[postliberal]

While I agree with some of what he says, I've always thought Crichton was a bit of a blow-hard. He writes crappy thrillers with "deep" underlying themes about science and morality, but they generally aren't all that deep or interesting. Not that I disagree with what he says here, some people do take environmentalism as a sort of religion. But his belief that we can avoid the politicization of science is laughable.

[Clovis_Skeptic]

He writes crappy thrillers with "deep" underlying themes about science and morality, but they generally aren't all that deep or interesting.

I just googled Chrichton, and found he has sold over 100 million books! So,eventhough you are entitled to your opinion, I would say you are in a real small minority.

I hope this book makes #1.

[Revolting cat!]

Crichton is a sort of pamphleteer who invents thin thriller plots to move along his recitation of facts and collections of press clippings which he composes into bombastic speeches by the characters (shades of Ayn Rand.) Red Sun (I think that was the title) was once forced upon me, and I had to read it through fidgeting and rolling my eyes all along. In the end, Japan didn't succeed in taking over the universe, as he and his characters were predicting in the book.

It ain't literature that's for sure, even if he's correct as may be the case here. Reading the excellent Wall Street Journal review (see the link above) ought to be sufficient for anyone. And, as we know, book and movie sales figures are no measure of good quality, in fact they're the measure of how the product meets the lowest common denominator of popular taste.

[Sam Cree]

I don't know if he's a blowhard as much as that he seems to use a formula for his plots, which usually seem to follow a very similar path.
Anyhow, I think him a pretty good writer, may get a copy of this, sounds like fun, I hope.