Michael Crichton

Michael Crichton

Michael Crichton was born on October 23rd, 1942. Michael passed away November 4th, 2008 at 66 years old. Michael Crichton was born in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Crichton attended Harvard College where he received a B.A. Biological Anthropology.

Michael Crichton is known for writing in the Science Fiction and Thriller genres.

Michael Crichton had written 27 standalone novels, starting with Odds On in 1966. The most recently released novel was A Murder in Hollywood, which was released in 2026.

Michael Crichton: Awards & Accolades

Crichton's books have won multiple awards, A Case of Need won the Edgar Award, Best Mystery Novel, in 1969. The Andromeda Strain won the Seiun Award, Best Translated Long Work, in 1971. The Great Train Robbery won the Edgar Award, Best Motion Picture Screenplay, in 1980.

Michael Crichton books have also been nominated for multiple awards, Grave Descend was nominated for the Edgar Award, Best Paperback Original, in 1971. Jurassic Park was nominated for the Audie Award, Best Male Narrator, in 2016. Travels was nominated for the Audie Award, Best Autobiography or Memoir, in 2016.

Michael Crichton: Lists & Other Mentions

• The Andromeda Strain:
  1. Publishers Weekly: Bestselling Novel in the United States in 1969.
  2. The Sunday Times: The 100 Best Crime Novels and Thrillers since 1945 Selection in 2019.
  3. NPR: Top 100 Killer Thrillers Selection in 2010.
• The Great Train Robbery: Publishers Weekly: Bestselling Novel in the United States in 1975.
• Jurassic Park:
  1. People Magazine: Best Books From the 1990s Selection in 2024.
  2. Waterstones: Books of the Century Selection in 1997.
  3. PBS: The Great American Read Selection in 2018.
  4. Gilmore Girls: The Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge Selection in 2007.
  5. NPR: Top 100 Killer Thrillers Selection in 2010.
• Rising Sun: New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 1992.
• Disclosure:
  1. New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 1994.
  2. Publishers Weekly: Bestselling Novel in the United States in 1994.
• The Lost World:
  1. New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 1995.
  2. Publishers Weekly: Bestselling Novel in the United States in 1995.
• Airframe:
  1. New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 1996 and 1997.
  2. Publishers Weekly: Bestselling Novel in the United States in 1996.
• Timeline:
  1. Publishers Weekly: Bestselling Novel in the United States in 1999.
  2. NPR: Top 100 Killer Thrillers Selection in 2010.
• Prey:
  1. New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2002 and 2003.
  2. Publishers Weekly: Bestselling Novel in the United States in 2002.
• State of Fear: Publishers Weekly: Bestselling Novel in the United States in 2004.
• Next:
  1. Wall Street Journal: #1 Hardcover Fiction Best Seller in 2006.
  2. Barnes & Noble: #1 Hardcover Fiction Best Seller in 2006.
  3. Publishers Weekly: Bestselling Novel in the United States in 2006.
• Pirate Latitudes: Publishers Weekly: Bestselling Novel in the United States in 2009.
• Micro: Publishers Weekly: Bestselling Novel in the United States in 2011.
• Eruption:
  1. New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2024.
  2. USA Today: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2024.

Michael Crichton: TV/Movies Based on Books

In 2008, there was a TV series created baed on The Andromeda Strain. It was a mini series of just two episodes which totalled just under 3 hours. It is quite different from its source material. The TV series aired on A&E initially, and starred Benjamin BRatt and Eric McCormack.

Numerous novels by Michael Crichton have been adapted into movies. Here is a list in alphabetical order:

A Case of Need: A novel written by Michael under the pseudonym of Jeffery Hudson. This was made into a crime thriller movie in 1972 and was titled The Carey Treatment. It stars James Coburn as Dr. Peter Carey, the lead character. In the novel, his name was Dr. John Berry.

Binary: The novel Binary which Michael wrote under the John Lange pseudonym, was made into the movie Pursuit in 1972. It was a made for TV movie for ABC that was the debut of Crichton as a director.

Congo: The 1980 novel by Michael Crichton was a solid box office performer when it was released in 1995. Starring Laura Linney and Tim Curry, the sci-fi adventure also saw a video game released based on it. This was called Congo: The Movie: The Lost City of Zinj.

Dealing: or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty Brick Lost Bag Blues: This novel, which Michael wrote with his brother Douglas Crichton under the combined name of Michael Douglas, was released as an indy movie in 1972. Directed by Paul Williams, actors such as John Lithgow appeared in it. Robert F. Lyons and Barbara Hershey were the stars of the movie.

Disclosure: The movie based on this novel released in 1994. Starring Demi Moore and Michael Douglas, it was a big success at the box office.

Eaters of the Dead: The 1976 novel was adapted into a movie in 1999, although under a different name. It is called The 13th Warrior. It starred Omar Sharif, Diane Varona and Antonio Banderas. The screenplay was by Warren Lewis and William Wisher Jr., and it was directed by John McTiernan. Unfortunately it struggled at the box offices, with a reported loss of at least $120 million. It suffered numerous re-edits and Michael Crichton ended up taking over as the director.

Jurassic Park: The novel Jurassic Park was adapted as a movie in 1993. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and was an incredible hit which spawned numerous sequels. The sequel to the book, The Lost World, was made into a movie in 1997 as well although it was a loose adaptation of it. Jurassic Park III was released on July 16, 2001, Jurassic World was released on June 12, 2015, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was released on June 22, 2018, and Jurassic World Dominion was released on June 10, 2022, even though the four latest movies were not based on Michael Crichton's novels they were based on characters that he created.

Rising Sun: The book was made into a movie of the same name in 1993. A buddy cop movie featuring Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes saw Crichton also write the screenplay along with the director Philip Kaufman.

Sphere: This 1987 book made it to the big screen in 1998. Starring Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone and Samuel L. Jackson, it was directed by Barry Levinson.

The Andromeda Strain: The 1969 novel by Crichton was adapted to the big screen in 1971, shortly after its release. There were very few changes from the novel. It starred Arthur Hill and James Olson, and received Academy Award nominations for Best Art DIrection and Best Film Editing.

The Great Train Robbery: Michael wrote the screenplay for this one, and the movie was called The First Great Train Robbery as well as just The Great Train Robbery depending on the market. Michael also directed this movie which starred Sean Connery, Lesley-Anne Down and Donald Sutherland. It actually won an Edgar Award for the Best Motion Picture Screenplay.

The Terminal Man: This 1972 book was adapted into a movie in 1974. Not to be confused with the Tom Hanks movie The Terminal, this was a movie in the horror and sci-fi genre which starred George Segal.

Timeline: A movie was made on this 1999 book in 2003. It starred Paul Walker.

Related Authors

Fans of Michael Crichton also enjoy these authors:

1. Stephen King, author of The Dark Tower Series.
2. A.G. Riddle, author of The Origin Mystery Series.
3. Rob Hart, author of the Assassins Anonymous Series.
4. Stephen Coonts, author of the Jake Grafton Series.
5. Joe Haldeman, author of The Forever War Series.
6. Daniel Suarez, author of the Daemon Series.
7. David Brin, author of the Uplift Saga Series.
8. Douglas E. Richards, author of the Wired Series.
9. Blake Crouch, author of: Dark Matter.
10. John Marrs, author of the Dark Future Series.

Michael Crichton: F.A.Q