WRITER

Michael Crichton

1942 - 2008

Photo of Michael Crichton

Icon of person Michael Crichton

John Michael Crichton (; October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author, screenwriter and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavily feature technology and are usually within the science fiction, techno-thriller, and medical fiction genres. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Michael Crichton has received more than 10,180,242 page views. His biography is available in 70 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 67 in 2019). Michael Crichton is the 645th most popular writer (down from 593rd in 2019), the 659th most popular biography from United States (down from 634th in 2019) and the 64th most popular American Writer.

Michael Crichton is most famous for his science fiction novels.

Memorability Metrics

  • 10M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 65.00

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 70

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 4.56

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 5.69

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Jurassic Park
Fiction / Action & Adventure
State-of-the-art science and suspense combine in this uniquely exciting high-tension thriller from the author of The Andromeda Strain. Bioengineers create authentic, detail-perfect, real-life dinosaurs for a Pacific island theme park, but scientific triumph explodes into horrendous disaster as the first visitors encounter the unbelievable.
Rising Sun
Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Police Procedural, Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense, Fiction / Thrillers / Technological
<b>From the author of <i>Jurassic Park, Timeline</i>, and <i>Sphere</i> comes this riveting thriller of corporate intrigue and cutthroat competition between American and Japanese business interests.</b><br> <b> </b><br> <b>#1 <i>NEW YORK TIMES</i> BESTSELLER</b><br> <b> </b><br> <b>"As well built a thrill machine as a suspense novel can be."--<i>The New York Times Book Review</i></b><br>  <br> On the forty-fifth floor of the Nakamoto tower in downtown Los Angeles--the new American headquarters of the immense Japanese conglomerate--a grand opening celebration is in full swing.<br>  <br> On the forty-sixth floor, in an empty conference room, the corpse of a beautiful young woman is discovered.<br>  <br> The investigation immediately becomes a headlong chase through a twisting maze of industrial intrigue, a no-holds-barred conflict in which control of a vital American technology is the fiercely coveted prize--and in which the Japanese saying "Business is war" takes on a terrifying reality.<br> <b> </b><br> <b>"A grand maze of plot twists . . . Crichton's gift for spinning a timely yarn is going to be enough, once again, to serve a current tenant of the bestseller list with an eviction notice."--New York <i>Daily News</i></b><br> <b><i> </i></b><br> <b>"The action in <i>Rising Sun</i> unfolds at a breathless pace."--<i>Business Week</i></b>
Timeline
Fiction, Hundertja hriger Krieg, Wissenschaftler
Timeline is a science fiction novel by American writer Michael Crichton, his twelfth under his own name and twenty-second overall, published in November 1999. It tells the story of a group of history students who travel to 14th-century France to rescue their professor. The book follows in Crichton's long history of combining science, technical details, and action in his books, this time addressing quantum and multiverse theory.
Sphere
space ships, space vehicles, squid
Sphere is a 1987 novel by Michael Crichton, his sixth novel under his own name and his sixteenth overall. The story follows Norman Johnson, a psychologist engaged by the United States Navy, who joins a team of scientists assembled to examine a spacecraft of unknown origin discovered on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. The novel begins as a science fiction story but quickly transforms into a psychological thriller, developing into an exploration of the nature of the human imagination. ---------- See also: - [Sphere](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL18169959W/Sphere) Also contained in: - [Congo / Sphere / Eaters of the Dead][2] [1]: http://www.michaelcrichton.com/sphere/ [2]: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL14950504W/Congo_Sphere_Eaters_of_the_Dead
Jurassic Park
dichogamy, corporate espionage, science fiction
Jurassic Park is a 1990 science fiction novel written by Michael Crichton. A cautionary tale about genetic engineering, it presents the collapse of an amusement park showcasing genetically re-created dinosaurs to illustrate the mathematical concept of chaos theory and its real-world implications. A sequel titled The Lost World, also written by Crichton, was published in 1995. In 1997, both novels were re-published as a single book titled Michael Crichton's Jurassic World. In 1996 it was awarded the Secondary BILBY Award. Also contained in: [Congo/Jurassic Park](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL8475707W) [Michael Crichton's Jurassic World](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL14950507W)
The Lost World
prions, scrapie, Ornitholestes
The Lost World is a 1995 techno-thriller novel written by Michael Crichton, and the sequel to his 1990 novel [Jurassic Park](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL46881W). It is his tenth novel under his own name and his twentieth overall, and it was published by Knopf. A paperback edition (ISBN 0-345-40288-X) followed in 1996. In 1997, both novels were re-published as a single book titled Michael Crichton's Jurassic World, which is unrelated to the 2015 film of the same name. Contains: [Lost World [2/2]](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL25311005W) Also contained in: [Michael Crichton's Jurassic World](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL14950507W)
Airframe
air safety, media relations, investigative journalism
Airframe is a novel by the American writer Michael Crichton, his eleventh under his own name and twenty-first overall, first published in 1996, in hardcover, by Knopf and then in 1997, as a paperback, by Ballantine Books. The plot follows Casey Singleton, a quality assurance vice president at the fictional aerospace manufacturer Norton Aircraft, as she investigates an in-flight accident aboard a Norton-manufactured airliner that leaves three passengers dead and 56 injured. ---------- See also: [Airframe. 1/2](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL28764897W/Airframe._1_2)
Prey
programmers, nanorobotics, reproduction
Prey is a novel by Michael Crichton, his thirteenth under his own name and twenty-third overall, first published in November 2002, making his first novel of the twenty-first century. The novel serves as a cautionary tale about developments in science and technology; in this case, nanotechnology, genetic engineering, and distributed artificial intelligence. The book features relatively new advances in the computing/scientific community, such as artificial life, emergence (and by extension, complexity), genetic algorithms, and agent-based computing. Fields such as population dynamics and host-parasite coevolution are also at the heart of the novel. ---------- Contains: [Prey [1/2]](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL28766164W) [Prey [2/2]](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL28766161W) Also contained in: [Reader's Digest Condensed Books](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL26430990W)
Sphere
space ships, space vehicles, squid
Sphere is a 1987 novel by Michael Crichton, his sixth novel under his own name and his sixteenth overall. The story follows Norman Johnson, a psychologist engaged by the United States Navy, who joins a team of scientists assembled to examine a spacecraft of unknown origin discovered on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. The novel begins as a science fiction story but quickly transforms into a psychological thriller, developing into an exploration of the nature of the human imagination. ---------- See also: - [Sphere](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL18169959W/Sphere) Also contained in: - [Congo / Sphere / Eaters of the Dead][2] [1]: http://www.michaelcrichton.com/sphere/ [2]: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL14950504W/Congo_Sphere_Eaters_of_the_Dead
Timeline
Fiction, Hundertja hriger Krieg, Wissenschaftler
Timeline is a science fiction novel by American writer Michael Crichton, his twelfth under his own name and twenty-second overall, published in November 1999. It tells the story of a group of history students who travel to 14th-century France to rescue their professor. The book follows in Crichton's long history of combining science, technical details, and action in his books, this time addressing quantum and multiverse theory.
Airframe
air safety, media relations, investigative journalism
Airframe is a novel by the American writer Michael Crichton, his eleventh under his own name and twenty-first overall, first published in 1996, in hardcover, by Knopf and then in 1997, as a paperback, by Ballantine Books. The plot follows Casey Singleton, a quality assurance vice president at the fictional aerospace manufacturer Norton Aircraft, as she investigates an in-flight accident aboard a Norton-manufactured airliner that leaves three passengers dead and 56 injured. ---------- See also: [Airframe. 1/2](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL28764897W/Airframe._1_2)
Jurassic Park
dichogamy, corporate espionage, science fiction
Jurassic Park is a 1990 science fiction novel written by Michael Crichton. A cautionary tale about genetic engineering, it presents the collapse of an amusement park showcasing genetically re-created dinosaurs to illustrate the mathematical concept of chaos theory and its real-world implications. A sequel titled The Lost World, also written by Crichton, was published in 1995. In 1997, both novels were re-published as a single book titled Michael Crichton's Jurassic World. In 1996 it was awarded the Secondary BILBY Award. Also contained in: [Congo/Jurassic Park](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL8475707W) [Michael Crichton's Jurassic World](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL14950507W)
The Lost World
prions, scrapie, Ornitholestes
The Lost World is a 1995 techno-thriller novel written by Michael Crichton, and the sequel to his 1990 novel [Jurassic Park](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL46881W). It is his tenth novel under his own name and his twentieth overall, and it was published by Knopf. A paperback edition (ISBN 0-345-40288-X) followed in 1996. In 1997, both novels were re-published as a single book titled Michael Crichton's Jurassic World, which is unrelated to the 2015 film of the same name. Contains: [Lost World [2/2]](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL25311005W) Also contained in: [Michael Crichton's Jurassic World](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL14950507W)
Prey
programmers, nanorobotics, reproduction
Prey is a novel by Michael Crichton, his thirteenth under his own name and twenty-third overall, first published in November 2002, making his first novel of the twenty-first century. The novel serves as a cautionary tale about developments in science and technology; in this case, nanotechnology, genetic engineering, and distributed artificial intelligence. The book features relatively new advances in the computing/scientific community, such as artificial life, emergence (and by extension, complexity), genetic algorithms, and agent-based computing. Fields such as population dynamics and host-parasite coevolution are also at the heart of the novel. ---------- Contains: [Prey [1/2]](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL28766164W) [Prey [2/2]](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL28766161W) Also contained in: [Reader's Digest Condensed Books](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL26430990W)

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Michael Crichton ranks 645 out of 7,302Before him are William Makepeace Thackeray, Walther von der Vogelweide, Ivan Franko, Irène Némirovsky, Kōbō Abe, and Alexander Pope. After him are Muriel Spark, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Juana Inés de la Cruz, Harper Lee, Martin Amis, and Eugène Sue.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1942, Michael Crichton ranks 46Before him are Jacques Rogge, Bob Hoskins, Jochen Rindt, László Sólyom, John Irving, and Margaret Court. After him are Wen Jiabao, Wolfgang Schäuble, Giancarlo Giannini, Walter Hill, George Vella, and Věra Čáslavská. Among people deceased in 2008, Michael Crichton ranks 25Before him are Sydney Pollack, Harold Pinter, George Habash, Jørn Utzon, Alain Robbe-Grillet, and Yma Sumac. After him are Jacques Piccard, Roy Scheider, Jules Dassin, Heath Ledger, Jörg Haider, and George Emil Palade.

Others Born in 1942

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Others Deceased in 2008

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Michael Crichton ranks 659 out of 20,380Before him are Gary Becker (1930), Matthew C. Perry (1794), John Glenn (1921), Billy Graham (1918), Joe Louis (1914), and Martin Lewis Perl (1927). After him are James Rainwater (1917), Dolly Parton (1946), George Peppard (1928), Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811), Bill Bixby (1934), and David Copperfield (1956).

Among WRITERS In United States

Among writers born in United States, Michael Crichton ranks 64Before him are Ellen G. White (1827), Theodore Dreiser (1871), Napoleon Hill (1883), John Irving (1942), Louisa May Alcott (1832), and Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875). After him are Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811), Harper Lee (1926), Ursula K. Le Guin (1929), Washington Irving (1783), Irwin Shaw (1913), and H. L. Mencken (1880).