Michael Crichton (born October 23, 1942) is an American author, film producer, film director, and television producer. His books sold over 150 million copies world wide, and among his best-known works are techno-thriller novels, films and television programs. His works are usually based on the action genre and heavily feature technology. Many of his future history novels have medical or scientific underpinnings, reflecting his medical training and science background.
Crichton was born in Chicago, Illinois, to John Henderson Crichton and Zula Miller Crichton, and raised in Roslyn, Long Island, New York. Crichton has two sisters, Kimberly and Catherine, and a younger brother, Douglas.
He attended Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as an undergraduate, graduating summa cum laude in 1964. Crichton was also initiated into the Phi Beta Kappa Society.¹
"Writing can be a frustrating and lonely job, and you might as well see if you really can tolerate the frustration, and the loneliness. Plenty of people think they can, but it turns out they can't."
"I tend to write books that grab me by the throat and force me to write them. I don't usually feel as if I have a choice, or much control of what comes out."
Novels by Michael Crichton: Next, Eaters of the Dead, State of Fear, Congo, Sphere, The Andromeda Strain, The Great Train Robbery, The Terminal Man, Jurassic Park, A Case of Need, Prey, Airframe, Timeline, The Lost World, and Rising Sun.