Author Michael Crichton Has Died at 66

The US elections almost made me miss this: Michael Crichton, author of "Jurassic Park", "The Andromeda Strain", "Sphere" and many more books, has died yesterday in Los Angeles "after a courageous and private battle against cancer", according to an announcement on his Web site.

Chrichton was a brand-name author, known for his stories of disaster and systematic breakdown, such as the rampant microbe of "The Andromeda Strain" or dinosaurs running amok in "Jurassic Park," one of his many books that became major Hollywood movies. His books have sold over 150 million copies worldwide. His works were usually based on the action genre and heavily feature technology.

Crichton's works were frequently cautionary and his plots often portrayed scientific advancements going awry, commonly resulting in worst-case scenarios. A notable recurring theme in Crichton's plots is the pathological failure of complex systems and their safeguards, whether biological ("Jurassic Park"), military/organizational ("The Andromeda Strain") or cybernetic (Westworld).

In addition to his books, Crichton created the hit television show "ER".

Steven Spielberg, who worked many times with Crichton, released the following statement:

"Michael's talent out-scaled even his own dinosaurs of 'Jurassic Park'. He was the greatest at blending science with big theatrical concepts, which is what gave credibility to dinosaurs again walking the earth...There is no one in the wings that will ever take his place".

>> Books by Michael Crichton
>> Michael Crichton on Wikipedia
>> Michael Crichton's Official Site