Disclosure

Rating:
Summary: A very interesting point of view about sexual harrasement...
Review: Let's start with the things I DIDN'T like about the book: the characters are one dimensional, and the fact that the book deals with a sexually harrased man (even though that has a positive side too) tends to look down at the fact most sexual harrasements occur against women.

On the other hand, the 2nd points does raise some important issues: the man is usually regarded as the guilty party, even in situations he isn't. Is the fact some men are just TOO careful (like in aa situation men won't pick up or help a crying child so it won't look suspicious) means we've taken this too far sometimes? On the other hand, there are still quite a lot of people out there, especially men, who don't know where to draw the line, and too many people who are afraid to complain... Even with these questions, this is a fun book to read...

Rating:
Summary: A GREAT story!
Review: After reading the phenomenally fun 'Jurassic Park' I picked up a copy of 'Disclosure' the instant I saw it...and when I got home and read the inside cover and found out that Chrichton had traded in all the techno-talk that had filled his other great stories ('Sphere' 'Congo' & 'Jurassic Park' to name a few) for a story of all things, sexual harassment! And to top it off, it was a story of a MAN being harassed by a WOMAN! I was skeptical to say the least of this storyline, but I trusted that Chrichton wouldn't disappoint me...and in this he never did.

Our main guy wakes up in the morning as happy as anyone could possibly be because he is getting to go to work in Seattle and accept the promotion he so very much deserves...but doesn't get. He notices a very big change in how everyone treats him when he arrives (because they already know) and yet the worst is yet to come. Not only did he NOT get the promotion, it actually goes to his one of his former girlfriends who is in NO WAY as qualified, and up until this morning, wasn't even working at the same place. It really comes as quite a shock. But the worst is yet to come. His 'new' boss invites him to her office rather late at night, and after some awkward moments, they next begin a little naughty stuff...but Tom breaks it off before it goes too far. However this isn't what Meredith wants...and then she makes some threats, pretty BIG threats to Tom for stopping before she get's what she wanted. Tom goes home and tries very hard to hide his guilt from his wife and manages to thwart a potential problem at home, but the next day at work he finds out that Meredith has filed a complaint against him for harassment. Tom quickly finds his normally dull life somewhat more exciting than he ever thought it could possibly get. Not only does he miss out on a promotion that was rightfully his, he now faces legal action for something he is totally innocent of, but how do you prove something like that against a woman who just received YOUR job? If you saw the movie (which wasn't all that bad considering how truly terrible 'Congo' was) read this anyway, the way Tom ends up pulling out from under this seemingly impossible situation is pretty amazing AND mighty entertaining as well. Chrichton quickly won me over with an engrossing story that was the first to introduce me to that new-fangled way of communicating called, 'e-mail' (if you had read the book when it 1st came out, it would've sounded pretty new back then...).

Rating:
Summary: A really good book
Review: This book was very captivating. I really felt sorry for Sanders, because he was going through some terrible times at home and at work; a REALLY hard time at work. Right from the start, I knew that Meredith was up to no good, and I grew to despise her. She was very deceitful and I agree with others that she got what she deserved.

[e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Great Book, and worth the read!!!!
Review: I really enjoyed the book, and felt that Crichton did very well in presenting his story of the minefield that is Office Politics. I am very familiar with the subject matter, and was able to identify with a lot of the material that Crichton presented throughout Disclosure. The characters of Tom Sanders, and Meridith Johnson were interesting to read about, and Crichton has always done well with presenting his heros, and villians as deep well thought out characters. The book is not perfect, and Sanders gets very lucky in some tense scenes, and were this real life, and not a novel. I am sure that the ending could have been quite different. Overall I really enjoyed the book, and can gladly give it a favorable review. I hope you enjoy it as well.

Rating:
Summary: One of only a few books I've ever thrown away after reading.
Review: The implication of the politics of this book are extremely problematic. Let's all pay attention to the (almost non-existent) female to male harrassment, and ignore the all-too-common male to female variety. Don't we all feel bad for Michael Douglas? Yeah, harrassment isn't really an issue of violence against women. Don't we all feel better now?

What a load of crap.

Rating:
Summary: Michael Crichton
Review: When I read words from Michael Crichton, I can visualize them all. I imagine visually the entire story. His stories are technical and flowing. This book is highly recommended. I won't bother to tell you about the book because you should read without knowing to make it more exciting. This book is for techincal thinkers who can visualize.

Rating:
Summary: Different than the Norm
Review: I must admit that this book was never without something going on. I found myself bunching up my eyebrows, trying to understand the plot and the mini "mystery" that Crichton created. The year 2000 was a little late for me to just be reading this book. "Disclosure" was originally copyrighted in 1993 and actually took time out to explain what e-mail and the internet was, which was rather, uh, different. I'm sure it would have been more beneficial to the average Jimmy living in 1993 though. The sexual harrassment theme that this book centered around was a break from the norm. I don't know if something this extreme would occur in reality, but the ways Crichton described the acts of a sexual harrasser were valid and accurate. A great read and quick pager-turner that I would recommend to males and females.

Rating:
Summary: Reverse Sexual Harassment
Review: A man is expecting to be promoted to VP of his high-tech company, only to be surprised when his former subordinate and ex-lover gets tabbed for the VP post. A power struggle takes place, and the new female VP tries to nail her former boss and currnet employee for sexual harassment. Fast-paced with a couple of good plot twists. Anyone entrenched in the cutthroat FORTUNE 500 corporate environment will not find this story far-fetched.

Rating:
Summary: His Best!
Review: I have read all of Crichton's fiction novels except one (Congo) and I can say without a doubt that this is his best one. Sure, it's not the modern science fiction as usual that he does so well, and you have to get into the book a little before it is very exciting, but I promise you that once this book hits it's stride you will not be able to put it down. After the excitement level was upped I read most of the rest of the book in one setting. It is very suspenseful, just when you think Sander's problems are coming to an end, something else comes up.

Also, several people have commented that the plot is fanciful because in it a man is sexually harrased by a woman. However, as statistics will show, going by the fact that there is a smaller percentage of women as heads of corporations than men, and taking into account the harrasment cases brought up against them by men there is actually a greater percentage of women who sexually harrass than men in the workplace. And besides, I imagine that the great majority of them that do come up aren't reported. After all, if a woman came up to you...

But aside from my comments on society, JUST READ THE BOOK. Make what you want out of it, it was controversial and raised a lot of questions for a reason... it's good!

Rating:
Summary: Not the best Crichton book
Review: I love Michael Crichton books so naturally I thought I would like this one. I found it boring and confusing.I gave it three stars because it was good enough to make me finish it.