Living in a State of Fear

Before we delve into our exploration and analysis of State of Fear, I want to share one of the highlights of my Michael Crichton collection. I found this T-shirt on eBay and I've never seen another for sale anywhere.

Front:

Back:

State of Fear - Ten Years Later

Ten years ago, State of Fear was published. I remember the excitement when a new Michael Crichton book came out. I would clear my calendar because once I started reading a Crichton book I would do nothing else until it was finished.

Crichton’s career can be split into three stages:

1. The Andromeda Strain, which introduced his writing to the world.

2. Jurassic Park, which took Crichton from a genre writer to mainstream fame.

3. State of Fear, Crichton’s most controversial book

In November 2005, I had the rare privilege of participating in a month-long online discussion with Michael Crichton about State of Fear. It was hosted by the Barnes & Noble website. (Unfortunately, the discussion cannot be found online. Fortunately, I downloaded everything Crichton said.)

During the next few months, I’m going to explore State of Fear and the science behind it. I’ll also take a look the current state of climate and of climate science. What has changed in ten years? What hasn't changed? If any readers know of something in particular they would like to discuss, please email me at kahlessa at gmail dot com

Michael Crichton Speech - “Science Policy in the 21st Century”

On January 28, 2005, Michael Crichton gave a speech titled "Science Policy in the 21st Century" for the American Enterprise Institute. The video lasts an hour and 15 minutes.

The speech covers issues addressed in State of Fear, though much of what Crichton said can be applied to a number of other situations.

Video: Michael Crichton on 'Jurassic Park' – Today show 1990

Here's an interview with Michael Crichton from the Today show on November 16, 1990:



Many Thanks to Alec Riker for bringing this to my attention!

At Long Last

At Long Last….
I am posting to this blog again.

At Long Last….
The Supreme Court declared gene patents illegal.

At Long Last….
the John Lange novels are back in print, and, as a result…

At Long Last….
I can stop feeling guilty for owning three copies of Odds On. All of my copies were obtained through eBay, but in the case of two of them, the sellers had no idea what they had—one cost $19.95, the other cost $9.99. Can’t imagine the sellers had any idea they were selling Michael Crichton’s very first novel.

The Crichton website has some links to reviews of the John Lange novels. I’ll write more about the books soon. While I've read all the John Lange novels several times, this year I’d like to read them in the order they were published. What will that tell me about Michael Crichton’s evolution as a writer? We shall see.