Disclosure

Rating:
Summary: Great, but not what I expected.
Review: This book was great and had plenty of detail, although I expected more of a Science Fiction type book. This book was almost non-fiction. It was good though, and it did a good job of describing sexual harrassment. The characters are greatly detailed. This book is a must.

Rating:
Summary: Sexual Power - Reversed
Review: This is a very good book, but the main male character is slightly hard to believe. His "Political Correctness" throughout the book are extreme. If a few more naturally "male" characteristics would have been present, this book would have been much more powerful. The character in the movie was much more believable. Overall, though, this book is very good.

Rating:
Summary: Crichton suspense & mystery at its best!
Review: I'd read the book before the movie came out, and let me say, although Demi Moore is WOW, the movie is NOTHING compared to the book. The plot depth of the movie was not even 1/10th that of the book. The guy's sexually harassed (well, more than just harassed) his ex-girlfriend, who now happens to be his superior at a high-tech firm. W/ a new company merger in the horizon, the company doesn't want any bad PR, and tries to ship the guy out. But the plot's MUCH MUCH complex (good, not bad), which I can't give away. Of course, w/ almost any of Crichton's books, there's plenty of high-tech stuff to keep everyone happy.

Rating:
Summary: A powerful look at sexual harassment in the workplace.
Review: Michael Crichton certainly has a knack for writing powerful, complex stories, and DISCLOSURE : A NOVEL fulfills his high standards. DISCLOSURE follows several plots at once: an accusion of sexual harassment towards an employee by his female boss, and his further attack against her in court, run along side a devious scam. Tom Sanders, an employee at DigiCom Corporation, finds himself harassed by Meredith Johnson, his new boss (who has the job HE was in line for) and former lover. In a risky move, Tom takes the case to a lawyer and eventually to court, risking him his job, his friends at work, and his future of employment at Seattle. In his seemingly hopeless quest to bring Meredith to justice, he discovers she is part of a major plan to merge DigiCom with huge conglomerate, and take over the entire company, shutting down their production factories and changing the line of operations. The characters in this story are very realistic and have distinct personalities, the story line is very good, although at times it did get a bit technical (Crichton is renowned for writing very technical stories; in Time Magazine, Sept. 25, 1995, Frank Marshall, the director of "Congo", was quoted as saying, "He's the only writer I know who has footnotes in his fiction."), and overall I was riveted and couldn't put the book down. In short, this is another masterpiece under Crichton's belt.

Rating:
Summary: Good and different style
Review: The book is very well written. At fisrt I wasn't sure if the book was going to be good or not because, I had a diferent idea of the kind of books that Crichton wrote. It turned out to be a very well written story. You can not tell until the end what is going to happen.

Rating:
Summary: Crichton suspense & mystery at its best!
Review: I'd read the book before the movie came out, and let me say, although Demi Moore is WOW, the movie is NOTHING compared to the book. The plot depth of the movie was not even 1/10th that of the book. The guy's sexually harassed (well, more than just harassed) his ex-girlfriend, who now happens to be his superior at a high-tech firm. W/ a new company merger in the horizon, the company doesn't want any bad PR, and tries to ship the guy out. But the plot's MUCH MUCH complex (good, not bad), which I can't give away. Of course, w/ almost any of Crichton's books, there's plenty of high-tech stuff to keep everyone happy.

Rating:
Summary: a welcome change from today's popular fiction fare...
Review: Let me preface this review by saying that most popular fiction books I've read in the recent past, no matter who the author, have been a disappointment. Most of the time, the beginning or even the majority of the common novel is at least decent. Toward the end, though, you either know what's going to happen, don't particularly care because the story or characters were never really interesting or developed, or most often, the novel simply runs out of excitement and suspense, a lot of times because the novels I'm referring to are often action or suspense novels with "stock" or "cliched" endings. I'm sure many readers have had the same feeling, similar to that occasional movie that you don't end up seeing the end of and don't particularly care to.

This isn't the case with Disclosure, by Michael Crichton. Though the driving subject and central scene of the novel- sexual harrassment in a corporate setting- is not exactly new, Crichton presents it in a brutally honest and refreshing way, along with well developed and real characterizations. This allows the story to be interesting and even suspensful throughout the length of the work, not just the majority, because Crichton expertly uses the main scene as a driving force for the actions of each character for the rest of the story. There are some cliches and weird elements (the amazing virtual database bit just seems like nonsense in current contexts), but Crichton has presented a character driven story with a remarkably consistent pace. I also liked Crichton's commentary on the nature of sexual harrassment as a tool for those with power, and that the concept of it being gender driven (that is, males harrass females as a natural rule) is a fallacy resulting from the fact that males simply have always been superiors in the work place.

I could say more, but I'd rather not give too much away...read it, you'll enjoy a novel that actually offers something all the way through, not just tepid action and suspense that never materializes.

Rating:
Summary: An Incredible Read
Review: Nothing goes right for Tom Sanders from page one of this book. He is running late for work and has to help his wife with the kids. There's problems with the new products he's in charge of. He doesn't get the promotion he expected to get. And to top it all off his ex-girlfriend got his promotion and is now his boss. Things go downhill (if possible) from there when he is sexually harrassed by her. He finds himself stuck in the situation when people don't believe a man could possibly be harrassed by a woman. These events lead to a story that is powerful, gripping, and puts the reader on an emotional roller coaster.

Disclosure is an awesome book. Based on a true events this book grabs the reader and won't let go. It is very well written and is easy to follow. Reader beware though this book has some strong language and some explicit scenes. If you are open-minded enough this shouldn't be a problem and the explicit scene is important in the story as it's the focus of the book.

This book is great at exploring the inner workings of a major corporation. It also explores the idea of a man being sexually harrassed by a woman instead of the usual scenario with the woman as the victim. It focuses on the stigma that is attached to the accuser and the accused.

Disclosure is an incredible book to read. It is very entertaining and is easy to read. It keeps the reader interested until the very last page. Well worth the time and definitely one to recommend!

Rating:
Summary: Gripping and well written
Review: Tom Sanders never thinks about the old days in Cupertino, when he lived for a time with a woman named Meredith Johnson. He's settled happily into his company's Seattle office, has married, and is busy raising a young family. At 41, he's also anticipating the reward for his years of service when his division spins off and goes public. That will certainly secure his financial future, and it just might make him rich. But first he and the company must get through a merger. That may not be easy, because the promotion Tom anticipates goes to - complete surprise - his old girlfriend.

To this Tom thinks he can adjust. When Meredith Johnson starts their new relationship with broad references to their old one, and then demands sexual favors, Tom finds out that adjusting won't be possible. What he doesn't know is Meredith's real reason for doing this. If he doesn't discover her hidden agenda in time, the life he treasures now and the future he dreams of for his family will both disappear. And that's if he's lucky. What happens if he isn't lucky? He loses it all. His wife and kids, too.

Like Crichton's other books, this one is gripping and well written. However, his stated intention - to show the reader certain truths about sexual harassment by writing the tale in "role reversal" mode - didn't work for me. Despite meticulous research and a good outward understanding of his subject matter, Crichton's inability to write female characters trips him up this time. The only woman he really "gets right," attorney Fernandez, he ruins in the postscript by putting views into her mouth that are at odds (wildly) with her characterization throughout the chapters in which she appears. I agree completely with his pounded in point that women and men are all, in the end, simply people. Individuals, who should no more be stereotyped and expected to behave in certain ways than should Blacks, Hispanics, etc. The trouble is, he works so hard at reversing the stereotypes that he winds up leaving me curiously convinced that in his heart of hearts he still believes in them.



Rating:
Summary: Disclosure: An excellent example of good literature
Review: This summer I picked up an amazing book that I will remember for the rest of my life. The name of this book was Disclosure by Michael Crichton. Set in a modern business environment I thought I might be able to learn a little bit of what it is like to be an important asset to a company, and boy oh boy did I learn a lot about business. The setting was completely realistic and showed the true horrors of the office place. It was a story of back stabbing, hatred, and of course what book would be good without sexual harassment added in there too. This was a very exciting book that often times kept me on edge, and it talked about a very sensitive subject, sexual harassment in the work place and how it affects all of its employees.
This story is about a man's struggle with a sexual harassment case. His name is Tom Sanders. This man did not do anything wrong, the only thing he is guilty of is being a good man who is always there to offer a helping hand. But when a merger happens in his company, he finds himself in a very interesting situation; his old girlfriend is his new boss. His ex takes the position he is supposed to get within the company and he is very sour about this whole situation. He takes it like a man though and shrugs it off. He is sitting at his desk and he is starting to close up a bit when he receives a call. It is Meredith Johnson, his ex (and his boss). She calls him in to have a meeting with her at 9 that night. Fearing for his job, he reluctantly goes. When he gets in there he makes a call that he forgot to make but gets the answering machine. Just as he is making that call, Meredith starts to come onto him. I can not describe what she did because it might not be very appropriate but lets just say it was serious. The phone gets thrown to the ground and Meredith walks over to the couch and starts undressing. Tom follows her lead, and then decides, "I can not do this." This angers Meredith; she starts to yell at him and throws a chair at him while he leaves the office. The next day at work everybody in the office shoots him a face of disgust. Wondering what is a matter he goes into his office only to have his dear friend Phil Blackburn come in and say that Meredith Johnson had filed a sexual harassment case against him. In amazement he is speechless. She came onto him not the opposite way; he was the one that cut it all short. He is in udder disbelief. But now he is offered to move into a sister company in Austin, Texas or else there will be a sexual harassment case filed against him, and he will loose his job. In disbelief he goes to a lawyer's office and tells his side of the story to her and she suggests he files a suit against her. But now Tom will have to realize it will be hard for people to believe that he was sexual harassed, because in most peoples minds, the man sexually harasses the women. This will be a difficult case without any hard evidence, it is one person's word against another and Meredith's word is stronger in this company and she has complete backing by the company, Tom has become a rouge. Soon Tom becomes in possession of the tape in which he called during his "meeting" with Meredith. He eventually is able to use it and Meredith gets fired from her job because Tom threatens to sue the company unless she is removed.
This novel teaches many valuable lessons, from sexism to real world lessons. It is a very valuable book for any teenager to read. Not only does it teach, but at the same time has many valuable lessons. I would highly recommend this book to anybody that is interested in a good read that keeps you at the edge of your seat, and to anybody wanting to learn a little about the unfairness of the real world. It is filled with excitement and action and will leave the reader breathless at times. It is definitely a book that I would read multiple times.