The first chapter in the ‘Travels’ section of the book hilariously shows how Crichton is a doctor, yet, not a doctor, as he deals with a neighbor’s medical issue in his West Hollywood apartment building. The first 80 pages of the book focus on Crichton’s time in Harvard Medical School. Maybe you heard of ER? Never Judge A Book (Or In This Case, Its Author) By Its Cover While he never lived the actual life of an ER doctor, he was enamored with the thought of it enough to create and write an entire TV series based on life in an Emergency Room. But, maybe he did second guess his decision, or wonder what his life could have been like. But through hard work, and of course, amazing content, he was able to become an incredibly successful author and director, making millions of dollars in the process. He could have easily become an MD, making a great living owning a private practice or as an ER doctor, but he chose to follow his dream and write instead, which could have made him live like many other starving artists. Why waste time with being a doctor? So in this day of age where seemingly every Instagram ‘Influencers’ screams from ‘Just quit your job and travel…do what makes you happy!’, well, Michael Crichton practically invented that trend. He never practiced a day of medicine in his life. Crichton do when he graduated medical school? Not practice medicine. So, with dreams of being a writer, what did Dr. Who did he sell it to? The New York Times, of course. ![]() At just 14-years-old, he sold a travel article on his family’s adventure to Sunset Crater National Monument in Arizona. He began writing at a young age, writing a 9-page puppet show with a large number of characters as an assignment in the 3rd grade. He grew up learning how to tell stories on paper from his father, who was a journalist. Michael Crichton didn’t want to be a doctor. All of a sudden, Michael Crichton was a doctor.Īs I stated above, there was one problem. But, still, he slugged through and graduated. It seems even more obvious once he started medical school. It seems that it was obvious to Crichton from an early age that he wouldn’t want to be a doctor. So in addition to his anthropology studies, Crichton enrolled in Harvard Medical School, because, why not? He talks about how his early experiences with medicine were so negative, he would faint when given an injection or when having his blood drawn. He attended Harvard, but while at Harvard, he decided he didn’t really know what he wanted out of school. And not the loosely thrown around term ‘genius,’ but an actual genius. But from the first page of the book, it became apparent that this giant of a man (he stood 6’9) was a genius. Growing up reading his novels, I didn’t know much about Michael Crichton except his name. If Anyone Can Be the Poster Boy for “Do What Makes You Happy, Instead of Taking Easy Success”, it is Michael Crichton I have put together a list of some of these lessons, which hopefully will inspire you to read this interesting and thought provoking semi-autobiography of one of the best novelists the world has ever seen. Whether he was MEANING to teach his audience these lessons, or if he just had the urge to write his memoirs due to boredom, we will never know, as Crichton passed away in 2008. ![]() And as usual with Crichton’s writing, the 376 pages go by quickly, as he weaves experience after experience into a long form campfire chat.Īs I read through the stories of Crichton’s life, I learned a lot. As a travel addict, naturally, I had to dig in and start reading it. It’s one of Crichton’s few non-fiction book, and as you can guess by the name, it’s about his experiences traveling the world…as well as some other worlds. Luckily, this quarantine has given me plenty of free time and I have started opening (and actually reading) books again! So when I looked down and found a copy of ‘ Travels’ by Michael Crichton in my hands, I knew I had to read it. Somewhere in the phase of rebellion that was my late teens and early 20s, my love for reading books waned. ![]() The Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park, Sphere, Congo, Rising Sun, The Great Train Robbery, the list went on and on. I hung on every word of his best selling books. And for me, the best storyteller out there was Michael Crichton. ![]() Without the distraction of handheld screens or good TV shows, books had a way of transporting me to a far off place, filled with eccentric characters and locations that came alive in my young, imaginative mind. When I was younger, I was fascinated with books.
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