Travels

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Summary: For the Adventurer and Curious Skeptic
Review: This book is an excellent combination of "regular guy" adventures, humor, and the curiosities of a Harvard-trained skeptic. I have read many of the stories twice and come out with something new each time, especially when Crichton learns something about himself-I find myself enlightened. Also, I lately have been curious about certain psychic phenomenon but am somewhat of a skeptic. Crichton shows its okay to explore these areas, whether you choose to embrace their existence or not depends on your experience.

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Summary: One of the best books that I have ever read!
Review: This book is truly brilliant. It is inspirational and life changing! I'm more than impressed by Crichton's ability to relate his life experiences to me in a way that scream at me to live my life more fully. Thank you for an amazing book. I'm forever grateful to this incredible author.

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Summary: My Favorite Book of All TImes!
Review: When I was young I was an avid reader of Michael Crichton, I constantly admired his way as a writer to draw the reader in so conclusively and to keep them there.

Travels is a WHOLE different story. This is a semi-autobiographical tale of the years after medical school and beyond. Now, this is not the usual autobiography, about how he fell in love or how he loves his job, this is a story of self discovery and search for himself. Much of the first half of the book covers travels around the world and different instances in his life that he wants to share. The second half discovers the paranormal, psychics, astral travel, and seeing auras. These are true tales of how he searches out the meanings and explanations for unexplainable things.

This is by far my favorite book of all times. I cannot recommend this more. It has the same form of drawing the reader into the story, but also takes a more objective perspective on life, citing stories without holding back even when it makes him looks bad. You will find yourself within this book.

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Summary: Well! This is a new side to Michael Crichton!
Review: Cleverly named book... It doesn't just cover Crichton's geographical journeys, it covers his internal journeys as well... The book starts off with Crichton in university and describes not only his experience as a medical student, but also how he blossumed into the successful author that he is! It was fate (and a bit of heritage...).

But apart from his travels all over the world, it is fascinating to start reading about his experimentation with the pychic world and all. True, there is a bit of a "I tried and tried and nothing seemed to happen, then suddenly it did" air about his experiences, a vague cynical suspicion (on my behalf) that is sounded terribly like a 'growing up in California' experience, and one had to wonder, would Crichton have done what he did if he hadn't been so successful so young in life... But, the fact is he did, and as long as you are an open minded individual this book will be a very interesting read!

If on the other hand, you are looking for a straightforward autobiographical account of rags to riches and writers angst of an amazingly successful and thoroughly readable author, you will be disappointed. This book REALLY gives an insight into the Michael Crichton one wouldn't suspect from his fantastic and diverse novels and its actually, quite interesting...

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Summary: Incredible book!
Review: A great book for reading for pure pleasure! He starts off with his experiences with medical school and things progress from there; from BonAire scuba diving to the supernatural. I highly recommend this...

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Summary: a memoir of the mystical and extraordinary
Review: I was a little skeptical about this book before I read it, but it turned out to be very entertaining, thought provoking, and satisfying. Every Crichton fan should probably read it just to get the inside scoop on the man himself, perhaps to see what has driven him to write so many fascinating books, and also to see what fuels some of his philosophy that comes through in his writing. "Travels" certainly isn't all about philosophy, as much of it consists of some very entertaining anecdotes, though there's a philosophical vein that runs through it. It's not preachy, though Crichton seems to be trying to stimulate thinking in the reader. I found myself wishing at times that there wasn't a metaphysical bent to this book, though in the end I suppose it's for the better. Overall, a very engaging read. Avery Z. Conner, author of "Fevers of the Mind".

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Summary: I've had this book for four hours and I'm done with it!!
Review: Wow! I wish I had Michael Chrichton's money. Or his brain. But not both. Travels is proof to me that too much money and too much brain make you emotionally unstable. But it also makes a great book. I love his thrillers, mostly for escapism, but where I can read a paperback and get away from it all, Michael Chrichton needs to climb Mount Kilimanjaro or go to Tahiti. And somehow it's fascinating to see how this mind works. Or doesn't. A great read, strangely alluring, but rather like a moped. Great to ride but don't let your buddies catch you.

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Summary: You may not agree with all but gets you thinking
Review: Michael Crichton's deeply autobiographical work, Travels is as an exploration into a person's quest for understanding the world around him and within him. The reader is entertained with snippets of stories that begin in Mr. Crichton's days in medical school and end with a treatise on understanding reality that was to be delivered to a debunking society. Between these bookmarks, Crichton has visited many exotic locals (including northern Pakistan) in addition to quasi summer camps for spiritual growth, charkas, and other New Age topics.

Crichton succeeds in writing about these inner travels as clinically as possible. He is not trying to "sell" you on his experience but rather just trying to get the reader to listen to him. He allows you to make up your mind and even towards the end of the book, he outright states, "Don't take my word for it. Go out and see for yourself."

Travels is my favorite Crichton work because it covers most of his life as he transforms from a purely scientific individual to one who learns to accept that maybe science doesn't have all of the answers. We see how he challenges himself to look at things in a different way or have a new experience which he claims ultimately makes him a more well-rounded person.

While Crichton is supporting the non-scientific world (i.e. psychics, metaphysicists etc.), he is quick to point out that that realm doesn't have all the answers either but that world cannot be discounted. You may not agree with some of the ideas presented in the book but Crichton doesn't necessarily want you to change your thinking. Rather he wants to get you thinking about ideas in a different way and that is the book's greatest value.

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Summary: Self-absorbed tripe
Review: I read this book in college after I had read a few of his books, mostly because every other day a new movie was being adapted from them, so I thought I might give them a try. Crichton is an entertaining storyteller, much like John Grisham, but after a while the plots begin to feel formulaic and contrived, which is why I stopped reading them altogether. Fifty years from now people will say, Michael Who?

I initially read this book because as the time I was considering a career in medicine, and I noticed that Crichton wrote about some of his medical school experiences.

What I got was a series of 'travels' by a guy who had too much time and money on his hands, and although intellectually gifted, obviously emotionally immature. No wonder the guy has been married so many times. I especially was put off by the line where he talks about one of his marriages and said that it was falling apart because one of them wanted children and the other did not. He never says who it was that didn't want children, but it isn't difficult to figure out that he is the one who didn't want any kids getting in his way (but he didn't have the guts to admit that it was him). Who knows, they may have prevented him from going on one of his overindulgent self-discovery voyages to some exotic place.

I'm all for visting interesting places and learning about other cultures, but Crichton does it with such a smug and hedonistic tone that I find his attitude insufferable. Then, when you wonder if his self-righteousness could get any worse, he gives his readers (whom he must consider to be uneducated rabble who aren't so fortunate as to travel all over the world) a laundry list of tips on how to get through life. Gee, thanks, dad.

Rating:
Summary: Travel ¿ Good, Other stuff - ???
Review: I thought the Travel parts of this book were extremely entertaining to read. I was enjoying it up until Crichton got into the stuff about entities attached to his body and his obsession with cosmic stuff. Also the severe lack of Dinosaurs has been noted.