John Michael Crichton or Michael Crichton pronounced /ˈkraɪtən/ (October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author, producer, director, screenwriter, and medical school graduate, best known for his work in the science fiction, medical fiction, and thriller genres. His books have sold over 150 million copies worldwide, and many have been adapted into films. In 1994, Crichton became the only creative artist to ever have works simultaneously charting at #1 in television, film, and book sales (with ER , Jurassic Park , and Disclosure , respectively).
His literary works were usually based on the action genre and heavily feature technology. His novels epitomised the techno-thriller genre of literature, often exploring technology and failures of human interaction with it, especially resulting in catastrophes with biotechnology. Many of his future history novels have medical or scientific underpinnings, reflecting his medical training and science background. Among others, he was the author of Jurassic Park , The Andromeda Strain , Congo , Travels , Sphere , Rising Sun , Disclosure , The Lost World , Airframe , Timeline , Prey , State of Fear , Next (the final book published before his death), Pirate Latitudes (to be published November 24, 2009), and a final unfinished techno-thriller to be released in the fall of 2010.
Early life and education
John Michael Crichton was born in Chicago, Illinois, to John Henderson Crichton, a journalist and Zula Miller Crichton on October 23, 1942. He was raised on Long Island, in Roslyn, New York, and had three siblings, two sisters, Kimberly and Catherine, and a younger brother, Douglas. Crichton showed a keen interest in writing from a young age and at the age of just 14 had a column related to travel published in The New York Times . Crichton had always planned on becoming a writer and commenced his studies at Harvard College in 1960. During his undergraduate study in literature, Crichton conducted an experiment to catch off guard a professor who he believed was giving him abnormally low marks and criticising his own literary style. Informing another professor of his suspicions, Crichton plagiarized a work by George Orwell and submitted it as his own. Unaware, the paper was returned by his professor with a mark of "B−". His issues with the English Department led Crichton to switch his course to biological anthropology as an undergraduate, obtaining his bachelor's degree summa cum laude in 1964. Crichton was also initiated into the Phi Beta Kappa Society. He went on to become the Henry Russell Shaw Traveling Fellow from 1964 to 1965 and Visiting Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom in 1965.
Crichton later enrolled at Harvard Medical School when he began publishing work. By this time Crichton had become unusually tall. According to his own words, he was approximately 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 meters) tall in 1997. In reference to his height, while in medical school, he began writing novels under the pen names John Lange and Jeffery Hudson ( Lange is a surname in Germany, meaning "long" and Sir Jeffrey Hudson was a famous 17th century dwarf in the court of Queen Consort Henrietta Maria of England). In Travels , he recalls overhearing unaware doctors discussing the flaws in The Andromeda Strain while he maintained anonymity in medical school. A Case of Need , written under the Hudson pseudonym, won him his first Edgar Award for Best Novel in 1969. He also co-authored Dealing with his younger brother Douglas under the shared pen name Michael Douglas . The back cover of that book contains a picture of Michael and Douglas at a very young age taken by their mother.
Crichton graduated from Harvard, obtaining an M.D. in 1969, and undertook a post-doctoral fellowship study at the Jonas Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, from 1969 to 1970. In 1988, he was a Visiting Writer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Writing career
Fiction
Odds On was Michael Crichton's first published novel. It was released in 1966 under the pseudonym of John Lange. It is a short 215-page paperback novel which describes an attempt of robbery in an isolated hotel on Costa Brava. The robbery is planned scientifically with the help of a Critical Path Analysis computer program, but unforeseen events get in the way. The following year he published Scratch One . The novel relates the story of Roger Carr, a handsome, charming and 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, implicated in the world of terrorism. In 1968 he published two novels, Easy Go and A Case of Need , the second of which was re-published in 1993 under his real name. Easy Go relates 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. A Case of Need , on the other hand was a medical thriller in which a Boston pathologist, Dr. John Berry, investigates an apparent illegal abortion conducted by an obstretrician friend which caused the early demise of a young woman. 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 garnered him an Edgar Award in 1969.
In 1969 Crichton published three novels. The first, Zero Cool , dealt with an American radiologist on vacation in Spain who becomes caught in a murderous crossfire between rival gangs seeking a precious artifact. The second, The Andromeda Strain , would prove to be the important novel in his career that established him as a best selling author. The novel documenting the efforts of a team of scientists investigating a deadly extraterrestrial microorganism that fatally clots human blood, infecting the sufferer and causing death within two minutes. The microbe, code named "Andromeda", mutates with each growth cycle, changing its biologic properties. The novel became an instant success, and it was only two years before the novel was sought after by film producers and turned into the eponymous 1971 film under the directorship of Robert Wise and featuring Arthur Hill, James Olson, Kate Reid as Leavitt, and David Wayne. In September 2004, the Sci Fi Channel would announce a production of a miniseries, executive-produced by Ridley Scott, Tony Scott and Frank Darabont, premiering on May 26 2008. Crichton's third novel of 1969, The Venom Business relates the story of a smuggler who uses his exceptional skill as a snake handler to his advantage by smuggling snakes out of Mexico under the guise of medical research to be used by drug companies and universities for research. The snakes are simply a ruse to hide the identity of rare Mexican artifacts. In 1969 Crichton also wrote a review for the New Republic (as J. Michael Crichton), critiquing Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut.
In 1970 Crichton again published three novels: Drug of Choice , Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues and Grave Descend . Grave Descend earned him an Edgar Award nomination the following year.
In 1972 Crichton published two novels. The first, 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. The second, The Terminal Man is about a psychomotor epileptic sufferer, Harry Benson, who in regularly suffering seizures followed by blackouts, conducts himself inappropriately during seizures, waking up hours later with no knowledge of what he has done. Believed to be psychotic, he is investigated, electrodes are implanted in his brain, continuing the trend in Crichton's novels with machine-human interaction and technology. The novel was adapted into a film directed by Mike Hodges and starring George Segal, Joan Hackett, Richard A. Dysart and Donald Moffat, released in June 1974. However neither the novel nor the film were well received by critics.
In 1975, Crichton ventured into the nineteenth century with his historical novel The Great Train Robbery which would become a bestseller. The novel related a mild re-representation of the Great Gold Robbery of 1855, a massive gold heist, which takes place on a train traveling through Victorian era England. A considerable proportion of the book was set in London. The novel was later made into a 1979 film directed by Crichton himself, starring Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland. 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 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 retelling Ahmad ibn Fadlan's personal account of his actual j
Portable Kids Air Bed - Aero® Sleep Away Childs Bed - AeroBed For ...
FREE QUICK SHIP. AeroBeds including the Childs Aero Air Bed. The Aero Bed Sleep Away Childs Bed with free quick shipping from The Comfort Store.
AERO BEDS®
Childs Aero Sleep Away Bed is the portable air bed perfectly designed for children ages 3 and up. The latest innovations in AeroBeds -- The Dual Power Pump - Aero® Sport All ...
Aerobed Sleep Away - Full Size - Aero Products - Aero Products ...
Buy Aerobed Sleep Away - Full Size - Aero Products - The AeroBed Sleep Away is the perfect bed for an overnight guest, slumber parties, and dorm rooms. With just the turn of a dial ...
Aero Beds
The AeroBed brand is all about providing great sleep ... Aerobed, Aero Mattress Topper, AeroBed for Kids Childs Sleep Away Aero Bed, Aero ...
Aero Inflatable Air Bed - Sleep Away Elevated - Blue - Queen Shop ...
Find, Shop and Buy Discounted Sleep Away Elevated - Aero Inflatable Air Bed Blue Queen
Aero 40010 Children's Sleep Away Bed - Secure online shopping with ...
Secure shopping for Aero 40010 Children's Sleep Away Bed
Sensational Beginnings | AERO® SLEEP AWAY BED ...
A portable inflatable cloud. Quick inflate/deflate makes it ideal for travel.
Aero. Sleepaway Bed.: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home
Portable and compact, Sleep Away Bed is perfect for traveling with children ; Large 50"x25" sleep surface with 4" surround cushion for added safety
AERO-BEDS: Aero Beds, Camping Aero Bed, Pet Aero beds, Raised Aero ...
Aerobed Sleep Away Twin Inflatable Bed ... Most Wished For Aero Beds ... CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES ...
Aerobed ® Queen Bed Store - Aerobed Sleep Away Queen Inflatable Bed
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. 5 new or used available from $99.69. Average customer review: