Book Review - “State of Fear” by Michael Crichton

"State of Fear" is a thriller that delivers serious lessons on environmental issues, including and especially ‘global warming’. Call it an ‘eco-thriller’. It uses a fast-paced fictional plot to keep your attention while delivering commentary on the science, art and politics of environmentalism. One theme that pervades the book is the harmful consequences of politicizing science.

Though the plot’s a bit flakey and the characters cardboard (like a John Grisham novel) I thought the book worked very well - it keeps your interest as intended. And if you want to skip the fictional part (at the expense of missing some interesting scientific commentary) you can go directly to the back of the book where Crichton summarizes all the serious stuff he wants to impart. As I said before, the back pages are an excellent source of information and ideas and are worth the price of the book by themselves.

If there’s anything I disagree with in Crichton’s ‘messages’ it’s his ideas on relieving world poverty which he thinks is a big cause of environmental distress. He’s vague, because this is a novel and not a social science text book, but it seems his solution involves designing "delivery systems that work". Delivery of what and by whom? On the surface this sounds a bit like the classic socialist delusion that you can solve poverty by redistributing wealth from rich to poor. But this soul destroying exercise only perpetuates the problem. The only permanent solution is for ‘the poor’ to become self sufficient, starting with food supply - in other words to become productive and create wealth for themselves. However, considering the whole book, this is a minor quibble.

The bottom line: excellent book, highly recommended reading.

Michael Crichton - Genius

Ok, 'genius' may be an exaggeration. I really don’t know Michael Crichton well enough to make such a judgement. But based on what I’ve learned up to now, I’ve come to believe at least the man is a marvel!

I’ve just started reading ‘State of Fear‘, Crichton’s 2004 novel - a thriller involving global warming alarmism, scientific folly, eco-villains and media laziness and stupidity. In other words it’s a thriller based on current events.

I’m barely into it, but what has greatly impressed me so far is the material at the back of the book which summarizes Crichton’s research, motivation and conclusions. It includes:

Author’s Message - Crichton’s conclusions - a marvelous collection of short, sharp insights, beginning with:

* We know very little about every aspect of the environment, from its past history, to its present state, to how to conserve and protect it. In every debate, all sides overstate the extent of existing knowledge and its degree of certainty.

Appendix I - Why Politicized Science is Dangerous. An essay documenting some past examples of scientific ‘error’ and the resulting damage. Parallels with current global warming hysteria are relevant.

Appendix II - Sources of Data for Graphs. He uses real data and factual footnotes throughout the novel.
Bibliography. Crichton’s list of readings covering three years of research runs to twenty pages with most entries including a short synopsis or comment on relevance. This is a treasure trove of sources on the science, psychology and politics of environmentalism. Reading it left me with the feeling that by comparison with Crichton, I’ve been wasting my life.
If you read nothing else in ‘State of Fear’ don’t miss reading the back pages. This means you, Al Gore and David Suzuki!!
Michael Crichton’s own web pages for ‘State of Fear’ include links to some of the above as well as to speeches he’s given to learned audiences around the U.S.A. His reputation is such that he’s even been asked to give testimony before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
I repeat, the man’s a marvel!