The Science of Michael Crichton

by Kevin R. Grazier

Wherever the cutting edge of science goes, Michael Crichton is there. From dinosaur cloning to global warming, nanotechnology to time travel, animal behavior to human genetics, Crichton always takes us to the cutting edge of science and then pushes the envelope.

The Science of Michael Crichton examines the amazing inventions of Crichton’s books and lifts up the hood, revealing the science underneath.

In intelligent and well-thought essays, scholars and experts decide what Crichton gets right and what he gets wrong. They examine which Crichton imaginings are feasible and which are just plain impossible. Scenarios examined include whether dinosaurs can be cloned, if nanotechnological particles can evolve intelligence, and if we can go back in time.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction

173 pages, Paperback

First published February 9, 2008

About the author

Dr. Kevin Grazier holds the duel titles of Investigation Scientist and Science Planning Engineer for the Cassini/Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. He earned B.S. degrees in computer science and geology from Purdue University, and a B.S. in physics from Oakland University. He earned his M.S. in physics from Purdue, and then went to UCLA for his doctoral research in planetary physics. At JPL he has written mission planning and analysis software that won numerous JPL- and NASA-wide awards. Dr. Grazier still continues research involving computer simulations of Solar System dynamics, evolution, and chaos.

Dr. Grazier is also currently the Science Advisor for the animated educational TV series The Zula Patrol, and for the SciFi Channel series Eureka and Battlestar Galactica. He recently served as editor and contributing author for the books The Science of Dune and the Science of Michael Crichton for the BenBella Publishing Science of Popular Culture series.

Info from http://www.mikebrotherton.com/diamond...

Reviews

[Tom Quinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The verdict? Crichton gets enough right to be plausible, and the stuff he gets wrong makes for more exciting fiction so he gets a pass. In general the contributors here are glad that his work brought contemporary science to the mainstream's attention.

Beyond its role as a strict analysis of Crichton's writing, this book serves well as a quick primer on some basic science and a neat introduction to a few of the thornier issues that present-day researchers face. Most of the authors are lively writers with a keen sense to balance entertainment with information (much like Crichton himself) which is a huge plus.

3.5 stars out of 5. Well worth the read for Crichton fans curious as to how his science has held up over the decades. But be warned: there are spoilers in these essays, so read the Crichton books first!

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of essays by various subject matter experts, each essay dealing with one of Michael Crichton's novels.

Some were very well written and objective, others clearly had an agenda.

Overall this was an entertaining read and I think anyone who is a fan of Crichton's work will enjoy this book.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each chapter/essay is by a different specialist so some are more interesting than others. Crichton packs his books with a lot of scientific background so the authors of this book are acknowledging Crichton's promotion of science while at the same time wrestling with Crichton's usage of science as a plot device. Crichton almost always includes scientists who have let their scientific experimentation get out of control (which real scientist sometimes get defensive about). My opinion is that Crichton's intention is to write engaging fiction and his interest is in scientific ideas, not vice-versa.

I'm counting this as a "book about science" in my 2016 #vtReadingChallenge

[Jennifer Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makes you believe dinosaurs might be on display next time you visit the zoo. A different author penned an essay on each book so some were better than others. The piece on Congo was quite funny.

[Bcoghill Coghill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cleared up several things for me and validated my critical reading of Crichton. Still, I enjoy Crichton's novels and will continue to enjoy them.

[Mike Lisanke · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book turns out to be an anthology of contributed articles about Michael Crichton's novels. For the most part, if you love science and realistic science-fiction and Michael Crichton as the editor Kevin Grazer and I do, then you'll love Most of this book. It digs into the science that Crichton knew of and used in creating his fictions and lets the reader (for the most part) get backgrounded in how real science (as we think it today) compares with Crichton's fictional plots.

I say, for the most part because, the chapter on Crichton's novel, State of Fear had its author Go Bat Crap Crazy. The editor was obviously Too Lazy or Too Owned or Wanted Some NYT Best Seller rating for the book and let David M. Lawrence loose on his critique of State of Fear. David does Nothing to convince the well-studied reader that he's right But Does go a long way to arguing for Science by Committee and Government. My advice to David is Go back to writing something You know about!

[Amr Seif eldin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice book that gathers a summary for many branches of science. The only problem with this book is that it ruined some of Michael Crichton's books for me, specially Jurasic park, my favorite movie of all time by pointing out what is not really so scientific in the story (at least with the current knowledge in science we have today).

[Rhonda Dilello · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read, but some chapters were better than others, with each one being written by a different person. While it's interesting to examine if Crichton's books hold up to actual science, I prefer to take them for what they are, works of fiction.