On this day in 1942 Michael Crichton was born in Chicago, Illinois. Now when you say the name Michael Crichton, many have a knee jerk reaction. For many it’s based on his remarks that apparently have been taken out of context that there is basically no such thing as global warming. This we know is load of bunk…but his literary journey is a different story. He did more to advance the medical/techno thriller genre than anyone has ever done. As a result he became the first author to have a first printing of one million copies. ‘Lost World’ was the much anticipated sequel to ‘Jurassic Park’. His novels were designed to be movies and that is where his writing takes the most flack. Cookie-cutter characters placed in unreal situations and let the story happen, but Hollywood ate them up and so did the masses. He has sold over two hundred million copies of his books worldwide. He is credited as not only a novelist, but also a screenwriter. He also published books under three pseudonyms, John Lange, Jeffery Hudson and Michael Douglas. He published thirty on novels of fiction and non-fiction between 1969 and 2011. His sudden death in 2008 shocked many, but he was secretly battling cancer. He was diagnosed in early 2008 with lymphoma and by November lost his battle. He died at the age of 66. So why does he matter? Just like many popular writers, (Tom Clancy would be another example) get early success and become victims of the publishing machine which forces them into feeding the masses their yearly dose of fiction. But he managed to come up with some really ingenious plots and did manage to keep us wondering if we would have real dinosaurs wandering the earth again. So don’t knock him until you’ve tried him.
