Editing Michael Crichton

{{Short description|American author and filmmaker (1942–2008)}}
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{{Use American English|date=May 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox writer
| name             = Michael Crichton
| image            = MichaelCrichton 2.jpg
| caption          = Crichton at [[Harvard University]] in 2002
| pseudonym        = John Lange<br>Jeffrey Hudson<br>Michael Douglas
| birth_name       = John Michael Crichton
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|mf=yes|1942|10|23}}
| birth_place      = [[Chicago]], Illinois, U.S.
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|mf=yes|2008|11|4|1942|10|23}}
| death_place      = [[Los Angeles]], California, U.S.
| occupation       = {{hlist|Author|screenwriter|director|producer}}
| education        = [[Harvard University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Doctor of Medicine|MD]])
| genre            = [[Action (fiction)|Action]], [[adventure fiction|adventure]], [[science fiction]], [[techno-thriller]], [[historical fiction]], [[drama]]
| spouse           = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Joan Radam|1965|1970|reason=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Kathy St. Johns|1978|1980|reason=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Suzanne Childs|1981|1983|reason=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Anne-Marie Martin]]|1987|2003|reason=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Sherri Alexander|2005}}
}}
| children         = 2
| period           = 1959–2008
| signature        = Michael Crichton signature.svg
| signature_alt    = "Michael Crichton"
| website          = {{URL|michaelcrichton.com}}
}}

'''John Michael Crichton''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|r|aɪ|t|ən}}; October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author, screenwriter, and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavily feature technology and are usually within the [[science fiction]], [[techno-thriller]], and [[medical fiction]] genres. Crichton's novels often explore human technological advancement and attempted dominance over nature, both with frequently catastrophic results; many of his works are [[cautionary tale]]s, especially regarding themes of [[biotechnology]]. Several of his stories center on themes of [[genetic modification]], [[Hybridization (biology)|hybridization]], [[paleontology]] and/or [[zoology]]. Many feature medical or scientific underpinnings, reflective of his own medical training and scientific background.

Crichton received an [[Doctor of Medicine|M.D.]] from [[Harvard Medical School]] in 1969 but did not practice medicine, choosing to focus on his writing instead. Initially writing under a pseudonym, he eventually published 25 novels in his lifetime, including: ''[[The Andromeda Strain]]'' (1969), ''[[The Terminal Man]]'' (1972), ''[[The Great Train Robbery (novel)|The Great Train Robbery]]'' (1975), ''[[Congo (novel)|Congo]]'' (1980), ''[[Sphere (novel)|Sphere]]'' (1987), ''[[Jurassic Park (novel)|Jurassic Park]]'' (1990), ''[[Rising Sun (Crichton novel)|Rising Sun]]'' (1992), ''[[Disclosure (novel)|Disclosure]]'' (1994), ''[[The Lost World (Crichton novel)|The Lost World]]'' (1995), ''[[Airframe (novel)|Airframe]]'' (1996), ''[[Timeline (novel)|Timeline]]'' (1999), ''[[Prey (novel)|Prey]]'' (2002), ''[[State of Fear]]'' (2004), and ''[[Next (Crichton novel)|Next]]'' (2006). Four more novels, in various states of completion, were published after his death in 2008.

Crichton was also involved in the film and television industry. In 1973, he wrote and directed ''[[Westworld (film)|Westworld]]'', the first film to use 2D [[computer-generated imagery]]. He also directed ''[[Coma (1978 film)|Coma]]'' (1978), ''[[The First Great Train Robbery]]'' (1978), ''[[Looker]]'' (1981), and ''[[Runaway (1984 American film)|Runaway]]'' (1984). He was the creator of the television series ''[[ER (TV series)|ER]]'' (1994–2009), and several of his novels were adapted into films, most notably the [[Jurassic Park|''Jurassic Park'' franchise]].
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==Life==
===Early life===
John Michael Crichton<ref name="kids">{{cite web |url=http://www.michaelcrichton.com/foryoungerreaders-qa.html |title=Q & A with Michael Crichton |date=November 20, 2014 |publisher=Michael Crichton (the official site) |access-date=May 2, 2015 |archive-date=June 17, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150617045805/http://www.michaelcrichton.com/foryoungerreaders-qa.html |url-status=live }}</ref> was born on October 23, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.il.us/hpa/Illinois%20History/Mover206.pdf |title=IHPA: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614110520/https://www.state.il.us/hpa/Illinois%20History/Mover206.pdf |archive-date=June 14, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.filmbug.com/db/22387|title=Michael Crichton|work=Filmbug|access-date=August 15, 2020|archive-date=January 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126175348/https://www.filmbug.com/db/22387|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://movies.ign.com/articles/403/403447p1.html|title=Featured Filmmaker: Michael Crichton|publisher=IGN|date=May 19, 2003|access-date=March 14, 2011|archive-date=October 19, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019010752/http://movies.ign.com/articles/403/403447p1.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{IMDb name|0000341}}</ref> to John Henderson Crichton, a journalist, and Zula Miller Crichton, a homemaker. He was raised on [[Long Island]], in [[Roslyn, New York]],<ref name="kids" /> and he showed a keen interest in writing from a young age; at 16, he had an article about a trip he took to [[Sunset Crater]] published in ''[[The New York Times]]''.<ref name="Telegraph">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/3387711/MichaelCrichton.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130114045739/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/3387711/MichaelCrichton.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 14, 2013 |title=Michael Crichton: Novelist and screenwriter responsible for 'Jurassic Park', 'Westworld' and the TV series 'ER' |date=November 10, 2008 |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=December 18, 2008 |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=CLIMBING UP A CINDER CONE: A Visit to Sunset Crater Makes A Novel Side Trip in Arizona|author=Michael Crichton|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 17, 1959|page=XX30|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1959/05/17/89124241.html?pageNumber=442|access-date=19 October 2024}}</ref> Crichton later recalled, "Roslyn was another world. Looking back, it's remarkable what wasn't going on. There was no terror. No fear of children being abused. No fear of random murder. No drug use we knew about. I walked to school. I rode my bike for miles and miles, to the movie on Main Street and piano lessons and the like. Kids had freedom. It wasn't such a dangerous world... We studied our butts off, and we got a tremendously good education there."<ref name="big">{{cite news|title=Big Mike Michael Crichton Was Easily Spotted in a Roslyn High Crowd|author=David Behrens|work=Newsday|date=October 10, 1995|page=B.04}}</ref>

Crichton had always planned on becoming a writer and began his studies at [[Harvard College]] in 1960.<ref name="Telegraph" /> During his undergraduate study in literature, he conducted an experiment to expose a professor whom he believed was giving him abnormally low marks and criticizing his literary style.<ref name="Travels" />{{Rp|4}} Informing another professor of his suspicions,<ref>{{cite news|title=Michael Crichton's Convictions|work=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=May 11, 1988}}</ref> Crichton submitted an essay by [[George Orwell]] under his own name. The paper was returned by his unwitting professor with a mark of "B−".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/sciencefiction/story/0,,1962747,00.html |title=King of the techno-thriller |work=[[The Observer]] |date=December 3, 2006 |access-date=February 2, 2007 |archive-date=February 8, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208164938/http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/sciencefiction/story/0,,1962747,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He later said, "Now Orwell was a wonderful writer, and if a B-minus was all he could get, I thought I'd better drop English as my major."<ref name="big"/> His differences with the English department led Crichton to switch his undergraduate concentration. He earned his Bachelor's degree in [[biological anthropology]] ''[[wikt:summa cum laude|summa cum laude]]'' in 1964,<ref name="Graduation">{{cite web|url=http://www.crichton-official.com/aboutmichaelcrichton-biography.html|website=About Michael Crichton|title=Biography|access-date=September 24, 2008|archive-date=September 13, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913184547/http://www.crichton-official.com/aboutmichaelcrichton-biography.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and was initiated into [[Phi Beta Kappa]] society.<ref name="Graduation" />

Crichton received a Henry Russell Shaw Traveling Fellowship from 1964 to 1965, which allowed him to serve as a visiting lecturer in [[anthropology]] at the [[University of Cambridge]] in the United Kingdom.<ref name="Graduation" /><ref name="auto">{{Cite web |title=Michael Crichton '64, Novelist and Screenwriter {{!}} News {{!}} The Harvard Crimson |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/5/29/michael-crichton-64-author/ |access-date=2024-07-17 |website=www.thecrimson.com}}</ref> Crichton later enrolled at [[Harvard Medical School]].<ref name="auto"/>  Crichton later said "about two weeks into medical school I realized I hated it. This isn't unusual since everyone hates medical school – even happy, practicing physicians."<ref name="chicago" />

===Pseudonymous novels (1965–1968)===
[[File:Hudson in the woods by Mytens.jpg|thumb|upright|Crichton used the pen-name "[[Jeffrey Hudson]]", a reference to a 17th-century court dwarf and his own "abnormal" height.]]
In 1965, while at [[Harvard Medical School]], Crichton wrote a novel, ''[[Odds On]]''. "I wrote for furniture and groceries", he said later.<ref name=nonterminal>{{cite news |title=Author of 'Terminal Man' Building Nonterminal Career: CRICHTON |author= Gelmis, Joseph |work= Los Angeles Times |date= January 4, 1974 |page= d12}}</ref> ''Odds On'' is a 215-page paperback novel which describes an attempted robbery at an isolated hotel on the [[Costa Brava]] in Spain. The robbery is planned scientifically with the help of a [[Critical path method|critical path analysis]] computer program, but unforeseen events get in the way. Crichton submitted it to Doubleday, where a reader liked it but felt it was not for the company. Doubleday passed it on to New American Library, which published it in 1966. Crichton used the pen name John Lange because he planned to become a doctor and did not want his patients to worry that he would use them for his plots. The name came from cultural anthropologist [[Andrew Lang]]. Crichton added an "e" to the surname and substituted his own real first name, John, for Andrew.<ref name="israel" /> The novel was successful enough to lead to a series of John Lange novels.<ref name="chicago">{{cite news| title= The versatile Crichton| author =Seligson, Marcia|work=Chicago Tribune |date=June 8, 1969| page= k6}}</ref> Film rights were sold in 1969, but no movie resulted.<ref>{{cite news| title= No Gap Like the Generation Gap| author=Weiler, A. H. |work=The New York Times |date=July 6, 1969|page= D11}}</ref>

The second Lange novel, ''[[Scratch One]]'' (1967), relates the story of Roger Carr, a handsome, charming, privileged man who practices law, more as a means to support his playboy lifestyle than a career. Carr is sent to [[Nice]], France, where he has notable political connections, but is mistaken for an assassin and finds his life in jeopardy. Crichton wrote the book while traveling through Europe on a travel fellowship. He visited the [[Cannes Film Festival]] and [[Monaco Grand Prix]], and then decided, "any idiot should be able to write a [[potboiler]] set in Cannes and Monaco", and wrote it in eleven days. He later described the book as "no good".<ref name="israel" /> His third John Lange novel, ''[[Easy Go (novel)|Easy Go]]'' (1968), is the story of Harold Barnaby, a brilliant [[Egyptologist]] who discovers a concealed message while translating [[hieroglyphics]] informing him of an unnamed pharaoh whose tomb is yet to be discovered. Crichton said the book earned him $1,500 ({{Inflation|US|1500|1968|fmt=eq}}).<ref name=nonterminal/> Crichton later said: "My feeling about the Lange books is that my competition is in-flight movies. One can read the books in an hour and a half, and be more satisfactorily amused than watching [[Doris Day]]. I write them fast and the reader reads them fast and I get things off my back."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crichton-official.com/books-medschoolyears-lange.html |title=John Lange Archive |website=crichton-official.com|publisher=Michael Crichton's official website |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518062947/http://www.crichton-official.com/books-medschoolyears-lange.html|archive-date=May 18, 2015}}</ref><ref name="israel">{{cite news|title=Michael Crichton |author=Shenker, Israel|work=The New York Times|date=June 8, 1969|page=BR5}}</ref>

Crichton's fourth novel was ''[[A Case of Need]]'' (1968), a medical thriller. The novel had a different tone from the Lange books; accordingly, Crichton used the pen name "Jeffery Hudson", based on Sir [[Jeffrey Hudson]], a 17th-century dwarf in the court of [[queen consort]] [[Henrietta Maria of France|Henrietta Maria]] of England.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theedgars.com/edgarsDB/index.php |title=Edgar Awards throughout time |publisher=TheEdgars.com |access-date=November 19, 2013 |archive-date=August 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120828005743/http://www.theedgars.com/edgarsDB/index.php |url-status=live }}</ref> The novel would prove a turning point in Crichton's future novels, in which technology is important in the subject matter, although this novel was as much about medical practice. The novel earned him an [[Edgar Award]] in 1969.<ref>{{cite web |title=Michael Crichton |url=http://www.famousauthors.org/michael-crichton |work=Famous Authors |access-date=March 24, 2014 |archive-date=February 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219212422/http://www.famousauthors.org/michael-crichton |url-status=live }}</ref> He intended to use the "Jeffery Hudson" pseudonym for other medical novels but ended up using it only once. The book was later adapted into the film ''[[The Carey Treatment]]'' (1972).<ref name="scalpel">{{cite news|title=Dropping the Scalpel: Film Notes Columbia Frowns Speeds the Turnover Refuge From Roles|author=Judith Martin|work=The Washington Post and Times-Herald|date= February 28, 1969|page=B12}}</ref>

===Early novels and screenplays (1969–1974)===
[[File:Slaughterhouse-Five (first edition) - Kurt Vonnegut.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Crichton critiqued [[Kurt Vonnegut]]'s ''[[Slaughterhouse-Five]]'' (1969) in ''[[The New Republic]]''.]]

Crichton says after he finished his third year of medical school: "I stopped believing that one day I'd love it and realized that what I loved was writing."<ref name="chicago"/> He began publishing book reviews under his name.<ref>{{cite news|title=Life, Death And the Doctor|author=J. MICHAEL CRICHTON|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 10, 1968|page=BR28}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Be careful, it's not my heart|author=Crichton, Michael|work=Chicago Tribune|date=December 22, 1968|page=m3}}</ref> In 1969, Crichton wrote a review for ''[[The New Republic]]'' (as J. Michael Crichton), critiquing [[Kurt Vonnegut]]'s recently published ''[[Slaughterhouse-Five]]''.<ref name="Slaughterhouse">{{cite magazine |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/114833/michael-crichton-sci-fi-and-vonnegut |title=Michael Crichton's 1969 Review of Kurt Vonnegut's 'Slaughterhouse-Five' |magazine=New Republic |date=September 25, 2013 |access-date=April 12, 2016 |author=Crichton, Michael |archive-date=April 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160421002618/https://newrepublic.com/article/114833/michael-crichton-sci-fi-and-vonnegut |url-status=live }}</ref> He also continued to write Lange novels: ''[[Zero Cool]]'' (1969), dealt with an American radiologist on vacation in Spain who is caught in a murderous crossfire between rival gangs seeking a precious artifact. ''[[The Venom Business]]'' (1969) relates the story of a smuggler who uses his exceptional skill as a snake handler to his advantage by importing snakes to be used by drug companies and universities for medical research.<ref name="chicago"/>

The first novel that was published under Crichton's name was ''[[The Andromeda Strain]]'' (1969), which proved to be the most important novel of his career and established him as a bestselling author. The novel documented the efforts of a team of scientists investigating a deadly [[extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial]] [[microorganism]] that fatally clots human blood, causing death within two minutes. Crichton was inspired to write it after reading ''[[The IPCRESS File]]'' by [[Len Deighton]] while studying in England. Crichton says he was "terrifically impressed" by the book – "a lot of ''Andromeda'' is traceable to ''Ipcress'' in terms of trying to create an imaginary world using recognizable techniques and real people."<ref name="israel"/> He wrote the novel over three years.<ref name="israel" /> The novel became an instant hit, and film rights were sold for $250,000.<ref name="scalpel"/> It was adapted into a [[The Andromeda Strain (film)|1971 film]] by director [[Robert Wise]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Screen: Wise's 'Andromeda Strain' |first=Roger |last=Greenspun |author-link=Roger Greenspun |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 22, 1971 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/03/22/archives/screen-wises-andromeda-strain.html |access-date=May 2, 2020 |archive-date=March 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329192840/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/03/22/archives/screen-wises-andromeda-strain.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

During his clinical rotations at the [[Boston City Hospital]], Crichton grew disenchanted with the culture there, which appeared to emphasize the interests and reputations of doctors over the interests of patients.<ref name="Travels">{{cite book|author=Crichton, Michael|title=Travels|date=1989|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing |isbn=978-0804171274}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=September 2015}} He graduated from Harvard, obtaining an MD in 1969,<ref>{{cite web|title=Michael Crichton, novelist and filmmaker, Harvard College (Anthropology, 1964) and Harvard Medical School (1969) graduate|url=http://ghsm.hms.harvard.edu/education/lectures_workshops/|website=Harvard University Department of Global Health & Social Medicine|access-date=April 22, 2011|archive-date=August 7, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807162358/http://ghsm.hms.harvard.edu/education/lectures_workshops/|url-status=live}}</ref> and undertook a post-doctoral fellowship study at the [[Salk Institute for Biological Studies]] in [[La Jolla, San Diego|La Jolla, California]], from 1969 to 1970.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.michaelcrichton.com/biography/|title=Biography|work=michaelcrichton.com|year=2018|access-date=January 25, 2018|archive-date=February 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180211142020/http://www.michaelcrichton.com/biography|url-status=live}}</ref> He never obtained a [[license to practice medicine]], devoting himself to his writing career instead.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Southern Medical Journal|title='The Falling Sickness' in Literature|first=Jeffrey M.|last=Jones|year=2000|volume=93|issue=12|pages=1169–72|doi=10.1097/00007611-200093120-00006|pmid=11142451|url=http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/410682_8|access-date=March 21, 2016|archive-date=March 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317055031/http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/410682_8|url-status=live}}</ref> Reflecting on his career in medicine years later, Crichton concluded that patients too often shunned responsibility for their own health, relying on doctors as miracle workers rather than advisors. He experimented with [[astral projection]], [[Aura (paranormal)|aura]] viewing, and [[clairvoyance]], coming to believe that these included real phenomena that scientists had too eagerly dismissed as [[paranormal]].<ref name="Travels" />{{Page needed|date=September 2015}}

Three more Crichton books under pseudonyms were published in 1970. Two were Lange novels, ''[[Drug of Choice]]'' and ''[[Grave Descend]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Elliott Gould Will Ride a 'Tiger': Plenty For Pakula Full 'Speed' Ahead Elliott Gould Getting in 'Sync'|author=A. H. Weiler|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 18, 1970|page=D13}}</ref> ''Grave Descend'' earned him an Edgar Award nomination the following year.<ref name="urlEdgar Award: Best Paperback Original | Cozy-Mystery.Com">{{cite web|url=http://www.cozy-mystery.com/Edgar-Award-Best-Paperback-Original.html |title=Edgar Award: Best Paperback Original |work=Cozy-Mystery.Com |access-date=December 16, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219014943/http://www.cozy-mystery.com/Edgar-Award-Best-Paperback-Original.html |archive-date=December 19, 2008}}</ref> There was also ''[[Dealing: or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues]]'' written with his younger brother Douglas Crichton. ''Dealing'' was written under the pen name "Michael Douglas", using their first names. Michael Crichton wrote it "completely from beginning to end". Then his brother rewrote it from beginning to end, and then Crichton rewrote it again.<ref name="israel" /> This novel was [[Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues (film)|made into a movie in 1972]]. Around this time Crichton also wrote and sold an original film script, ''Morton's Run''.<ref name="israel" /> He also wrote the screenplay ''Lucifer Harkness in Darkness''.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite news |title=Hollywood Today: Mike Crichton, a Skyscraper in Any Form |author=Norma Lee Browning |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=August 30, 1970 |page=s2}}</ref>

[[File:MassGeneralHospital.jpg|thumb|right|Crichton's first published book of non-fiction, ''[[Five Patients]]'', recounts his experiences of practices in the late 1960s at [[Massachusetts General Hospital]] and the issues of costs and politics within American health care.]]

Aside from fiction, Crichton wrote several other books based on medical or scientific themes, often based upon his own observations in his field of expertise. In 1970, he published ''[[Five Patients]]'', which recounts his experiences of hospital practices in the late 1960s at [[Massachusetts General Hospital]] in Boston.<ref name="scalpel"/><ref>{{cite news|title=For Michael Crichton, Medicine is for Writing|author=John Noble Wilford|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 15, 1970|page=48}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Redlich |first1=F. C. |title=Five Patients |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/08/02/archives/five-patients.html |website=New York Times |access-date=February 2, 2020 |date=August 2, 1970 |archive-date=February 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202002746/https://www.nytimes.com/1970/08/02/archives/five-patients.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The book follows each of five patients through their hospital experience and the context of their treatment, revealing inadequacies in the hospital institution at the time. The book relates the experiences of Ralph Orlando, a construction worker seriously injured in a scaffold collapse; John O'Connor, a middle-aged dispatcher suffering from fever that has reduced him to a delirious wreck; Peter Luchesi, a young man who severs his hand in an accident; Sylvia Thompson, an airline passenger who suffers chest pains; and Edith Murphy, a mother of three who is diagnosed with a life-threatening disease. In ''Five Patients'', Crichton examines a brief history of medicine up to 1969 to help place hospital culture and practice into context, and addresses the costs and politics of American healthcare. In 1974, he wrote a pilot script for a medical series, "[[24 Hours (ER)|24 Hours]]", based on his book ''[[Five Patients]]'', however, networks were not enthusiastic.<ref>{{cite book | last=Keenleyside | first=Sam | title=Bedside manners: George Clooney and ER |publisher=ECW Press | year=1998 | edition=Illustrated | page=129 | isbn=1-55022-336-4}}</ref>

As a personal friend of the artist [[Jasper Johns]], Crichton compiled many of Johns' works in a [[coffee table book]], published as ''[[Jasper Johns (book)|Jasper Johns]]''. It was originally published in 1970 by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. in association with the [[Whitney Museum of American Art]] and again in January 1977, with a second revised edition published in 1994.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/3001846|title=Jasper Johns|date=August 15, 1977|oclc=3001846|via=Open WorldCat|access-date=August 15, 2020|archive-date=February 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217100816/https://www.worldcat.org/title/jasper-johns/oclc/3001846|url-status=live}}</ref> The psychiatrist Janet Ross owned a copy of the painting ''Numbers'' by Jasper Johns in Crichton's later novel ''[[The Terminal Man]]''. The [[technophobic]] antagonist of the story found it odd that a person would paint numbers as they were inorganic.<ref>{{cite book|author=Michael Crichton|title=[[The Terminal Man]]|location=New York|publisher=Avon Books|date=2002|page=181}}</ref> In 1972, Crichton published his last novel as John Lange: ''[[Binary (novel)|Binary]]'', relates the story of a villainous middle-class businessman, who attempts to assassinate the President of the United States by stealing an army shipment of the two precursor chemicals that form a deadly nerve agent.<ref>{{cite news|title=Criminals at Large|author=Newgate Callendar|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 20, 1972|page=BR26}}</ref>

''[[The Terminal Man]]'' (1972), is about a [[psychomotor epileptic]] sufferer, Harry Benson, who regularly suffers seizures followed by blackouts, and conducts himself inappropriately during seizures, waking up hours later with no knowledge of what he has done. Believed to be psychotic, he is investigated and electrodes are implanted in his brain. The book continued the preoccupation in Crichton's novels with machine-human interaction and technology.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> The novel was adapted into a [[The Terminal Man (film)|1974 film]] directed by [[Mike Hodges]] and starring [[George Segal]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/01/28/archives/director-michael-crichton-films-a-favorite-novelist.html | title=Director Michael Crichton Films a Favorite Novelist | first=Michael | last=Owen | work=The New York Times | date=January 28, 1979 | access-date=May 2, 2020 | archive-date=August 20, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820214401/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/01/28/archives/director-michael-crichton-films-a-favorite-novelist.html | url-status=live }}</ref> Crichton was hired to adapt his novel ''The Terminal Man'' into a script by Warner Bros. The studio felt he had departed from the source material too much and had [[The Terminal Man (film)|another writer adapt it for the 1974 film]].<ref name="times">{{cite news|title=Director Michael Crichton Films a Favorite Novelist|author=Michael Owen|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 28, 1979|page=D17}}</ref> ABC TV wanted to buy the film rights to Crichton's novel ''[[Binary (novel)|Binary]]''. The author agreed on the provision that he could direct the film. ABC agreed provided someone other than Crichton write the script. The result, ''[[Pursuit (1972 American film)|Pursuit]]'' (1972) was a ratings success.<ref name="michael">{{cite news|title=Crichton Debuts as Film Director|author=Smith, Cecil|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 11, 1972|page=d27}}</ref> Crichton then wrote and directed the 1973 low-budget science fiction western-thriller film ''[[Westworld (film)|Westworld]]'' about robots that run amok, which was his feature film directorial debut. It was the first feature film using 2D [[computer-generated imagery]] (CGI). The producer of ''Westworld'' hired Crichton to write an original script, which became the erotic thriller ''[[Extreme Close-Up (film)|Extreme Close-Up]]'' (1973). Directed by [[Jeannot Szwarc]], the movie disappointed Crichton.<ref name="pod">{{cite podcast|url=http://nashvillepubliclibrary.org/offtheshelf/paul-lazarus-legends-of-film/|title=Legends of Film: Paul Lazarus|date=December 27, 2004|access-date=July 4, 2018|archive-date=November 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191113112343/http://nashvillepubliclibrary.org/offtheshelf/paul-lazarus-legends-of-film/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Period novels and directing (1975–1988)===
[[File:Neanderthal Man, H. G. Wells&#039; Outline of History, page 39.jpg|thumb|Crichton's 1976 novel ''[[Eaters of the Dead]]'' featured relict [[Neanderthals]] as antagonists.]]
In 1975, Crichton wrote ''[[The Great Train Robbery (novel)|The Great Train Robbery]]'', which would become a bestseller. The novel is a recreation of the [[Great Gold Robbery of 1855]], a massive gold heist, which takes place on a train traveling through [[Victorian era]] England. A considerable portion of the book was set in London. Crichton had become aware of the story when lecturing at the [[University of Cambridge]]. He later read the transcripts of the court trial and started researching the historical period.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Owen|first1=Michael|title=Director Michael Crichton Films a Favorite Novelist|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/01/28/archives/director-michael-crichton-films-a-favorite-novelist.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 28, 1979|page=D17|access-date=March 19, 2019|archive-date=June 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616203926/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/01/28/archives/director-michael-crichton-films-a-favorite-novelist.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1976, Crichton published ''[[Eaters of the Dead]]'', a novel about a 10th-century Muslim who travels with a group of Vikings to their settlement. ''Eaters of the Dead'' is narrated as a scientific commentary on an old manuscript and was inspired by two sources. The first three chapters retell [[Ahmad ibn Fadlan]]'s personal account of his journey north and his experiences in encountering the [[Rus' people|Rus']], a Varangian tribe, whilst the remainder is based upon the story of [[Beowulf]], culminating in battles with the 'mist-monsters', or 'wendol', a relict group of [[Neanderthals]].<ref>{{cite news|title=With real and bogus footnotes: Eaters Of the Dead|author=JACK SULLIVAN|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 25, 1976|page=253}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Crichton's creative play: Eaters of the Dead|author=Oberbeck, S K.|work=Chicago Tribune|date=April 25, 1976|page=f6}}</ref>

Crichton wrote and directed the suspense film ''[[Coma (1978 film)|Coma]]'' (1978), adapted from the 1977 novel of the same name by [[Robin Cook (novelist)|Robin Cook]], a friend of his. There are other similarities in terms of genre and the fact that both Cook and Crichton had medical degrees, were of similar age, and wrote about similar subjects. The film was a popular success. Crichton then wrote and directed an adaptation of his own book, ''[[The First Great Train Robbery|The Great Train Robbery]]'' (1978), starring [[Sean Connery]] and [[Donald Sutherland]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ebert|first1=Roger|author-link1=Roger Ebert|title=The Great Train Robbery|url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-great-train-robbery-1979|work=Chicago Sun-Times|date=February 9, 1979|access-date=May 3, 2020|archive-date=June 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604221317/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-great-train-robbery-1979|url-status=live}}</ref> The film would go on to be nominated for Best Cinematography Award by the [[British Society of Cinematographers]], also garnering an [[Edgar Allan Poe Award]] for Best Motion Picture by the Mystery Writers Association of America.

In 1979, it was announced that Crichton would direct a movie version of his novel ''[[Eaters of the Dead]]'' for the newly formed [[Orion Pictures]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Orion: A Humanistic Production|author=Kilday, Gregg|work=Los Angeles Times|date=January 5, 1979|page=f13}}</ref> This did not occur. Crichton pitched the idea of a modern day ''[[King Solomon's Mines]]'' to [[20th Century Fox]] who paid him $1.5&nbsp;million for the film rights to the novel, a screenplay and directorial fee for the movie, before a word had been written. He had never worked that way before, usually writing the book then selling it. He eventually managed to finish the book, titled ''[[Congo (novel)|Congo]]'', which became a best seller.<ref name="los">{{cite news|title=CRICHTON DIPS INTO THE TANK: MICHAEL CRICHTON|work=Los Angeles Times|date=May 6, 1980|page=g1}}</ref> Crichton did the screenplay for ''Congo'' after he wrote and directed ''[[Looker]]'' (1981).<ref>{{cite news|title=BEHIND THE BEST SELLERS: Michael Crichton|author=McDOWELL, EDWIN|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=February 8, 1981|page=BR8}}</ref><ref name="los" /> ''Looker'' was a financial disappointment. Crichton came close to directing a film of ''Congo'' with [[Sean Connery]], but the film did not happen.<ref>{{cite news|title=An author of pleasurable fear: Michael Crichton takes fiction where you wouldn't want to go|author= Gorner, Peter|work=Chicago Tribune|date=June 24, 1987|page=D1}}</ref> Eventually, a film version was made in 1995 by [[Frank Marshall (filmmaker)|Frank Marshall]]. In 1984, [[Telarium]] released a [[graphic adventure]] based on ''Congo''. Because Crichton had sold all adaptation rights to the novel, he set the game, named ''[[Amazon (video game)|Amazon]]'', in South America, and Amy the gorilla became Paco the parrot.<ref name="maher20131011">{{cite web | url=http://www.filfre.net/2013/10/from-congo-to-amazon/ | title=From Congo to Amazon | work=The Digital Antiquarian | date=October 11, 2013 | access-date=July 10, 2014 | author=Maher, Jimmy | archive-date=July 11, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140711194224/http://www.filfre.net/2013/10/from-congo-to-amazon/ | url-status=live }}</ref> That year Crichton also wrote and directed ''[[Runaway (1984 American film)|Runaway]]'' (1984), a police thriller set in the near future which was a box office disappointment.<ref>{{cite news |title=Screen: Tom Selleck in 'Runaway' |author=Janet Maslin |author-link=Janet Maslin |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=C20 |date=December 14, 1984 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/14/movies/screen-tom-selleck-in-runaway.html |access-date=May 3, 2020 |archive-date=January 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107012626/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/14/movies/screen-tom-selleck-in-runaway.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Crichton had begun writing ''[[Sphere (novel)|Sphere]]'' in 1967 as a companion piece to ''[[The Andromeda Strain]]''. His initial storyline began with American scientists discovering a 300-year-old spaceship underwater with stenciled markings in English. However, Crichton later realized that he "didn't know where to go with it" and put off completing the book until a later date. The novel was published in 1987.<ref>{{cite web |author=Peter Gorner |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1987/06/24/an-author-of-pleasurable-fear/ |title=An Author Of Pleasurable Fear |work=Chicago Tribune |date=June 24, 1987 |access-date=October 18, 2015 |archive-date=February 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160224131355/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1987-06-24/features/8702160834_1_alien-scientists-ship |url-status=live }}</ref> It relates the story of psychologist Norman Johnson, who is required by the U.S. Navy to join a team of scientists assembled by the U.S. Government to examine an enormous alien spacecraft discovered on the bed of the Pacific Ocean, and believed to have been there for over 300 years. The novel begins as a science fiction story, but rapidly changes into a psychological thriller, ultimately exploring the nature of the human imagination. The novel was adapted into the [[Sphere (1998 film)|1998 film]] directed by [[Barry Levinson]] and starring [[Dustin Hoffman]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9805e6da123cf930a25751c0a96e958260|title=Sphere (1998)|last=Maslin|first=Janet|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=February 13, 1998|access-date=May 2, 2020|archive-date=January 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180122125209/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9805e6da123cf930a25751c0a96e958260|url-status=live}}</ref>

Crichton worked—as a director only—on ''[[Physical Evidence]]'' (1989), a thriller originally conceived as a sequel to ''[[Jagged Edge (film)|Jagged Edge]]''. In 1988, Crichton was a visiting writer at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]].<ref name="WEBSITEBIO">{{cite web|url=http://www.michaelcrichton.net/aboutmichaelcrichton-biography.html|title=Biography|website=MichaelCrichton.net|access-date=March 15, 2012|archive-date=January 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107012600/http://www.michaelcrichton.net/aboutmichaelcrichton-biography.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A book of autobiographical writings, ''[[Travels (book)|Travels]]'', was also published in 1988.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bosworth|first=Patricia|date=June 26, 1988|title=TOURING THE ALTERED STATES|work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/26/books/touring-the-altered-states.html|access-date=May 4, 2020|archive-date=August 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200831133139/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/26/books/touring-the-altered-states.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===''Jurassic Park'' and subsequent works (1989–1999)===
[[File:Jurassic Park for kids in Kletno PL.jpg|thumb|right|Crichton's novel ''Jurassic Park'', and its sequels, were made into films that became a major part of popular culture, with related parks established in places as far afield as [[Kletno]], Poland.]]

In 1990, Crichton published the novel ''[[Jurassic Park (novel)|Jurassic Park]]''. Crichton utilized the presentation of "fiction as fact", used in his previous novels, ''Eaters of the Dead'' and ''The Andromeda Strain''. In addition, [[chaos theory]] and its philosophical implications are used to explain the collapse of an [[amusement park]] in a "biological preserve" on Isla Nublar, a fictional island to the west of Costa Rica. The novel had begun as a screenplay Crichton had written in 1983, about a graduate student who recreates a dinosaur.<ref>{{Cite AV media | people = Crichton, Michael | title = Michael Crichton on the Jurassic Park Phenomenon | medium = DVD | publisher = Universal | date = 2001}}</ref> Reasoning that genetic research is expensive and that "there is no pressing need to create a dinosaur", Crichton concluded that it would emerge from a "desire to entertain", which led him to set the novel in a [[Wildlife refuge|wildlife park]] of extinct animals.<ref>"Return to Jurassic Park: Dawn of a New Era", ''Jurassic Park'' Blu-ray (2011)</ref> The story had originally been told from the point of view of a child, but Crichton changed it because everyone who read the draft felt it would be better if told by an adult.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.michaelcrichton.net/books-jurassicpark-mcnotes.html|title=Resources and Information|website=www.michaelcrichton.net|access-date=May 2, 2020|archive-date=September 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920213117/http://www.michaelcrichton.net/books-jurassicpark-mcnotes.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Steven Spielberg]] learned of the novel in October 1989 while he and Crichton were discussing a screenplay that would later be developed into the television series ''[[ER (TV series)|ER]]''. Before the book was published, Crichton demanded a non-negotiable fee of $1.5&nbsp;million as well as a substantial percentage of the gross. [[Warner Bros.]] and [[Tim Burton]], [[Sony Pictures Entertainment]] and [[Richard Donner]], and [[20th Century Fox]] and [[Joe Dante]] bid for the rights,<ref name="mcbride">[[Joseph McBride (writer)|Joseph McBride]] (1997). ''Steven Spielberg''. Faber and Faber, 416–9. {{ISBN|0-571-19177-0}}</ref> but Universal eventually acquired the rights in May 1990 for Spielberg.<ref name="Production notes">DVD Production Notes</ref> Universal paid Crichton a further $500,000 to adapt his own novel,<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Leaping Lizards |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=December 7, 1990 |url=https://ew.com/article/1990/12/07/michael-crichtons-jurassic-park/ |access-date=February 17, 2007 |first=Tim |last=Appelo |archive-date=October 13, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013204929/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,318785,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> which he had completed by the time Spielberg was filming ''[[Hook (film)|Hook]]''. Crichton noted that, because the book was "fairly long", his script only had about 10% to 20% of the novel's content.<ref name="Biodrowski">{{cite journal |author=Biodrowski, Steve |title=Jurassic Park: Michael Crichton |journal=[[Cinefantastique]] |volume=24 |issue=2 |page=12}}</ref> The [[Jurassic Park (film)|film]], directed by Spielberg, was released in 1993.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Simpson |first1=Philip |last2=Utterson |first2=Andrew |last3=Shepherdson |first3=Karen J. |title=Film Theory: Critical Concepts in Media and Cultural Studies |year=2004 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-415-25975-0 |page=337 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zyRIlJTkuQ4C&pg=PA337 |access-date=September 25, 2020 |archive-date=January 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107012635/https://books.google.com/books?id=zyRIlJTkuQ4C&pg=PA337 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Mosquito in amber.jpg|thumb|left|A mosquito preserved in amber. A specimen of this sort was the source of dinosaur DNA in ''Jurassic Park''.]]

In 1992, Crichton published the novel ''[[Rising Sun (Crichton novel)|Rising Sun]]'', an internationally bestselling crime thriller about a murder in the Los Angeles headquarters of Nakamoto, a fictional Japanese corporation. The book was adapted into the [[Rising Sun (1993 film)|1993 film]] directed by [[Philip Kaufman]] and starring [[Sean Connery]] and [[Wesley Snipes]]; it was released the same year as the adaptation of ''Jurassic Park''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/books/article/BOOKS-Crichton-Takes-to-The-Skies-Airframe-2957122.php|title=BOOKS – Crichton Takes to The Skies / 'Airframe' formulaic but hard to put down|last=Holt|first=Patricia|date=December 5, 1996|work=San Francisco Chronicle|access-date=July 27, 2017|archive-date=July 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729095442/http://www.sfgate.com/books/article/BOOKS-Crichton-Takes-to-The-Skies-Airframe-2957122.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nytimes.com">Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher. [https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/05/books/a-thriller-not-to-carry-on-your-next-plane-trip.html "A thriller not to carry on your next plane trip".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627225117/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/05/books/a-thriller-not-to-carry-on-your-next-plane-trip.html |date=June 27, 2019 }} ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 5, 1996.</ref>

The theme of his next novel, ''[[Disclosure (novel)|Disclosure]]'', published in 1994, was sexual harassment—a theme previously explored in his 1972 novel, ''Binary''. Unlike that novel however, ''Disclosure'' centers on sexual politics in the workplace, emphasizing an array of paradoxes in traditional gender roles by featuring a male protagonist who is being sexually harassed by a female executive. As a result, the book has been criticized harshly by some feminist commentators and accused of being anti-feminist. Crichton, anticipating this response, offered a rebuttal at the close of the novel which states that a "role-reversal" story uncovers aspects of the subject that would not be seen as easily with a female protagonist. The novel was made into a [[Disclosure (1994 film)|film]] the same year, directed by [[Barry Levinson]] and starring [[Michael Douglas]] and [[Demi Moore]].

Crichton was the creator and an executive producer of the television drama ''[[ER (TV series)|ER]]'', based on his 1974 pilot script ''24 Hours''. Spielberg helped develop the show, serving as an executive producer for season one and offering advice (he insisted on [[Julianna Margulies]] becoming a regular, for example). It was also through Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment that [[John Wells (TV producer)|John Wells]] was attached as the show's executive producer. In 1995, Crichton published ''[[The Lost World (Crichton novel)|The Lost World]]'' as a sequel to ''Jurassic Park''. The title was a reference to [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s ''[[The Lost World (Doyle novel)|The Lost World]]'' (1912).<ref>{{cite news|last=Wilmington|first=Michael|date=June 8, 1997|title=THE FIRST 'LOST WORLD'|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1997-06-08-9706080353-story.html|work=The Chicago Tribune|access-date=May 2, 2020|archive-date=March 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180310010445/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1997-06-08/news/9706080353_1_lost-world-jurassic-park-king-kong/2|url-status=live}}</ref> It was made into the [[The Lost World: Jurassic Park|1997 film]] two years later, again directed by Spielberg.<ref name="MC">{{cite web|url=http://www.michaelcrichton.com/the-lost-world/|title=In His Own Words|website=MichaelCrichton.com|date=December 9, 2014 |access-date=May 10, 2016|archive-date=October 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201006231725/https://www.michaelcrichton.com/the-lost-world//|url-status=live}}</ref> In March 1994, Crichton said there would probably be a sequel novel as well as a film adaptation, stating that he had an idea for the novel's story.<ref name="USA">{{cite news|last=Spillman|first=Susan|title=Crichton is plotting 'Jurassic 2'|via=Newsbank |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |date=March 11, 1994}}</ref> In 1996, Crichton published ''[[Airframe (novel)|Airframe]]'', an aero-techno-thriller. The book continued Crichton's overall theme of the failure of humans in human-machine interaction, given that the plane worked perfectly and the accident would not have occurred had the pilot reacted properly.<ref name="nytimes.com" /> He also wrote ''[[Twister (1996 film)|Twister]]'' (1996) with [[Anne-Marie Martin]], his wife at the time.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1996/05/17/twister-set-got-stormy/|title=The War of the Winds|last=Daly|first=Steve|date=May 10, 1996|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|access-date=June 14, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018030610/https://ew.com/article/1996/05/17/twister-set-got-stormy/|archive-date=October 18, 2015}}</ref>

In 1999, Crichton published ''[[Timeline (novel)|Timeline]]'', a science-fiction novel in which experts [[time travel]] back to the medieval period. The novel, which continued Crichton's long history of combining technical details and action in his books, explores [[quantum physics]] and time travel directly; it was also warmly received by medieval scholars, who praised his depiction of the challenges involved in researching the [[Middle Ages]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Linda Bingham|title=Crossing the Timeline: Michael Crichton's Bestseller as Social Criticism and History|at=Falling into Medievalism|editor1=Anne Lair|editor2=Richard Utz|journal=UNIversitas: The University of Northern Iowa Journal of Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity|url=http://www.uni.edu/universitas/spring06/default.htm|volume=2|issue=1|date=2006|access-date=January 22, 2011|archive-date=July 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720093046/http://www.uni.edu/universitas/spring06/default.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1999, Crichton founded Timeline Computer Entertainment with [[David A. Smith (computer scientist)|David Smith]]. Although he signed a multi-title publishing deal with [[Eidos Interactive]], only one game, ''[[Timeline (video game)|Timeline]]'', was ever published. Released by Eidos Interactive on November 10, 2000, for PCs, the game received negative reviews. A [[Timeline (2003 film)|2003 film]] based on the book was directed by [[Richard Donner]] and starring [[Paul Walker]], [[Gerard Butler]] and [[Frances O'Connor]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newsweek.com/biggest-box-office-bombs-all-time-1037837|title=These are the biggest box office bombs of all time|date=July 23, 2018|work=Newsweek|access-date=May 2, 2020|archive-date=April 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200410111120/https://www.newsweek.com/biggest-box-office-bombs-all-time-1037837|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Eaters of the Dead'' was adapted into the 1999 film ''[[The 13th Warrior]]'' directed by [[John McTiernan]], who was later removed, with Crichton himself taking over direction of reshoots.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/15-directors-unceremoniously-fired-or-replaced-on-a-movie-20130322?page=2#blogPostHeaderPanel|title=15 Directors Unceremoniously Fired Or Replaced On A Movie|work=The Playlist|date=March 22, 2013|access-date=March 27, 2013|archive-date=March 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130324222940/http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/15-directors-unceremoniously-fired-or-replaced-on-a-movie-20130322?page=2#blogPostHeaderPanel|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Final novels and later life (2000–2008)===
In 2002, Crichton published ''[[Prey (novel)|Prey]]'', about developments in science and technology, specifically [[nanotechnology]]. The novel explores relatively recent phenomena engendered by the work of the scientific community, such as: [[artificial life]], [[emergence]] (and by extension, [[complexity]]), [[genetic algorithms]], and [[intelligent agent|agent]]-based computing. In 2004, Crichton published ''[[State of Fear]]'', a novel concerning [[eco-terrorism|eco-terrorists]] who attempt mass murder to support their views. The novel's central premise is that climate scientists exaggerate [[global warming]]. A review in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' found the novel "likely to mislead the unwary".<ref name="A novel view of global warming – Bo">{{cite journal | last1=Allen | first1=Myles | title=A novel view of global warming – Book Reviewed: State of Fear | journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] | volume=433 | issue=7023 | page=198 | doi=10.1038/433198a | date=January 2005 | bibcode=2005Natur.433..198A| doi-access=free }}</ref> The novel had an initial print run of 1.5 million copies and reached the No. 1 bestseller position at [[Amazon.com]] and No. 2 on [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''The New York Times'' Best Seller list]] for one week in January 2005.<ref name="Doran06" /><ref name="columbia.edu">{{cite web|date = September 27, 2005|url-status = live|url = http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/2005/Crichton_20050927.pdf|title = Michael Crichton's "Scientific Method"|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110205005158/http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/2005/Crichton_20050927.pdf|archive-date = February 5, 2011|first = James|last = Hansen|authorlink = James Hansen|website = www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/|publisher = [[Columbia University]]}}</ref>

The last novel published during his lifetime was ''[[Next (Crichton novel)|Next]]'' in 2006.<ref>{{cite journal| url = https://www.academia.edu/43358654| title = Book Review &ndash; Crichton, Michael. ''Next''. London: Harper (Paperback).| first = Abhijit| last = Guha| journal = Indian Journal of Biological Sciences| date = January 2009| volume = 15| pages = 70–71}}</ref> The novel follows many characters, including [[Genetically modified organism|transgenic]] animals, in a quest to survive in a world dominated by genetic research, corporate greed, and legal interventions, wherein government and private investors spend billions of dollars every year on genetic research.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/07/books/review/Itzkoff2.t.html?ref=review|title=Genetic Park|last=Itzkoff|first=Dave|authorlink=Dave Itzkoff|date=January 7, 2007|work=[[The New York Times]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201121202245/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/07/books/review/Itzkoff2.t.html?ref=review|archive-date=November 21, 2020|url-status=live|access-date=January 3, 2024}}</ref> In 2006, Crichton clashed with journalist [[Michael Crowley (journalist)|Michael Crowley]], a senior editor of the magazine ''[[The New Republic]]''. In March 2006, Crowley wrote a strongly critical review of ''State of Fear'', focusing on Crichton's stance on global warming.<ref name="Cock and Bull">{{cite magazine|title=Cock and Bull|last=Crowley|first=Michael|authorlink=Michael Crowley (journalist)|url=http://www.tnr.com/article/cock-and-bull|url-status=live|access-date=January 3, 2024|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100516142905/http://www.tnr.com/article/cock-and-bull|archive-date=May 16, 2010|magazine=[[The New Republic]]|date=December 25, 2006}}</ref> In the same year, Crichton published the novel ''[[Next (Crichton novel)|Next]]'', which contains a minor character named "Mick Crowley", who is a Yale graduate and a Washington, D.C.–based political columnist. The character was portrayed as a child molester [[Small penis rule|with a small penis]].<ref name="Lee, Felicia">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/14/books/14cric.html|title=Columnist Accuses Crichton of 'Literary Hit-and-Run'|date=December 14, 2006|work=[[The New York Times]]|quote=On Page 227 Mr. Crichton writes: 'Alex Burnet was in the middle of the most difficult trial of her career, a rape case involving the sexual assault of a two-year-old boy in Malibu. The defendant, thirty-year-old Mick Crowley, was a Washington-based political columnist who was visiting his sister-in-law when he experienced an overwhelming urge to have anal sex with her young son, still in diapers.' Mick Crowley is described as a 'wealthy, spoiled Yale graduate' with a small penis that nonetheless 'caused significant tears to the toddler's rectum.{{'-}}|last=Lee|first=Felicia R.|access-date=January 4, 2024|archive-date=April 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422155605/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/14/books/14cric.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The real Crowley, also a Yale graduate, alleged that by including a [[Tuckerization|similarly named character]] Crichton had libeled him.<ref name="Lee, Felicia" />

===Posthumous works===
Several novels that were in various states of completion upon Crichton's death have since been published. The first, ''[[Pirate Latitudes]]'', was found as a manuscript on one of his computers after his death. It centers on a fictional privateer who attempts to raid a Spanish galleon. It was published in November 2009 by [[HarperCollins]].<ref name=NYT1109 /> Additionally, Crichton had completed the outline for and was roughly a third of the way through a novel titled ''[[Micro (novel)|Micro]]'', a novel which centers on technology that shrinks humans to microscopic sizes.<ref name="NYT1109">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/books/06crichton.html |title=Posthumous Crichton Novels on the Way |first=Motoko |last=Rich |work=The New York Times |date=April 5, 2009 |access-date=July 18, 2009 |archive-date=November 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122051053/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/books/06crichton.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="MicroMay2011">{{cite news |title=Michael Crichton posthumous novel to be published |author=Zorianna Kit |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/books-michaelcrichton-idUSN2319436920110523 |publisher=Reuters |date=May 23, 2011 |access-date=May 27, 2011 |archive-date=July 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130704092243/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/23/books-michaelcrichton-idUSN2319436920110523 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Micro'' was completed by [[Richard Preston]] using Crichton's notes and files, and was published in November 2011.<ref name="MicroMay2011" />

On July 28, 2016, Crichton's website and HarperCollins announced the publication of a third posthumous novel, titled ''[[Dragon Teeth]]'', which he had written in 1974.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/book-deals/article/71049-hc-to-publish-new-novel-by-late-michael-crichton.html|title=HarperCollins to Publish Found Novel by Late Michael Crichton|website=PublishersWeekly|access-date=July 29, 2016|archive-date=July 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730221351/http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/book-deals/article/71049-hc-to-publish-new-novel-by-late-michael-crichton.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It is a historical novel set during the [[Bone Wars]], and includes the real life characters of [[Othniel Charles Marsh]] and [[Edward Drinker Cope]]. The novel was released in May 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://corporate.harpercollins.com/us/press-releases/490/HARPERCOLLINS%2520PUBLISHERS%2520ACQUIRES%2520NOVEL%2520BY%2520%2520MICHAEL%2520CRICHTON|title=Press Releases Details|last=Archipelago|first=World|publisher=HarperCollins|access-date=July 29, 2016|archive-date=August 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160803173032/http://corporate.harpercollins.com/us/press-releases/490/HARPERCOLLINS%20PUBLISHERS%20ACQUIRES%20NOVEL%20BY%20%20MICHAEL%20CRICHTON|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.michaelcrichton.com/harpercollins-publishers-acquires-novel-by-michael-crichton/|title=HarperCollins Publishers Acquires Novel by Michael Crichton – MichaelCrichton.com|date=July 28, 2016|publisher=MichaelCrichton.com|language=en-US|access-date=July 29, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731130548/http://www.michaelcrichton.com/harpercollins-publishers-acquires-novel-by-michael-crichton|archive-date=July 31, 2016}}</ref> In addition, some of his published works are being continued by other authors. On February 26, 2019, Crichton's website and HarperCollins announced the publication of ''[[The Andromeda Evolution]]'', the sequel to ''[[The Andromeda Strain]]'', a collaboration with CrichtonSun LLC. and author [[Daniel H. Wilson]]. It was released on November 12, 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/b903b2e03d52462fbd36676dfd5b155e|title=Sequel to Michael Crichton's 'Andromeda Strain' due in fall|last=Italie|first=Hillel|date=February 26, 2019|website=AP NEWS|access-date=February 28, 2019|archive-date=February 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227144034/https://apnews.com/b903b2e03d52462fbd36676dfd5b155e|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BuWfmT-FUZk/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/michaelcrichton_official/1987915257755289188 |archive-date=December 23, 2021 |url-access=subscription|title=Michael Crichton on Instagram: "Big news Michael Crichton fans! HarperCollins will be publishing The Andromeda Evolution—the sequel to the breakthrough novel, The…"|website=Instagram|language=en|access-date=February 28, 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.harpercollins.com/corporate/press-releases/harpercollins-publishers-announces-the-publication-of-the-andromeda-evolution-the-sequel-to-michael-crichtons-worldwide-bestselling-novel-the-andromeda-strain/|title=HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS ANNOUNCES THE PUBLICATION OF THE ANDROMEDA EVOLUTION, THE SEQUEL TO MICHAEL CRICHTON'S WORLDWIDE BESTSELLING NOVEL THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN|website=HarperCollins Publishers|access-date=February 28, 2019|archive-date=March 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190301013459/https://www.harpercollins.com/corporate/press-releases/harpercollins-publishers-announces-the-publication-of-the-andromeda-evolution-the-sequel-to-michael-crichtons-worldwide-bestselling-novel-the-andromeda-strain/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2020, it was announced that his unpublished works will be adapted into TV series and films in collaboration with CrichtonSun and Range Media Partners.<ref>{{cite web|title=Michael Crichton's Unpublished Work Will Be Developed as TV and Film Projects|url=https://geektyrant.com/news/michael-crichtons-unpublished-work-will-be-developed-as-tv-and-film-projects|access-date=January 17, 2021|website=GeekTyrant|date=December 21, 2020 |language=en-US}}</ref> On December 15, 2022, it was announced that [[James Patterson]] would coauthor a novel about a mega-eruption of Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano, based on an unfinished manuscript by Crichton. The novel, ''[[Eruption (novel)|Eruption]],'' was released on June 3, 2024.<ref>{{cite web|title=James Patterson To Co-Author Novel With Late Michael Crichton From Unfinished Manuscript On Hawaii Volcano Mega-Eruption|url=https://deadline.com/2022/12/james-patterson-michael-crichton-novel-unfinished-manuscript-hachette-1235200091/|access-date=December 15, 2022|website=Deadline|date=December 15, 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Scientific and legal career==
===Video games and computing===
[[File:AtariBASIC.png|thumb|left|Crichton was an early proponent of programming and computers, predicting their ubiquity.]]
In 1983, Crichton wrote ''[[Electronic Life]]'', a book that introduces [[BASIC]] [[computer programming|programming]] to its readers. The book, written like a glossary, with entries such as: "Afraid of Computers (everybody is)," "Buying a Computer" and "Computer Crime," was intended to introduce the idea of personal computers to a reader who might be faced with the hardship of using them at work or at home for the first time. It defined basic computer jargon and assured readers that they could master the machine when it inevitably arrived. In his words, being able to program a computer is liberation: "In my experience, you assert control over a computer—show it who's the boss—by making it do something unique. That means programming it... If you devote a couple of hours to programming a new machine, you'll feel better about it ever afterward."<ref>{{cite book|author=Crichton, Michael|title=[[Electronic Life]]|publisher=Knopf|date=1983|page=44|isbn=0-394-53406-9}}</ref>

In the book, Crichton predicts a number of events in the history of computer development, that computer networks would increase in importance as a matter of convenience, including the sharing of information and pictures that we see online today, which the telephone never could. He also makes predictions for computer games, dismissing them as "the [[hula hoop]]s of the 80s," and saying "already there are indications that the mania for twitch games may be fading." In a section of the book called "Microprocessors, or how I flunked biostatistics at Harvard," Crichton again seeks his revenge on the teacher who had given him abnormally low grades in college. Within the book, Crichton included many self-written demonstrative [[Applesoft BASIC|Applesoft]] (for [[Apple II]]) and [[Microsoft BASICA|BASICA]] (for [[IBM PC compatible]]s) programs.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1985-06/1985_06_BYTE_10-06_Programming_Techniques#page/n415/mode/2up | title=From the Living Room | work=BYTE | date=June 1985 | access-date=April 23, 2016 | author=[[Pournelle, Jerry]] | page=409}}</ref>

''[[Amazon (video game)|Amazon]]'' is a [[graphical adventure]] game created by Crichton and produced by John Wells. [[Trillium Corporation|Trillium]] released it in the United States in 1984 initially for the [[Apple II]], [[Atari 8-bit computers]], and [[Commodore 64]]. ''Amazon'' sold more than 100,000 copies, making it a significant commercial success at the time.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}} It has plot elements similar to those previously used in ''Congo''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://homeoftheunderdogs.net/game.php?id=48|title=Home of the Underdogs|website=homeoftheunderdogs.net|access-date=February 1, 2013|archive-date=May 21, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521185301/http://homeoftheunderdogs.net/game.php?id=48|url-status=live}}</ref> Crichton started a company selling a computer program he had originally written to help him create budgets for his movies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.michaelcrichton.com/programmer/|title=Programmer|date=March 25, 2015 |publisher=michaelcrichton.com|access-date=August 20, 2015|archive-date=August 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150820204818/http://www.michaelcrichton.com/programmer/|url-status=live}}</ref> He often sought to utilize computing in films, such as ''Westworld'', which was the first film to employ computer-generated special effects. He also pushed Spielberg to include them in the ''Jurassic Park'' films. For his pioneering use of computer programs in film production he was awarded the [[Academy Award for Technical Achievement]] in 1995.<ref name="WEBSITEBIO"/>

===Intellectual property cases===
In November 2006, at the [[National Press Club (United States)|National Press Club]] in Washington, D.C., Crichton joked that he considered himself an expert in intellectual property law. He had been involved in several lawsuits with others claiming credit for his work.<ref name="fora.tv">{{cite web|url=http://fora.tv/2006/11/28/Michael_Crichton|title=Michael Crichton|website=Fora.tv|access-date=August 3, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328151617/http://fora.tv/2006/11/28/Michael_Crichton|archive-date=March 28, 2010|url-status=usurped}}</ref> In 1985, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]] heard ''Berkic v. Crichton'', 761 F.2d 1289 (1985). Plaintiff Ted Berkic wrote a screenplay called ''Reincarnation Inc.'', which he claims Crichton plagiarized for the movie ''[[Coma (1978 film)|Coma]]''. The court ruled in Crichton's favor, stating the works were not substantially similar.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=4645996206573075884 |title=Berkic v. Crichton'', 761 F. 2d 1289 – Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit'' |year=1985 |access-date=February 27, 2016 |archive-date=January 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107012633/https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=4645996206573075884 |url-status=live}} <!-- as backup, also at http://www.leagle.com/decision/19852050761F2d1289_11858/BERKIC%20v.%20CRICHTON --></ref> In the 1996 case, ''Williams v. Crichton'', 84 F.3d 581 (2d Cir. 1996), Geoffrey Williams claimed that ''Jurassic Park'' violated his copyright covering his dinosaur-themed children's stories published in the late 1980s. The court granted [[summary judgment]] in favor of Crichton.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=5801028099837723098|title=''Williams v. Crichton'', 84 F. 3d 581 – Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit 1996|year=1996|access-date=February 27, 2016|archive-date=January 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107012645/https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=5801028099837723098|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1998, A United States District Court in Missouri heard the case of ''Kessler v. Crichton'' that actually went all the way to a jury trial, unlike the other cases. Plaintiff Stephen Kessler claimed the movie ''[[Twister (1996 film)|Twister]]'' (1996) was based on his work ''Catch the Wind''. It took the jury about 45 minutes to reach a verdict in favor of Crichton. After the verdict, Crichton refused to shake Kessler's hand.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jan-29-fi-13421-story.html|title=Spielberg, Crichton Cleared in 'Twister' Piracy Suit|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=January 29, 1998|access-date=April 5, 2020|agency=Associated Press|archive-date=August 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804095403/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jan-29-fi-13421-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Crichton later summarized his intellectual property legal cases: "I always win."<ref name="fora.tv" />

===Global warming===
{{Further|Antarctica cooling controversy}}
Crichton became well known for [[Climate change denial|attacking]] the [[Scientific consensus on climate change|science]] behind [[global warming]]. He testified on the subject before Congress in 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2005/sep/29/comment.bookscomment|title=Comment: Michael Crichton testifies on global warming|first=Jamie|last=Wilson|date=September 29, 2005|work=The Guardian|access-date=May 1, 2020|archive-date=June 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629072505/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2005/sep/29/comment.bookscomment|url-status=live}}</ref> His views would be contested by a number of scientists and commentators.<ref name="ucsusa">{{cite news|url=http://go.ucsusa.org/global_environment/global_warming/page.cfm?pageID=1670~|title=Crichton's Thriller State of Fear: Separating Fact from Fiction|publisher=[[Union of Concerned Scientists]]|access-date=August 21, 2020|archive-date=April 30, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430012139/http://go.ucsusa.org/global_environment/global_warming/page.cfm?pageID=1670|url-status=dead}}</ref> An example is meteorologist [[Jeffrey Masters]]'s review of Crichton's 2004 novel ''[[State of Fear]]'':{{blockquote|Flawed or misleading presentations of global warming science exist in the book, including those on Arctic sea ice thinning, correction of land-based temperature measurements for the [[urban heat island]] effect, and [[Satellite temperature measurements|satellite]] vs. ground-based measurements of Earth's warming. I will spare the reader additional details. On the positive side, Crichton does emphasize the little-appreciated fact that while most of the world has been warming the past few decades, most of Antarctica has seen a cooling trend. The [[Antarctic ice sheet]] is actually expected to increase in mass over the next 100 years due to increased precipitation, according to the [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|IPCC]].|Jeffery M. Masters, 2004<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wunderground.com/education/stateoffear.asp |title=Review of Michael Crichton's ''State of Fear'' |author=Masters, Jeffery M. |publisher=[[Weather Underground (weather service)|Weather Underground]] |access-date=2007-10-14 |archive-date=December 30, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041230102058/http://www.wunderground.com/education/stateoffear.asp |url-status=dead}}</ref>}}

[[Peter Doran]], author of the paper in the January 2002 issue of ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'', which reported the finding referred to above, stating that some areas of Antarctica had cooled between 1986 and 2000, wrote an opinion piece in ''[[The New York Times]]'' of July 27, 2006, in which he stated "Our results have been misused as 'evidence' against global warming by Michael Crichton in his novel ''State of Fear.''"<ref name=Doran06>{{cite news |author=Doran, Peter |title=Cold, Hard Facts |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/27/opinion/27doran.html |work=The New York Times |date=July 27, 2006 |access-date=February 22, 2017 |archive-date=August 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823031225/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/27/opinion/27doran.html |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Al Gore]] said on March 21, 2007, before a U.S. House committee: "The planet has a fever. If your baby has a fever, you go to the doctor... if your doctor tells you you need to intervene here, you don't say 'Well, I read a science fiction novel that tells me it's not a problem.{{' "}} Several commentators have interpreted this as a reference to ''State of Fear''.<ref>[http://news.ansible.co.uk/a237.html#05 Knights of the Limits] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429230120/http://news.ansible.co.uk/a237.html#05 |date=April 29, 2007}} Ansible 237, April 2007</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Climate of fear |url=https://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/04/01/climate_of_fear/ |work=The Boston Globe |date=April 1, 2007 |first1=Joshua |last1=Glenn |access-date=February 20, 2020 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303204746/http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/04/01/climate_of_fear/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=More from 'Inconvenient Gore' |url=http://www.alaskareport.com/do77777.htm |work=Alaska Report |date=March 22, 2007 |access-date=September 20, 2008 |archive-date=July 25, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725041806/http://www.alaskareport.com/do77777.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.farnorthscience.com/2007/03/13/climate-news/that-inconvenient-gore/|title=That Inconvenient Gore|date=March 13, 2007|publisher=farnorthscience.com|access-date=March 14, 2011|archive-date=July 10, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710224606/http://www.farnorthscience.com/2007/03/13/climate-news/that-inconvenient-gore/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Literary technique and style==
Crichton's novels, including ''Jurassic Park'', have been described by ''[[The Guardian]]'' as "harking back to the fantasy adventure fiction of [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]], [[Jules Verne]], [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]], and [[Edgar Wallace]], but with a contemporary spin, assisted by cutting-edge technology references made accessible for the general reader."<ref name="The Guardian">{{cite news |author=Wootton, Adrian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2008/nov/06/sciencefictionfantasyandhorror |title=How Michael Crichton struck fear into the bestseller list |date=November 6, 2008 |access-date=December 18, 2008 |work=The Guardian |location=London |archive-date=February 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150212073537/http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2008/nov/06/sciencefictionfantasyandhorror |url-status=live}}</ref> According to ''The Guardian'', "Michael Crichton wasn't really interested in characters, but his innate talent for storytelling enabled him to breathe new life into the science fiction thriller."<ref name="The Guardian" /> Like ''The Guardian'', ''The New York Times'' has also noted the boys adventure quality to his novels interfused with modern technology and science. According to ''The New York Times'',
{{blockquote|All the Crichton books depend to a certain extent on a little frisson of fear and suspense: that's what kept you turning the pages. But a deeper source of their appeal was the author's extravagant care in working out the clockwork mechanics of his experiments—the DNA replication in ''Jurassic Park'', the time travel in ''Timeline'', the submarine technology in ''Sphere''. The novels have embedded in them little lectures or mini-seminars on, say, the Bernoulli principle, voice-recognition software or medieval jousting etiquette&nbsp;...

The best of the Crichton novels have about them a boys' adventure quality. They owe something to the Saturday-afternoon movie serials that Mr. Crichton watched as a boy and to the adventure novels of Arthur Conan Doyle (from whom Mr. Crichton borrowed the title ''The Lost World'' and whose example showed that a novel could never have too many dinosaurs). These books thrive on yarn spinning, but they also take immense delight in the inner workings of things (as opposed to people, women especially), and they make the world—or the made-up world, anyway—seem boundlessly interesting. Readers come away entertained and also with the belief, not entirely illusory, that they have actually learned something" |multiline=yes|source=''The New York Times'' on the works of Michael Crichton<ref>{{cite news |first=Charles |last=McGrath |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/books/06appr.html |title=Builder of Windup Realms That Thrillingly Run Amok |date=November 5, 2008 |work=The New York Times |access-date=December 18, 2008 |archive-date=November 6, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081106131953/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/books/06appr.html |url-status=live}}</ref>}}

Crichton's works were frequently [[cautionary tale|cautionary]], his plots often portrayed scientific advancements going awry, commonly resulting in worst-case scenarios. A notable recurring theme in Crichton's plots is the [[pathological (mathematics)|pathological]] failure of [[complex system]]s and their safeguards, whether biological (''[[Jurassic Park (novel)|Jurassic Park]]''), militaristic/organizational (''[[The Andromeda Strain]]''), technological (''[[Airframe (novel)|Airframe]]''), or [[cybernetics|cybernetic]] (''[[Westworld (film)|Westworld]]''). This theme of the inevitable breakdown of "perfect" systems and the failure of "[[fail-safe]] measures" can be seen strongly in the poster for ''Westworld'', whose slogan was, "Where nothing can possibly go worng"{{sic}}, and in the discussion of [[chaos theory]] in ''Jurassic Park''. His 1973 movie ''Westworld'' contains one of the earliest references to a [[computer virus]] and is the first mention of the concept of a computer virus in a movie.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070909/synopsis|title=IMDB synopsis of ''Westworld''|access-date=June 15, 2015|archive-date=June 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630041733/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070909/synopsis|url-status=live}}</ref> Crichton believed, however, that his view of technology had been misunderstood as
{{blockquote|being out there, doing bad things to us people, like we're inside the circle of covered wagons and technology is out there firing arrows at us. We're making the technology and it is a manifestation of how we think. To the extent that we think egotistically and irrationally and paranoically and foolishly, then we have technology that will give us [[nuclear winter]]s or cars that won't brake. But that's because people didn't design them right.<ref name="yakai198502">{{cite news |title=Michael Crichton / Reflections of a New Designer |url=https://archive.org/stream/1985-02-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_057_1985_Feb#page/n45/mode/2up |work=Compute! |date=February 1985 |access-date=16 September 2016 |author=Yakai, Kathy |pages=44–45}}</ref>}}

The use of [[author surrogate]] was a feature of Crichton's writings from the beginning of his career. In ''[[A Case of Need]]'', one of his pseudonymous [[whodunit]] stories, Crichton used first-person narrative to portray the hero, a Bostonian pathologist, who is running against the clock to clear a friend's name from medical malpractice in a girl's death from a hack-job abortion. Crichton has used the literary technique known as the false document. ''[[Eaters of the Dead]]'' is a "recreation" of the [[Old English language|Old English]] epic'' [[Beowulf]]'' presented as a scholarly translation of [[Ahmad ibn Fadlan]]'s 10th century manuscript. ''[[The Andromeda Strain]]'' and'' [[Jurassic Park (novel)|Jurassic Park]] ''incorporate fictionalized scientific documents in the form of diagrams, computer output, [[DNA sequence]]s, footnotes, and bibliography. ''[[The Terminal Man]]'' and ''[[State of Fear]]'' include authentic published scientific works that illustrate the premise point. Crichton often employs the premise of diverse experts or specialists assembled to tackle a unique problem requiring their individual talents and knowledge. The premise was used for ''The Andromeda Strain'', ''Sphere'', ''Jurassic Park'', and, to a lesser extent, ''Timeline''. Sometimes the individual characters in this dynamic work in the private sector and are suddenly called upon by the government to form an immediate response team once some incident or discovery triggers their mobilization. This premise or plot device has been imitated and used by other authors and screenwriters in several books, movies and television shows since.

==Personal life==
As an adolescent, Crichton felt isolated because of his height (6&nbsp;ft 9 in, or 206&nbsp;cm). During the 1970s and 1980s, he consulted [[psychic]]s and enlightenment gurus to make him feel more socially acceptable and to improve his positive [[karma]]. As a result of these experiences, Crichton practiced [[meditation]] throughout much of his life.<ref name="NYTMeditation">{{Cite news |last1=Bosworth |first1=Patricia |title=TOURING THE ALTERED STATES |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/26/books/touring-the-altered-states.html |access-date=July 21, 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=June 26, 1988 |archive-date=July 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721005236/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/26/books/touring-the-altered-states.html |url-status=live}}</ref> While he is often regarded as a [[Deism|deist]], he never publicly confirmed this. When asked in an online Q&A if he were a spiritual person, Crichton responded with: "Yes, but it is difficult to talk about."<ref>{{cite news | title=Michael Crichton chats about his new book and life as an author | url=http://www.cnn.com/chat/transcripts/1999/12/crichton/index.html | publisher=CNN | date=December 12, 1999 | access-date=November 10, 2019 | archive-date=November 11, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111002514/http://www.cnn.com/chat/transcripts/1999/12/crichton/index.html | url-status=live}}</ref>

Crichton was a [[workaholic]]. When drafting a novel, which would typically take him six or seven weeks, Crichton withdrew completely to follow what he called "a structured approach" of ritualistic self-denial. As he neared writing the end of each book, he would rise increasingly early each day, meaning that he would sleep for less than four hours by going to bed at 10&nbsp;p.m. and waking at 2&nbsp;a.m.<ref name="Telegraph" />

In 1992, Crichton was ranked among ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'' magazine's 50 most beautiful people.<ref name=people1992 /> He married five times. Four of the marriages ended in divorce: Joan Radam (1965–1970); Kathleen St. Johns (1978–1980); Suzanna Childs (1981–1983); and actress [[Anne-Marie Martin]] (1987–2003), the mother of his daughter  (born 1989).<ref>{{cite web |last1= Crichton |first1= Taylor Anne |title= Biographical Summaries of Notable People |url= https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10182-2535228/taylor-anne-crichton-in-biographical-summaries-of-notable-people |website= MyHeritage.com |location= Lehi, Utah, USA |access-date= April 28, 2017 |archive-date= April 29, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170429000403/https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10182-2535228/taylor-anne-crichton-in-biographical-summaries-of-notable-people |url-status= live}}</ref> At the time of his death, Crichton was married to Sherri Alexander (married 2005), who was six months pregnant with their son, born on February 12, 2009.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Crichton|first1=John Michael Todd|title=MyHeritage|url=https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10182-2535221/john-michael-todd-crichton-in-biographical-summaries-of-notable-people|website=MyHeritage|location=Lehi, Utah, USA|access-date=April 28, 2017|archive-date=April 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170429000507/https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10182-2535221/john-michael-todd-crichton-in-biographical-summaries-of-notable-people|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Politics===
From 1990 to 1995, Crichton donated $9,750 to [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] candidates for office.<ref>{{cite news|author=Newsmeat|title=Michael Crichton|work=Newsmeat|date=2008|url=http://www.newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/Michael_Crichton.php|archive-date=February 15, 2010|access-date=March 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100215014139/http://www.newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/Michael_Crichton.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to [[Pat Choate]], Crichton was a supporter of [[Reform Party of the United States of America|Reform]] candidate [[Ross Perot]] in the [[1996 United States presidential election]].<ref name="NR">{{cite magazine|last=Crowley|first=Michael|title=Jurassic President—Michael Crichton's scariest creation.|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/65354/michael-crichtons-scariest-creation|magazine=[[The New Republic]]|date=19 March 2006}}</ref> Crichton's 1992 novel ''[[Rising Sun (Crichton novel)|Rising Sun]]'' delved into the political and economic effect of [[Japan–United States relations]]. The novel warns against [[foreign direct investment]] in the U.S. economy, with Crichton describing it in interviews as "economic suicide" for America. Crichton stated that his novel was written as a "wakeup call" to Americans.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hay|first=David|title=RAGING ROW OVER RISING SUN|url=https://www.afr.com/politics/raging-row-over-rising-sun-19930423-jfpqg|work=[[Australian Financial Review]]|date=23 April 1993}}</ref>

In a 2003 speech, Crichton warned against partisanship in environmental legislation, arguing for an apolitical environmentalist movement.<ref>{{cite news|last=Crichton|first=Michael|title=Crichton: Environmentalism is a religion|url=http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/Articles-Main/ID/2818/Crichton-Environmentalism-is-a-religion|work=Hawaii Free Press|date=22 April 2002}}</ref> In 2005, Crichton reportedly met with [[Republican party (United States)|Republican]] President [[George W. Bush]] to discuss Crichton's novel ''[[State of Fear]]'', of which Bush was a fan. According to [[Fred Barnes (journalist)|Fred Barnes]], Bush and Crichton "talked for an hour and were in near-total agreement."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Remnick|first=David|title=Ozone Man|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/04/24/ozone-man|magazine=The New Yorker|date=16 April 2006}}</ref> In September 2005, Crichton testified on climate change before the [[United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works|U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works]]. Crichton testified about his doubts that human activities are significantly contributing to [[global warming]], and encouraged U.S. lawmakers to more closely examine the methodology of climate science before voting on policy. His testimony received praise from Republican Senator [[Jim Inhofe]], and criticism from Democratic Senator [[Hillary Clinton]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Janofsky|first=Michael K.|title=Michael Crichton, Novelist, Becomes Senate Witness|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/29/books/michael-crichton-novelist-becomes-senate-witness.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=29 September 2005}}</ref>

===Illness and death===
According to Crichton's brother Douglas, Crichton was diagnosed with [[lymphoma]] in early 2008.<ref>{{cite news |author=Li, David K. |url=http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/crichton_death_ends_thrilling_ride_CK0AMvgRs0mKLxghrpV3rM |title=Crichton's death ends thrilling ride |work=New York Post |date=November 6, 2008 |access-date=October 10, 2009 |archive-date=January 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107012703/https://nypost.com/2008/11/06/crichtons-death-ends-thrilling-ride/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In accordance with the private way in which Crichton lived, his cancer was not made public until his death. He was undergoing [[chemotherapy]] treatment at the time of his death, and Crichton's physicians and relatives had been expecting him to recover. He died at age 66 on November 4, 2008.<ref name="CBS">{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/best-selling-author-michael-crichton-dies/ |title=Best-Selling Author Michael Crichton Dies |publisher=[[CBS News]] |date=November 5, 2008 |access-date=November 5, 2008 |archive-date=November 8, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081108015758/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/05/print/main4575403.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thecrimson.harvard.edu/article/2008/11/5/sci-fi-author-crichton-passes-though-michael/|title=Sci-Fi Author Crichton Passes|newspaper=[[The Harvard Crimson]]|date=November 5, 2008|access-date=March 14, 2011|archive-date=July 19, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719205425/http://www.thecrimson.harvard.edu/article/2008/11/5/sci-fi-author-crichton-passes-though-michael/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/books/11/05/obit.crichton/index.html |title='Jurassic Park' author, 'ER' creator Crichton dies |date=November 5, 2008 |publisher=CNN |access-date=November 5, 2008 |archive-date=November 8, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081108063831/http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/books/11/05/obit.crichton/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|Michael's talent outscaled even his own dinosaurs of ''Jurassic Park''. He was the greatest at blending science with big theatrical concepts, which is what gave credibility to dinosaurs walking the earth again. In the early days, Michael had just sold ''The Andromeda Strain'' to Robert Wise at Universal and I had recently signed on as a contract TV director there. My first assignment was to show Michael Crichton around the Universal lot. We became friends and professionally ''Jurassic Park'', ''ER'', and ''Twister'' followed. Michael was a gentle soul who reserved his flamboyant side for his novels. There is no one in the wings that will ever take his place.<ref>{{cite news |first=Dave |last=Itzkoff |url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/05/michael-crichton-dies/ |title=Michael Crichton Dies |date=November 5, 2008 |work=The New York Times |access-date=December 18, 2008 |archive-date=July 25, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725153811/http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/05/michael-crichton-dies/ |url-status=live}}</ref>|Steven Spielberg on Michael Crichton's death}}

{{Blockquote|As a pop novelist, he was divine. A Crichton book was a headlong experience driven by a man who was both a natural storyteller and fiendishly clever when it came to [[Verisimilitude (fiction)|verisimilitude]]; he made you believe that cloning dinosaurs wasn't just over the horizon but possible tomorrow. Maybe today.<ref>{{cite web |title=Stephen King Tribute to Michael Crichton |date=January 22, 2009 |url=http://www.musingsonmichaelcrichton.com/2009/01/stephen-king-tribute-to-michael.html |website=musingsonmichaelcrichton.com |access-date=November 28, 2013 |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203012222/http://www.musingsonmichaelcrichton.com/2009/01/stephen-king-tribute-to-michael.html |url-status=live}}</ref>|[[Stephen King]] on Crichton, 2008}}

Crichton had an extensive collection of 20th-century American art, which [[Christie's]] auctioned in May 2010.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jasper Johns' "Flag" brings record price at auction of Michael Crichton's estate |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2010/05/jasper-johns-flag-brings-record-price-at-auction-of-michael-crichtons-estate.html |website=Culture Monster |date=May 11, 2010 |access-date=December 27, 2015 |archive-date=January 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105031917/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2010/05/jasper-johns-flag-brings-record-price-at-auction-of-michael-crichtons-estate.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Reception==
[[File:Crichtonsaurus skeleton.jpg|thumb|A ''[[Crichtonsaurus]]'' skeleton in China]]

===Science fiction novels===
Most of Crichton's novels address issues emerging in scientific research fields. In a number of his novels (''[[Jurassic Park]]'', ''The Lost World'', ''Next'', ''Congo'') [[genomics]] plays an important role. Usually, the drama revolves around the sudden eruption of a scientific crisis, revealing the disruptive impacts new forms of knowledge and technology may have,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zwart |first1=H |year=2015 |title=Genomes, gender and the psychodynamics of a scientific crisis: A psychoanalytic reading of Michael Crichton's genomics novels |journal=New Genetics and Society |volume=34 |issue=1|pages=1–24 |doi=10.1080/14636778.2014.986570 |s2cid=146657110 |url=https://philarchive.org/rec/ZWAGGA |doi-access=free}}</ref> as is stated in ''[[The Andromeda Strain]]'', Crichton's first science fiction novel: "This book recounts the five-day history of a major American scientific crisis" (1969, p.&nbsp;3) or ''[[The Terminal Man]]'' where unexpected behaviors are realized when electrodes are implanted into a person's brain.

===Awards===
* [[Mystery Writers of America]]'s [[Edgar Award|Edgar Allan Poe Award]], Best Novel, 1969 – ''[[A Case of Need]]''<ref name="theedgars">{{cite web|url=http://www.theedgars.com/edgarsDB/index.php|title=Edgar Award Winners and Nominees Database|website=www.theedgars.com|access-date=April 24, 2011|archive-date=August 28, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120828005743/http://www.theedgars.com/edgarsDB/index.php|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Association of American Medical Writers Award, 1970
* [[Seiun Award]] for Best Foreign Novel (Best Translated Long Work), 1971 for ''The Andromeda Strain''
* [[Mystery Writers of America]]'s [[Edgar Award|Edgar Allan Poe Award]], Best Motion Picture, 1980 – ''[[The First Great Train Robbery|The Great Train Robbery]]''<ref name="theedgars" />
* Named to the list of the [[People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People|"Fifty Most Beautiful People"]] by [[People (American magazine)|''People'' magazine]], 1992<ref name=people1992>{{cite news |url=http://people.com/archive/michael-crichton-vol-37-no-17/ |title=Michael Crichton |magazine=[[People (American magazine)|People]] |date=May 4, 1992 |volume=37 |number=17 |page=132 |access-date=December 12, 2017 |archive-date=December 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212193127/http://people.com/archive/michael-crichton-vol-37-no-17/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
* Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]], 1992<ref>{{cite web|title=Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement|website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/|access-date=December 2, 2020|archive-date=December 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215023909/https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Academy Award for Technical Achievement|Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Technical Achievement Award]], 1994<ref>{{cite news|url=http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/BasicSearch?action=searchLink&displayType=6&BSNomineeID=66800|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712174816/http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/BasicSearch?action=searchLink&displayType=6&BSNomineeID=66800|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 12, 2012|title=Michael Crichton|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences}}</ref>
* [[Writers Guild of America Award]], Best Long Form Television Script of 1995 (The Writer Guild list the award for 1996)<ref name=wgaaward>{{cite web|url=http://www.wga.org/wga-awards/previous-nominees-winners2.aspx |title=Previous Nominees & Winners |publisher=The Writers Guild Awards |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224064308/http://www.wga.org/wga-awards/previous-nominees-winners2.aspx |archive-date=February 24, 2015}}</ref>
* [[BILBY Award]]'s Older Readers Award in 1996 for ''Jurassic Park''
* [[Peabody Award|George Foster Peabody Award]], 1994 – ''[[ER (TV series)|ER]]''
* [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series]], 1996 – ''[[ER (TV series)|ER]]''
* [[Ankylosaur]] named ''[[Crichtonsaurus bohlini]]'', 2002
* [[American Association of Petroleum Geologists]] Journalism Award, 2006
* [[Audie Awards]] for Best Science Fiction audiobook in 2016 for ''Jurassic Park''

== Speeches ==
{{anchor|Speeches by Michael Crichton}}

Crichton was a popular public speaker. He delivered a number of notable speeches in his lifetime, particularly on the topic of [[global warming]].

; Intelligence Squared debate: On March 14, 2007, [[Intelligence Squared]] held a debate in New York City for which the motion was ''Global Warming Is Not a Crisis'', moderated by [[Brian Lehrer]]. Crichton was for the motion, along with [[Richard Lindzen]] and [[Philip Stott]], versus [[Gavin Schmidt]], [[Richard Somerville]], and Brenda Ekwurze, who were against the motion. Before the debate, the audience had voted largely against the motion (57% to 30%, with 13% undecided).<ref name="IntelligenceSquared">{{cite web |url=https://www.intelligencesquaredus.org/debate/global-warming-not-crisis/ |title=Global Warming Is Not a Crisis |date=March 14, 2007 |publisher=Intelligence Squared |access-date=August 8, 2014 |archive-date=August 11, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811221421/http://intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/past-debates/item/559-global-warming-is-not-a-crisis |url-status=live}}</ref> At the end of the debate, there was a greater shift in the audience vote for the motion (46% to 42%, with 12% undecided), resulting in Crichton's group winning the debate.<ref name="IntelligenceSquared" /> Although Crichton inspired numerous blog responses and his contribution to the debate was considered one of his best rhetorical performances, reception of his message was mixed.<ref name="IntelligenceSquared" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2007/03/adventures-on-the-east-side/ |title=RealClimate: Adventures on the East Side |author=Gavin Schmidt |date=March 15, 2007 |publisher=RealClimate |access-date=October 31, 2012 |archive-date=October 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016231914/http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2007/03/adventures-on-the-east-side/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
; Mediasaurus: The Decline of Conventional Media: In a speech delivered at the [[National Press Club (USA)|National Press Club]] in Washington, D.C., on April 7, 1993, Crichton predicted the decline of mainstream media.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.04/mediasaurus_pr.html |title=Mediasaurus |author=Michael Crichton |date=April 1993 |magazine=Wired |access-date=March 10, 2017 |archive-date=March 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317023338/http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.04/mediasaurus_pr.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
; Ritual Abuse, Hot Air, and Missed Opportunities: Science Views Media: The [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] (AAAS) invited Crichton to address scientists' concerns about how they are portrayed in the media, which was delivered to the AAAS in Anaheim, California on January 25, 1999.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Ritual Abuse, Hot Air, and Missed Opportunities|journal=Science|volume=283|issue=5407|pages=1461–1463|doi=10.1126/science.283.5407.1461|year=1999|last1=Crichton|first1=M.|bibcode=1999Sci...283.1461C|s2cid=154610174}}</ref>
; Environmentalism as Religion: This was not the first discussion of environmentalism as a religion, but it caught on and was widely quoted. Crichton explains his view that religious approaches to the environment are inappropriate and cause damage to the natural world they intend to protect.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.michaelhoskinson.com/michael-crichton-environmentalism-is-a-religion/ |title=Michael Crichton: Environmentalism is a Religion |date=December 12, 2017 |access-date=September 1, 2020 |archive-date=October 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029211056/https://www.michaelhoskinson.com/michael-crichton-environmentalism-is-a-religion/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=three /> The speech was delivered to the [[Commonwealth Club of California|Commonwealth Club]] in San Francisco, California on September 15, 2003.
; Science Policy in the 21st century: Crichton outlined several issues before a joint meeting of liberal and conservative think tanks. The speech was delivered at [[American Enterprise Institute|AEI]]–[[Brookings Institution]] in Washington, D.C., on January 25, 2005.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Chehoski|first1=Robert|title=Critical Perspectives on Climate Disruption|date=2005|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-4042-0539-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/criticalperspect00robe/page/7 7]|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xz_MasQkMz8C|access-date=April 5, 2017|chapter=Introduction|url=https://archive.org/details/criticalperspect00robe/page/7}}</ref>
; The Case for Skepticism on Global Warming: On January 25, 2005, at the [[National Press Club (USA)|National Press Club]] in Washington, D.C., Crichton delivered a detailed explanation of why he criticized the consensus view on global warming. Using published UN data, he argued that claims for catastrophic warming arouse doubt and that reducing CO<sub>2</sub> is vastly more difficult than is commonly presumed. He spoke on why societies are morally unjustified in spending vast sums on a speculative issue when people around the world are dying of starvation and disease.<ref name=three>{{Cite web |last=Crichton |first=Michael |title=Three Speeches by Michael Crichton |place=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Science & Public Policy Institute |date=December 2009 |url=http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/images/stories/papers/commentaries/crichton_3.pdf |journal= |access-date=April 26, 2011 |archive-date=December 18, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218123839/http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/images/stories/papers/commentaries/crichton_3.pdf |url-status=usurped}}</ref>
; Caltech Michelin Lecture: "Aliens Cause Global Warming" January 17, 2003. In the spirit of his science fiction writing, Crichton details research on [[nuclear winter]] and [[SETI]] Drake equations relative to global warming science.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hatfield|first1=Michael|title=Game Theory in Management: Modelling Business Decisions and their Consequences|date=2012|publisher=Gower Publishing, Ltd|isbn=978-1-4094-5940-8|page=97|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OwAgeMZQzt4C|chapter=Deconstructing Risk Management|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-date=December 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227145625/https://books.google.com/books?id=OwAgeMZQzt4C|url-status=live}}</ref>
; Testimony before the United States Senate: Crichton was invited to testify before the Senate in September 2005, as an "expert witness on global warming."<ref>p.8 Johansen, Bruce Elliott ''Silenced!: Academic Freedom, Scientific Inquiry, and the First Amendment Under Siege in America'' Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007</ref> The speech was delivered to the [[Committee on Environment and Public Works]] in Washington, D.C.
; Complexity Theory and Environmental Management: In previous speeches, Crichton criticized environmental groups for failing to incorporate [[complexity theory and organizations|complexity theory]]. Here he explains in detail why complexity theory is essential to environmental management, using the history of Yellowstone Park as an example of what not to do. The speech was delivered to the Washington Center for Complexity and Public Policy in Washington, D.C., on November 6, 2005.<ref>[http://www.complexsys.org/publicprograms.html "An Afternoon with Michael Crichton: In collaboration with The Smithsonian Associates"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120531095208/http://www.complexsys.org/publicprograms.html |date=May 31, 2012}}, ''Washington Center for Complexity and Public Policy'', Washington, D.C., November 6, 2005</ref><ref>[http://www.michaelcrichton.net/video-speeches-smithsonian.html "Michael Crichton – Fear and Complexity and Environmental Management in the 21st Century"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515030251/http://www.michaelcrichton.net/video-speeches-smithsonian.html |date=May 15, 2012}}, video from talk, ''[[Smithsonian Associates|The Smithsonian Associates]]'' and the ''Washington Center for Complexity and Public Policy'', Washington, D.C., November 6, 2005</ref>
; Genetic Research and Legislative Needs: While writing ''[[Next (Crichton novel)|Next]]'', Crichton concluded that laws covering genetic research desperately needed to be revised, and spoke to congressional staff members about problems ahead. The speech was delivered to a group of legislative staffers in Washington, D.C., on September 14, 2006.<ref>A Talk to Legislative Staffers
https://web.archive.org/web/20080513233120/http://www.michaelcrichton.com/speech-legislativestaffers.html</ref>
; Gell-Mann amnesia effect: In a speech in 2002, Crichton coined the term [[Gell-Mann amnesia effect]] to describe the phenomenon of experts reading articles within their fields of expertise and finding them to be error-ridden and full of misunderstandings, but seemingly forgetting those experiences when reading articles in the same publications written on topics outside of their fields of expertise, which they believe to be credible. He explained that he had chosen the name ironically, because he had once discussed the effect with physicist [[Murray Gell-Mann]], "and by dropping a famous name I imply greater importance to myself, and to the effect, than it would otherwise have."<ref name="Crichton-speech">{{cite speech |first=Michael |last=Crichton |author-link=Michael Crichton |title=Why Speculate? |event=[[International Leadership Forum]] |location=La Jolla, California, US |url=http://www.michaelcrichton.net/speech-whyspeculate.html |access-date=October 4, 2023 |date=April 26, 2002 |archive-date=July 14, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714204136/http://www.michaelcrichton.net/speech-whyspeculate.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Kilov |first=Daniel |date=November 9, 2020 |title=The brittleness of expertise and why it matters |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11229-020-02940-5 |journal=[[Synthese]] |language=en |volume=199 |issue=1–2 |pages=3431–3455 |doi=10.1007/s11229-020-02940-5 |s2cid=255060797 |issn=0039-7857 |via=[[SpringerLink]]}}</ref>

==Legacy==
In 2002, a genus of [[ankylosaurid]], ''[[Crichtonsaurus|Crichtonsaurus bohlini]]'', was named in his honor.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1755-6724.2007.tb01010.x |author=Lü Junchang |author2=Ji Qiang |author3=Gao Yubo |author4= Li Zhixin |year=2007 |title=A new species of the ankylosaurid dinosaur ''Crichtonsaurus'' (Ankylosauridae:Ankylosauria) from the Cretaceous of Liaoning Province, China |journal=Acta Geologica Sinica|edition=English |volume=81 |issue=6 |pages=883–897 |bibcode=2007AcGlS..81..883L |s2cid=140562058 }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite journal|last1=Arbour|first1=Victoria Megan|last2=Currie|first2=Philip John|year=2015|title=Systematics, phylogeny and palaeobiogeography of the ankylosaurid dinosaurs|journal=Journal of Systematic Palaeontology|volume=14|issue=5|page=1|doi=10.1080/14772019.2015.1059985|s2cid=214625754}}</ref> However, the species was determined to be dubious,<ref>{{Cite thesis|last=Arbour|first=Victoria Megan|date=2014|title=Systematics, evolution, and biogeography of the ankylosaurid dinosaurs|url=https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/cd5b999b-5995-4aeb-b630-57a36f317abc|type=Ph.D thesis |publisher=University of Alberta |doi=10.7939/R31N7XW06 }}</ref> and some of the diagnostic fossil material was then transferred into the new binomial ''[[Crichtonpelta|Crichtonpelta benxiensis]]'',<ref name=":0" /> also named in his honor. His literary works continue to be adapted into films, making him the 20th highest grossing story creator of all time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/person/33350401-Michael-Crichton|title=Michael Crichton – Box Office|publisher=The Numbers|access-date=May 1, 2020|archive-date=January 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107012617/https://www.the-numbers.com/person/33350401-Michael-Crichton|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Works==
{{Main|Michael Crichton bibliography}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Golla |first=Robert |date=2011 |title=Conversations with Michael Crichton |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |isbn=978-1-61703-013-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hayhurst |first=Robert |date=2004 |title=Readings on Michael Crichton |publisher=Greenhaven Press |isbn=0-7377-1662-2}}
* {{Cite magazine |last=Kashner |first=Sam |date=January 27, 2017 |title=The Hitman |magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |issue=679 |pages=172–178 and 194–195}}
* {{Cite book |last=Trembley |first=Elizabeth A. |date=1996 |title=Michael Crichton: A Critical Companion |url=https://archive.org/details/michaelcrichtonc00trem |url-access=registration |location=Westport, Conn. |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=0-313-29414-3}}
{{Refend}}

== Filmography ==

Film

As Director
* ''[[Westworld (film)|Westworld]]'' (1973) (also Writer)
* ''[[Coma (1978 film)|Coma]]'' (1978)
* ''[[The First Great Train Robbery]]'' (1978)
* ''[[Looker]]'' (1981)
* ''[[Runaway (1984 American film)|Runaway]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Physical Evidence]]'' (1989)

As Writer

* [[Jurassic Park|''Jurassic Park'' franchise]]

TV

* ''[[ER (TV series)|ER]]'' (1994–2009) (Created)

== External links ==
{{External links|section|date=May 2023}}
{{Library resources box}}
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{Official website}}
* [http://www.musingsonmichaelcrichton.com/ Musings on Michael Crichton—News and Analysis on his Life and Works]
* {{Charlie Rose view|1}}
* {{OL author|OL28257A}}
* {{IMDb name|0000341}}
* {{IGN|type=stars|id=918/918004}}
* [http://legacy.suntimes.com/ChicagoSunTimes/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=119781709 Michael Crichton Obituary]. [[Associated Press]]. ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]''
* {{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/books/06appr.html |title=Builder of Windup Realms That Thrillingly Run Amok |first1=Charles |last1=McGrath |work=The New York Times |date=November 5, 2008}}
*[https://beyondshelter.com/shaarman-house-richard-neutra/ Mulholland house] In the early 1980s Crichton was living in a Richard Neutra house in the Hollywood Hills.
* {{cite news |author=John J. Miller |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122635800348015413 |title=He Brought Science to Life |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=November 11, 2008}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081206032423/http://www.iblist.com/author430.htm Michael Crichton] bibliography on the Internet Book List
* [http://michaelcrichton.sweb.cz/ Complete bibliography and cover gallery of the first editions]
* [http://www.michaelcrichton.eu/ Comprehensive listing and info on Michael Crichton's complete works]

{{Michael Crichton|state=expanded}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for Michael Crichton
| list =
{{The Life Career Award}}
{{Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay}}
{{Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel}}
{{Saturn Award for Best Writing}}
{{Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Long Form – Original}}
}}
{{Jurassic Park}}
{{Authority control}}

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