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Summary: crichton's best work
Review: Michael Crichton has been through a lot, and in this book he shows that he doesn't need to make stuff up to be interesting.The early sections of _Travels_ cover his days at Harvard and in medical school and offer an interesting perspective on experiences there. Later he describes travels to various exotic locations. Some of the accounts are illuminating; others are no deeper than a travel guide. The last sections are devoted to Crichton's supposed experimentation with the paranormal, i.e., bending spoons and seeing auras and the like. Crichton strains credibility with his descriptions of these hokey ESP things, but in general his writing is engaging. Even the hokey sections have a spookiness to them that I must admit I enjoyed quite a lot. Better travel writing can be found elsewhere, but it is interesting to hear the familiar Crichton narrative voice focusing his lens inward in these pages.
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Summary: The story behind the author
Review: On the surface, this is an interesting background biography of popular author Michael Crichton. It covers his academic background at Harvard Medical School, follows his decision to drop out of modern medicine (interesting given that he produces TV series ER) and then follows him around the world. On the surface, this is purely a biographical novel. Beneath the surface, it's a tale about exploring the world. I read the book several years ago just as my eyes were starting to open to the world. His adventures were a roadmap for expanding the mind through travel. It's a very interesting travel log. Are his experiences more clouded by a medical background, a writer's imagination or a desire to live as the locals? In the end it's a remarkable tale of discovery, not so oversimplified as to ignore the pains of the road. Think a medically trained Paul Theroux. I highly recommend this book on both levels - to understand the author, and to unleash yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: Horrible
Review: Boring and rediculous! Crichton experiences are laughably irrational and I was horrified that such a brilliant man would do the most illogical and bizzare things. He scares me.
Rating:
Summary: A Delightful Autobiography
Review: Right off the bat, you know that this will be a "different" kind of autobiography than the kind we are used to. After all, not many authors would choose to begin an essay on their own life with the words "It is not easy to cut through a human head with a hacksaw", but Crichton does. The first part of the book is a short but interesting section detailing Michael's adventures during his 4 year tenure at Harvard Medical School. It is an interesting story told from the "other side" of the medical profession. I reccommend one of MC's other non-fiction books Five Patients, to anyone who likes this section. The bulk of the book, of course, is the latter section focusing on Crichton's travels. Told are many fascinating (and true) stories of experiences in such out-of-the-way places as Hunza, New Guinea, Mount Kilimanjaro, not to mention Hong Kong and various underwater expeditions. Also included in the "Travels" section are some of Michael's many inner journeys. He talks of psychic phenomenon, future-reading, spoon bending, and the like. I found his insight on psychics extremely interesting. I reccommend this book to anyone who wants a "different" kind of autobiography, and who wants to know about people's "innter journeys", not just outer ones.
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Summary: The story behind the famed author
Review: Surprisingly great autobiography from the master of fiction. On the surface, this is an interesting background biography of popular author Michael Crichton. It covers his academic background at Harvard Medical School, follows his decision to drop out of modern medicine (interesting given that he produces TV series ER) and then follows him around the world. Get past the biography and find a tale about exploring the world. I read the book several years ago just as my eyes were starting to open to the world. His adventures were a roadmap for expanding the mind through travel. It's a very interesting travel log. Are his experiences more clouded by a medical background, a writer's imagination or a desire to live as the locals? In the end it's a remarkable tale of discovery, not so oversimplified as to ignore the pains of the road. Think a medically trained Paul Theroux. I highly recommend this book on both levels - to understand the author, and to unleash yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Gets better with each read
Review: This book is amazing. Not only does it have the great Crichton voyeuristic side of being taken into different worlds, but it also has a reveletory nature that really makes you stop and think about life. I am a super cynical person, but this book made me extremely contemplative about human nature. Yes, a lot of it is like a time trip into the 70s (auras, bending spoons, esp) but since Crichton is SO well educated and smart, it makes it much more interesting to read about than from some new agey-type that you can just write off as being a weirdo. When hiking in the desert I've thought many times of him talking to a cactus and had a good giggle. Also I really liked how each chapter is a self-contained story. When oh when will he write Travels 2???
Rating:
Summary: MC the man is even more interesting than MC the imagineer.
Review: This was only the second Michael Crichton book I've read, after Disclosure (which I read without knowing anything about Crichton, and because somebody left it on an airplane). Since reading Disclosure I had taken much more note of him, seemingly seeing his name on every third movie or TV show I watched - and gradually associating that name with a high level of interest and quality. Even Crichton's "pop culture" creations had more depth to them than I first thought. I picked up Travels at a used book store (I wasn't looking for it, but it sounded interesting from the blurb) and found the book fascinating, consistently entertaining, and enriching. It raises my spirits to discover that someone so influential in creating the entertainment content by which I, my children, and the culture I live in are nourished is really extraordinarily talented, curious, intrepid, soul-searching, and -- likeable. Crichton's outlook and his life are an inspiration. He has lived richly and courageously, with a world-class hunger for the outer and inner frontiers of experience. Make no mistake, Travels catalogs Crichton's travels in the inner world as much as in the outer world. (Be prepared for first-hand accounts of spoon-bending and aura fluffing!) As long as you're going to be exposed to a lot of Michael Crichton regardless, you might as well get to know the guy
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Summary: a fascinating book on Crichton's time travelling the world
Review: I've been a fan of Crichton's fiction since I first read Jurassic Park years ago. I love how he mixes reality with the potential science of the future. The events in his novels may not be possible, but when Crichton tells the story you believe that they are plausible. Perhaps it is Crichton's attention to detail that makes the stories both so interesting as well as believable. It is this same attention to detail that makes Travels such an interesting book. Travels is a series of essays broken up into two sections. The first section deals with Crichton's time in medical school. These stories are very interesting as we get to see some of the inner working of hospitals, and some of the stuff that we wouldn't see on TV (and might not believe if we did). This was a fascinating section. The second section of the book was most of the book and it dealt with Crichton's travels. I'm not a huge fan of travel writing (normally), but I was blown away by the depth (or length) of Crichton's travels. He truly is a world traveler and we are told of his experiences climbing mountains, exploring remote corners of the world. Not only has Michael Crichton had several lifetimes of experience, but he tells the stories very well. Most are very short, but very interesting. I don't think that Travels will be a book that I have any interest in re-reading, but it was a good book to read once and I'm glad I did. Crichton has a lot of stories to tell and he tells them well.
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Summary: Interesting mini Bio
Review: This book tells MC's early years. From his medical studies, when he wrote novels using pseudonyms to support himself to some of his adventures, some you wouldn't imagine. If you like his books, you should read this one to get to know him a little bit more even though it is a pretty old book, he should write a newer Bio.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book, but too much spiritualism
Review: This is the kind of book that gets you involved into a person's actual life and adventures. As all the books of M.C. the story telling is terrific, full of action and fun.
Rarely is when you can read a documented story of an skeptic becoming a full believer in the trends of past life experiences, auras, etc.
In my opinion this could have been a great book if the secound part of it was not as supernatural packed, but hey.. It's his life!!! . I got a little bored at the end.
By having all these experiences (and the money to pay for them! ) it's easy to understand that getting in touch with our inner nature and the nature that sorrounds us is the turning point for having that type of creativity and imagination.
I wouldn't read this book again but I had a good time reading it.
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