Jurassic Park (original 1990; edition 1991)

The first time I read this I was in high school, and it was the first time I'd read a book after watching the movie it was based on. All I could remember was being really disappointed because it wasn't exactly like the movie. After reading it now, I couldn't have been more wrong, and highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the movie. It's not exactly like it, but there is so much more depth to the situations and characters that it adds much more to the story, and makes it all the more engaging. It is an excellent book and a definite must read. ( )

Read this when it first came out. I remember starting it at about 10pm, thinking I'd read for just a few minutes to get a feel for it. I couldn't put it down until I finished, at around 4 in the morning! This was the first Crichton book I read, and continued to read everything he wrote, up until the ridiculous "Timeline." ( )

Fascinating. I first got captured by the films, and finally came around to read this book. It didn't disappoint, it was better than the picture. It was, naturally, more detailed and the descriptions of the dinosaurs, tech-snuff, the science, theories and so on were good, you really got it all and understood the high-tech stuff. The dialogue felt real and the characters were well developed. It was a thrilling ride, and I wanted to read and read to see what happened next. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. I saw the movie of course, numerous times, so I had an idea of what to expect going in, but I was still pleasantly surprised by the book. More so after not liking The Andromeda Strain, which was the first Crichton book I ever read.

I have to say, this was a classic case of BBM: Book's Better than the Movie. As I read this, I had the movie playing right along in my head. There were some substantial differences, more background information on the characters as well as a bit more technical & scientific background given, but these things only added to the book.

Firstly, the character of Lex always annoyed me in the movie. She was cast as an older tomboy sister to Tim, but acted nothing like the 12 or 13 year old she was supposed to be. In the book, shes 7 or 8, so her actions make a lot more sense.

The book also didn't have the typical Spielberg/Hollywood ending, meaning that the characters in the book didn't just fly off into the sunset to resume their normal lives and live happily ever after. The book ending was much more realistic and much better for it.

I don't know much about Crichton's political views, but based on the two books I've read so far, he seems almost to hold a low opinion of scientists. In The Andromeda Strain, he repeatedly pointed out the scientists' flaws and shortcomings and failures. I didn't much enjoy that book, so that could be coloring my recollection. In Jurassic Park, Crichton uses every opportunity to show the irresponsibility of scientific advances as a whole.

He uses the mathematician, Dr. Malcolm, as the main voice of reason and sanity, and explains why science is inherently irresponsible. John Hammond, the mastermind behind Jurassic Park's creation is depicted as a man more concerned with money than with whether or not what he's doing SHOULD be done. And that's really the point that Malcolm strives to make. Yes, making trout pale so as to see them more easily in the water is possible, but does that mean that it should be done? No, not necessarily.

I've heard it said that Crichton was adamantly against the idea of global warming. As I don't know much about his views myself, I will base this next sentence completely on what I read in the book. I agree with him. Again using Malcolm as his mouthpiece, Crichton shows the fallacy of the idea that mankind is destroying the planet. The Earth's been around for a couple billion years, and will most likely survive anything that we could do to it. Humans may not survive, and for THAT selfish reason, we should take better care of our home. (Although, in my opinion we should do it because it's the right thing to do.)

Anyway, I really liked this book. It was fast paced, and definitely kept me interested from start to finish. I'd recommend it. ( )

Michael Crichton does a wonderful job of bringing to life the idea of the recreation of dinosaurs. This book is very well researched, and the writing is clear. A very great thriller that is worth the time to read. ( )