescue B, but first they must discover who's giving bad guy his orders.

B escapes, just as A and C are captured.

And so on, and so on, for twenty chapters...

re: #111 Mardukhai

The plot of most Michael Crichton books:

Characters A, B, and C are locked up. They escape.

Bad guy recaptures A.

C and B try to rescue A.

A escapes, but B is captured.

A finds C, and they plan to rescue B, but first they must discover who's giving bad guy his orders.

B escapes, just as A and C are captured.

And so on, and so on, for twenty chapters...

That was thoughtful. NOT!

re: #112 Joe Six Pack

Read "Timeline"

re: #111 Mardukhai

The plot of most Michael Crichton books:

Characters A, B, and C are locked up. They escape.

Bad guy recaptures A.

C and B try to rescue A.

A escapes, but B is captured.

A finds C, and they plan to rescue B, but first they must discover who's giving bad guy his orders.

B escapes, just as A and C are captured.

And so on, and so on, for twenty chapters...

His plotting and characters were never his greatest strength. It was his topic choices, his informed spin on them and the integration of science that made him unique. His re-vision of Beowulf and the integration into it the travels of Ibn Fadlan was brilliant, IMO.

re: #113 Mardukhai

Read "Timeline"

Sorry.

I will agree that I liked his topics, from female chauvinism to Japanese economic Imperialism.

But I would feel a lot better about Crichton if he hadn't spent the last five years avoiding dealing with a personal injustice. It would have cost him nothing.

Very, very sad. He was terrific! The Andromeda Strain was a brilliant dramatization of scientific problem solving. Thanks for your great work, Dr. Crichton.

How sad-he was one of my favorite modern writers. I didn't know until I just saw the headline on LGF. I have sworn off any news outlet (except for LGF and HotAir) for the next week to give the lizard-to-be a break from the stress hormones raining down.

re: #116 Mardukhai

I will agree that I liked his topics, from female chauvinism to Japanese economic Imperialism.

But I would feel a lot better about Crichton if he hadn't spent the last five years avoiding dealing with a personal injustice. It would have cost him nothing.

Eh? What was that personal injustice? Was it an injustice by him or to him?

91- creeping... what did the Wild Turkeys Drive when they dropped your kid off at school? Or did they have a saddle?
/heh.
too bad about Crichton. Grerat author.
How do you pronounce his name?

Chrichton's novel about global warming, State of Fear, is a must-read for the way it debunks Al Gore's ridiculous pseudo-religion of "global warming."

I have to admit I liked Chricnton's stories and the excellent injection of decent science. However, he really did not have a gift for fillout characters very much...most were pretty wooden.

re: #120 big L

91- creeping... what did the Wild Turkeys Drive when they dropped your kid off at school? Or did they have a saddle?
/heh.
too bad about Crichton. Grerat author.
How do you pronounce his name?

Cry-ton

JAFLW

I'll bet nobody here has heard of, much less read, Michael Crichton's most obscure book: Dealing, or The Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues. It's a comic novel about low-level cannabis trafficking by Ivy League students in the early 70s. He cowrote it with his brother Douglas under the pen-name "Michael Douglas." To my knowledge, it's the only one of his books that's remained out of print for the last thirty-odd years, although used copies are pretty cheap on Amazon.

R.I.P., Mr. Crichton. You were a talented storyteller and an insightful essayist. May God rest your soul, and comfort your family and friends.

My teenage son, who was interested in writing as a career, wrote to Crichton some years ago, asking for tips. Crichton responded with a two page letter containing advice and support and encouragement, this from a man at the height of his literary career to a kid he never met. A class act in a world full of people who seem to have little time for such class. He will always be remembered by my family for kindness and thoughtfulness in addition to his writing.
R.I.P., friend.

Oh Damn, just damn
Obama is elected, Murtha is re elected and Michael Crichton Dies. What a sucky day.
He was one of the great Authors. "State of Fear" was an incredible book. Actually sent me off reading his sources.

re: #122 Big Steve

His books weren't about the characters, they were about the concepts.
If you want to read an author who really develops his characters try Dean Koontz. He's another one of my favorites.

He couldn't have been very old. He must have been in his 40ies or 50ies. That's too bad. I really enjoyed his book about the time travel in the Middle Ages. First, I saw a film on TV based on that book, and I thought the story line was very intriguing. So I actually went out and bought the book (which I never do - usually it's the reverse: I read the book and then see the movie). To my surprise, I liked the book even better than the film. It was a real page-turner. Unfortunately, I can't remember the title.

re: #128 ex cathedra

Was it Timeline?

supper time bbl

I probably read 6 of his books in Iraq. Great story teller.

God Bless You, Mike. One helluva guy!

It was a dreadful day already - but then hearing of Michael Crichton's death is really depressing.
---
Thank you Michael for the whole body of your work and particularly for "State of Fear".
How well he debunked that pseudo-science-religion of "global warming".

re: #129 bbuddha

Was it Timeline?

supper time bbl

Yeah, that's right! Thanks.

As a teenager and self-learning english, Crichton's books were my favorites, mostly because its plots had a lot of science and tech, and many became movies afterwards. My first english book was Jurassic Park. After a watching it a few times, the movie becomes silly, but the book, I've read it a dozen times already.

One of his latest, 'State of Fear', had actual data on global warming. An eye opener...

I'll really miss him.

He was an outstanding writer, and he will be missed.

Rest In Peace, Mr. Crichton. An excellent, thought-provoking storyteller. He will be missed.

Personal favorites:

Jurassic Park
Lost World
Airframe

A sad loss on an already sad day.

But remember, we still have Walter Cronkrite!

I'm gonna go retch now...

Lost World is a must read. It is a brilliant discussion of the ethics and perils of modern science research. Unfortunately, Spielberg wrote the script and began filming before Crichton delivered the novel. One has almost nothing to do with the other. A great and thoughtful read.

State of Fear was one of the bravest and funniest (the Martin Sheen character meets a spectacularly horrific end) scientific novels of our time. I'm sure Mr. Crichton lost a few dinner invitations over that one.

A great man of our time (for a change).

Airframe - A mystery for engineers and programmers. Fantastic!

re: #129 bbuddha

Timeline is a very good time travel novel.

The book Jurassic Park was great. I especially liked the scene of them hiding in the cafeteria from the raptors-a real heart pounder and much better than the movie.

He was only 66, and a brilliant guy. I met him around 15 years ago - he was the ultimate in cool.

Aahhh, man . . . I always liked Crichton's stuff, from The Andromeda Strain to Jurassic Park and most everything in between. RIP, brother.

Can you believe one of Crichton's Harvard professors criticized his writing, so he switched his English major to anthropology? I bet that professor is hiding in a corner somewhere now