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Often I feel I go to some distant region of the world to be reminded of who I really am.
When Michael Crichton -- a Harvard-trained physician, bestselling novelist, and successful movie director -- began to feel isolated in his own life, he decided to widen his horizons. He tracked wild animals in the jungles of Rwanda. He climbed Kilimanjaro and Mayan pyramids. He trekked across a landslide in Pakistan. He swam amid sharks in Tahiti.
Fueled by a powerful curiosity and the need to see, feel, and hear firsthand and close-up, Michael Crichton has experienced adventures as compelling as those he created in his books and films. These adventures -- both physical and spiritual -- are recorded here in Travels, Crichton's most astonishing and personal work.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Travels With Michael
As a book-lover, you probably have a favorite that you read a couple of times a year. It sits there in your bookcase, and as you pass by you glance at it and smile, thinking of how much it's meant to you. And one day as you notice it, you say to yourself, "It's time I read this again!"
And so you do, visiting this old dear friend. You see aspects of its personality you hadn't fully noticed in previous readings, concepts that had escaped you before.
"Travels," by Michael Crichton, is my old dear friend.
Crichton was the author of "Jurassic Park," "The Andromeda Strain" and so many other books; and was the creator of the TV show "ER."
But did you know when he was a medical student at Harvard, he wrote a mystery he called, "A Case of Need"...using the pseudonymn "Jeffery Hunter" so no one at the university would know he was the author (students were supposed to study, not write books)? And he'd have been sucessfully anonymous, only....ooops! His book won the Mystery Writers of America "Edgar" as best mystery novel of the year.
The first part of "Travels" is "Medical Days," a fascinating look into the lives of medical students and their patients. It's not written in dry medical terms but in arresting vignettes of different patients, fellow students and teachers.
This takes us from 1965 through 1969 and to page 81 (paperback edition). Then he wrote about his travels (1971 through 1986).
He climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, and when we read it we're taken right along with him. Wore me out. In Rwanda, he went looking for gorillas and found them. A zoologist with him said that she couldn't study gorillas because they "were men." At the end of his stay there, he understood what she meant by that remark.
In northern Kenya Crichton went eye to eye with an elephant in the middle of the night; in Bonaire he almost died when scuba diving with his sister; he found Shangri-La, which is no "Shangri-La;" in Jamaica his girlfriend invited a murderer into the back of their car and he came THIS close to being killed; in Pahang he was literally covered with bees in the jungle; he went swimming with sharks in Tahiti...so many countries, so many adventures, and through them all he was totally open about his feelings, about who he was (he learned this along the way.)
Crichton was self-deprecating, which is odd, because this 6'-9" man was handsome, brilliant and talented.
Rating: - Learning about our own minds by exploring the world
No arm chair traveler here. Chrichton shares adventures climbing Kilimanjaro, exploring New Guinea, hiking through the Himalayas, and participating in metaphysical retreats. He also shares his inner-most thoughts, insights about meaning of life, and impact of geography and culture on his world view and inner child. He willingness reveals his frailties but not to demonstrate humility but as object lessons on how to observe oneself and hence to better understand and benefit from how our mind works. Chrichton is willing to bare his soul to help himself and the reader have a better understanding about what is possible.
Rating: - One of the top 10 books I've ever read
This is not just a travel book. It is a collection of experiences as well that will appeal to travelers of the spiritual realms as well the physical world. Michael has led a truly remarkable life and it is well worth the read!
Rating: - Dive into the real life of Dr. MC and find out what type of person he really is
At the time that I picked up my copy of Travels I had read just about all of Crichton's novels with the exception of The Terminal Man and Eaters of the Dead (I'll read them someday). So, I had formed quite a liking for Dr. MC and his writings and thought Travels would be a perfect way to get to see more about the real life of my favorite author.
Travels takes you as the reader back in time during his med school years at Harvard and the troubles he experienced throughout the way. Many of his stories dramatically shock you, or make you laugh...they're all so readable. After his med school years, we are taken to the years of his being a writer, and his amazing journeys he took around the globe.
The best thing about this book is just reading the raw text of MC. Many people may not know how witty, clever, and sarcastic he really is. I see some comparisons to the No Reservations star Anthony Bourdain...as they are both very tall, lanky, and witty people. Anthony is far more bitter and sarcastic than MC however.
His detailed descriptions of his travels really pull you in...like one of his adventure novels. Some of the highlights are the diving adventure with his sister where they nearly run out of air and die, or the climb up Mount Kilimanjaro.
I couldn't put this book down - it was that enjoyable. It was amazing to see how such a great writer had such amazing adventures. I know now that he has first handedly been to most of the settings of each of his novels.
I was so pleased with Travels and will probably read it again someday soon. Getting to look inside the life and times of one of the best novelists of our time really is a special opportunity that no one should pass up. It shows how detailed and how much time he puts into his work.
Read this book and you won't be let down.
Rating: - Looking for more in Life?
First non-fiction book I've read by Crichton. Of course this guy can write, almost everything he has put out has been entertaining so it's interesting to see how he does writing about his own life. This book consists of Crichton's anecdotes over his life, what he likes to do in his free time basically. Lately I've felt depressed and was looking for something to cheer me up. If you are searching for something in life this is will be interesting because so is he.
Some of the stories are straight up travel adventures intertwined with his personal life. I especially enjoyed reading about his hike up Mount Kilimanjaro. It's quite a detailed account of his ascent and made me want to try it on my next holiday. Also notable were visits with mountain gorillas in Rwanda, scuba diving on wrecks and with sharks, fighting with his girlfriend while on holiday in Jamaica. The woman inadvertently invites a convicted murderer and would-be mugger into their daytrip. He also explores the spiritual world and visits psychics, which is not my cup of tea, but quite interesting at times to explore through his eyes.
The capstone of this book is actually the postscript where the author argues with a group of leading scientists that they should not discount the paranormal and spiritual. If nothing else it provides an excellent basis for how one should go about in a serious debate. Personally I have never believed in mysticism, spiritualism, any of these non-scientific views of the world. I was interested to see the outcome after having read the book because Crichton really enjoys exploring these ideas. You could say he's a believer.
He writes, "science offers a picture of the world, but its picture is not to be confused with the underlying reality itself". For example a map of the world provides a detailed image of the geography, but it in fact it's not really a true reproduction of the underlying land. Science is able to express some of nature's unknowns in mathematical theory but it can only show a fraction of what is truly occurring. Crichton's argument is that there is much more to the world than science can explain and that we should be open-minded about where we might fight it. For some reason I found myself agreeing with him.
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