- guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 22 July 2008 15.39 BST
1942-2008
"There's something about my writing that people find controlled or contrived. I find I really don't have much choice about what happens. The book declares itself."
Birthplace
Chicago, US
Education
Harvard, US (changed from literature to anthropology); Harvard Medical School
Other jobs
Trained as a doctor (supporting himself by writing thrillers under pseudonyms); visiting lecturer in anthropology at Cambridge; movie director; computer games creator; non-fiction medical author.
Did you know?
He is the creator of ER.
Critical verdict
The father of the "techno-thriller" and a polymath who determined on a life of writing after having his first article published at 14 in the New York Times, his less-publicised works include biography (Jasper Johns) and technical writing (Electronic Life, 1983, was one of the first books on information technology).
Recommended works
Go on, go for the dinosaurs.
Influences
The challenge", Crichton has said, "is revitalising old forms": several of his books are reimaginings of older adventure/SF novels: compare The Terminal Man and Frankenstein, The Andromeda Strain and War of the Worlds.
Now read on
Tom Clancy has a similar well-researched plausibility, Robin Cook an interest in medicine and modern ethics.
Adaptations
A cinematic stalwart for three decades, he is most famous for the Jurassic Park series.
Recommended biography
He has written an autobiography, Travels.
Useful links and work online
Background
· Official site
