caption pseudonym awards signature_alt signature image article_title name
crichton at harvard university in 2002 john lange 1969 edgar award `` michael crichton '' michael crichton signature circa 1993.png michaelcrichton 2.jpg michael crichton
 michael crichton
michael crichton

john michael crichton , md -lrb- october 23 , 1942 -- november 4 , 2008 -rrb- was an american best-selling author , physician , producer , director and screenwriter , best known for his work in the science fiction , medical fiction and thriller genres .
his books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide , and many have been adapted into films .
in 1994 , crichton became the only creative artist ever to have works simultaneously charting at no. 1 in us television -lrb- `` er '' -rrb- , film -lrb- `` jurassic park '' -rrb- , and book sales -lrb- `` disclosure '' -rrb- .
his literary works are usually within the action genre and heavily feature technology .
his novels epitomize the techno-thriller genre of literature , often exploring technology and failures of human interaction with it , especially resulting in catastrophes with biotechnology .
many of his future history novels have medical or scientific underpinnings , reflecting his medical training and science background .
he authored , among other works , `` the andromeda strain '' -lrb- 1969 -rrb- , `` congo '' -lrb- 1980 -rrb- , `` sphere '' -lrb- 1987 -rrb- , `` travels '' -lrb- 1988 -rrb- , `` jurassic park '' -lrb- 1990 -rrb- , `` rising sun '' -lrb- 1992 -rrb- , `` disclosure '' -lrb- 1994 -rrb- , `` the lost world '' -lrb- 1995 -rrb- , `` airframe '' -lrb- 1996 -rrb- , `` timeline '' -lrb- 1999 -rrb- , `` prey '' -lrb- 2002 -rrb- , `` state of fear '' -lrb- 2004 -rrb- , `` next '' -lrb- 2006 ; the final book published before his death -rrb- , `` pirate latitudes '' -lrb- 2009 -rrb- , and a final unfinished techno-thriller , `` micro '' , which was published in november 2011 .
