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Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park #1)

3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 · rating details · 358,560 ratings · 3,516 reviews

An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Creatures once extinct now roam Jurassic Park, soon-to-be opened as a theme park. Until something goes wrong...and science proves a dangerous toy....

Paperback, 466 pages

Published May 28th 2004 by Debolsillo (first published November 1990)

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Aug 16, 2012 Simeon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, mystery-thrillers

Science-at-the-brink-of-chaos fiction. Nonlinear dynamics had barely been invented, and yet here they were gracing each chapter with a foreboding message of disintegration.

Not literature, not amazing prose, but a true edge-of-your-seat thriller.

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Feb 04, 2011 Brad rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Brad by: James Davie

Shelves: sci-fi, adventure, cinematic, ecological, pb-and-j-dipped-in-hot-chocolate

I always seem to forget how good Jurassic Park is. I blast through it once every few years, throw it on my shelf and the distance slowly makes me derisive, and then something forces me to pick it up again when my brain needs a little peanut butter and jelly dipped in hot chocolate, and I am forced to admit that Jurassic Park is a damn fine novel.

Sure it's packed with Michael Crichton's usual band of screenplay-adaptation-friendly archetypes, sure it derives much of its plot and thought from Art ...more

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Jul 08, 2009 Allison (The Allure of Books) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, mysteries-thrillers-crime-horror

I'm really surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! I have seen the movie several times, and always enjoy it...and now I appreciate it even more, because it makes things left vague in the movie make so much more sense.

The added character development (and even dinosaur development, for that matter) make the book fly above and beyond anything a movie could ever recreate.

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Nov 22, 2011 Ryan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jurassic Park is Michael Crichton's masterwork. The academics are cooler, the science is hipper, and the monsters are badder. So why haven't you read this novel?

Let's look at the premise: We can use cloning technology to bring dinosaurs back, and now the fabulously wealthy Mr. John Hammond is going to sell glimpses of those dinosaurs in order to make money, "a lot of money," as Mr. Hammond would remind us. Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, and Ian Malcolm are brought to a Caribbean island to vet Jurass...more

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Oct 25, 2007 Monk rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi

As a child, my parents (mostly my mother) encouraged me to read 'real books' about historical stuff (which bored the hell out of me) and to tackle topics that were relevant or based in fact (boy did that not hold). When I petitioned to read this book, mom and dad shot it down (and at that age they held the purse strings) and tried to get me to read some book about Medieval Italy (boooooring).

Two years leter, they caved and let me get this book. It was wonderful.

Crichton is hit or miss from what...more

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May 07, 2008 Matthew rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: adventure fans

Shelves: books-from-my-childhood

I remember reading this for the first time in the 5th grade. It was late spring, and the weather was gorgeous outside. Then, from out of nowhere, a storm started brewing. The wind violently rustled the trees, the sky boomed with the sound of distant thunder... and I imagined it was one of the tropical storms described in this book.

Granted, I lived in Ohio at the time, but you can't fault a kid's imagination. It was a perfect backdrop for me whilst reading this novel.

Frankly, I feel it's somewhat...more

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Jul 08, 2009 Keely rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, science-fiction, childhood, novel, reviewed, american

With Crichton, it is always a gamble whether whatever strange and new idea has latched onto will overcome his overbearing personality. His assurance that science will always go wrong makes for easy potboiler plots, but you do get the feeling that if he were a caveman, he would mistrust a sharpened stick.

Crichton's sensationalism and misuse of scientific concepts has made him untrustworthy as a guide on any serious issue, but in the case of runaway dinosaurs, we do not need to heed his warnings a...more

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Mar 07, 2013 Deneé rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: from-library, from-kindle, favorites

Originally posted at Novel Reveries

Welcome to Jurassic Park. You are now entering the lost world of the prehistoric past, a world of mighty creatures long gone from the face of the earth, which you are privileged to see for the first time. -151

Innovation, secrecy, unaccountability, greediness, stupidity, stubbornness, and chaos. These are just a few words that sum this up in a nutshell. To dispel concerns and rumors of his company (InGen) wasting funds and causing havoc to the nearby islands,...more

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Oct 06, 2011 Drew rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Sometimes I worry that my taste in books is getting really snobby. Then I read something like Jurassic Park, and realize that that is exactly true. I can't just sit back and absorb the brilliantly original (as far as I know) idea and the deftly told action scenes. For some reason I have to quibble over awkward sentences, clumsy exposition, and strange dialogue tags. I can't accept Crichton's weird Luddite agenda, even though ordinarily I'd agree with a lot of his points, because he tries to snea...more

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Apr 26, 2013 Faith rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

What , are you guys honestly surprised?

Impossible science? Screw it! An overabundance of characters? Who cares! Glaring plot holes? We don't mind! It has DINOSAURS in it and it's not a complete piece of crap! I'm sold , good enough.

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Jun 23, 2008 Mike rated it 3 of 5 stars

Dinosaur=Terrible Lizard

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Jan 19, 2013 Ethan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Okay so maybe I'm biased because I have loved dinosaurs since childhood. My parents took me to see the movie when i was 4 years old. They said I Laughed when the T-Rex ate the lawyer off the toilet and smiled when I saw the raptors attack. But i digress...anyways This book was great. As always Crichton has his ramblings about scientific theory's. But they never seem irrelevant to the plot in Jurassic park. I found the book to be much more engaging than the film ( which i still love). The book ju...more

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Apr 25, 2009 Aaron rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: character, idea, plot

(just noticed I picked the Spanish edition by accident. I don't know how to change this, but, obviously, I didn't read it in Spanish. Though that would probably be cool. Would the [small:] amount of dialogue already in Spanish be in Spanish, or in English or something else?)

Still a fun read after all these years. Haven't read it since I was in sixth or seventh grade, and it's still awesome. The writing is clean as it gets, with some remarkably memorable visceral imagery. Of course, what drives i...more

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Jul 08, 2009 Becky rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-and-thrillers, owned, science-fiction, 2009, reviewed

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...more 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. (less)

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Oct 14, 2008 Andrew rated it 4 of 5 stars

Apart from being a good imaginative thriller, the novel says something important (which the film glosses over) that really struck me. One of the scientists states that knowledge we do not acquire by our own efforts is like inherited wealth: we do not properly respect it because we did not bear the cost of winning it. As Malcolm, the scientist, points out, when we have to earn money we take care how we spend it. When we have to learn things by our own sweat, we appreciate the things we are dealin...more Apart from being a good imaginative thriller, the novel says something important (which the film glosses over) that really struck me. One of the scientists states that knowledge we do not acquire by our own efforts is like inherited wealth: we do not properly respect it because we did not bear the cost of winning it. As Malcolm, the scientist, points out, when we have to earn money we take care how we spend it. When we have to learn things by our own sweat, we appreciate the things we are dealing with. We respect the importance of them. Inherited wealth is too easy to squander because it didn't cost us blood, sweat and tears to get it.When the human race possesses knowledge already researched, derived and written up then we may become reckless in the use of it. He is referring to the Jurassic Park project, which was an ill-conceived idea. It brought back to life creatures that had become extinct, and were not meant exist in the modern world. You can read this book from a secular perspective and think in terms of the forces of nature, or you can read it from a Christian perspective and see it as a folly like the Tower Of Babel. Human beings took on something beyond their level of understanding and made themselve dangerous like a child with a firearm, the risks of which they do not properly understand. The concept of Jurassic Park meddled with nature and interfered with things that humans do not really understand well enough to exploit. 'Playing with fire' might be another analogy. When it all got out of control and disaster followed, the reader sees what the author means.
The introduction sets the tone, with Crichton pointing out how apparently good ideas can turn out to have frightening implications which were not foreseen. Then the narrative opens with the unexplained accident, which a doctor has to deal with and which is being disguised with a lie. From there the story caught my imagination because the characters are realistic, there is a constant sense of something terrifying about to happen; and the changes of point of view gave me a wide view of the action. While being an entertaining thriller, the novel was also didactic because it showed quite graphically how an ill-considered idea lead to catastrophe. It becomes clear from the story that there is more to come. The Jurassic Park project opened up the proverbial Pandora's Box. It won't be easy to get it back under control. (less)

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Jul 08, 2009 Jason rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Adventure fans, Sci-fi fans, readers in general

“Jurassic Park” was my first Michael Crichton book. I had heard somewhere that he was a writer like Tom Clancy who would spend pages and pages dwelling on technical details while neglecting the story. I went in without expectations.
Crichton is a writer of the best quality. Not only does he weave an interesting story with complicated, relatable characters, he also explains and educates things to the reader in an entertaining way.
The book is a lot like the movie, but many things are different a...more “Jurassic Park” was my first Michael Crichton book. I had heard somewhere that he was a writer like Tom Clancy who would spend pages and pages dwelling on technical details while neglecting the story. I went in without expectations.
Crichton is a writer of the best quality. Not only does he weave an interesting story with complicated, relatable characters, he also explains and educates things to the reader in an entertaining way.
The book is a lot like the movie, but many things are different as well. They are both excellent, and each make use of their strengths to tell a story. There are many wonderful things that are in the book that didn’t make it to the movie, and vice versa. The two cannot be compared.
Amid the science, Crichton has planted a true gem of a fantastic story. The idea is very well handled, implications understood and conveyed, and the book even ends of a mystery (thank goodness he wrote a sequel).

4.5 Characters
All of the characters in the book felt like living, three-dimensional people. In particular, the character of Ian Malcolm is one of pure genius. I relished every time he spoke. The little girl is so annoying I hoped someone would feed her to the dinosaurs, but provoking that kind of reaction is probably what the writer wanted.

4 Pace
“Jurassic Park” is a rollercoaster ride. It’s a pretty big book, but it went by very fast. I was never bored, and Malcolm’s speeches made the book so much more interesting rather than bogging it down.

4 Story
To me, modern dinosaurs is an original idea. Crichton’s method of trapping everyone on an island, with few weapons, is clever and interesting. The only thing that I was never really interested in was the subplot/time limit of the velociraptors on the ship heading for the mainland. Also, I did not like the violence directed toward newborn infants in the beginning. Things like that bug me.

4.5 Dialogue
All of the dialogue in the book is good and realistic. It is Malcolm’s speeches that win an extra point. They are nothing short of genius, all while illustrating his wonderful character at the same time.

4 Style/Technical
I like that Crichton is fearless in printing computer code and output screens in the text of his novel. It is inventive and makes a reader feel as though everything has really happened. He is otherwise clear and concise. I was never confused.

4.2 Overall
“Jurassic Park” was amazing to read. The pace was fast, the characters were interesting, and the story was fun. In terms of characters and dialogue though, special attention must be given to Dr. Ian Malcolm. He is a rare character in any fiction, and one of the best and most entertaining I have ever read. I look forward to reading about his continuing exploits in “The Lost World”.
(less)

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May 20, 2007 Tom M rated it 2 of 5 stars

I have never been terribly impressed with Crichton's work, but I have always been told that I must read Jurassic Park to really appreciate him.

I was not expecting much from this book, but I was disappointed nonetheless. The whole story seemed fragmented and disorganized. This was supposed to be about a sort of fantasy world created by an eccentric, wealthy man, but throughout the book I felt like It was more Michael Crichton's fantasy than anybody else's. It was as if he had several goals for t...more

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May 04, 2010 Akmal Hizam rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I can't remember whether I read this novel after watching the movie or before that.

What I can say is that although the movie is excellent, it is still not imaginative enough to depict the novel in a whole. Well, no movie adapted from Crichton's novels has succeeded so far, for that matter.

For the book, I love it because it entails a lot of different knowledge. Dinosaurs (of course), biology, archaeology, engineering, and many others. Being an engineering student when I first read the book, I fel...more

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Jul 08, 2009 Lisa Vegan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, reviewed, novel

This book is a riveting page-turner from the start to the finish. While the events are neither truly scientific or plausible, Crichton puts in just enough real science and is a skilled enough story teller, that the story reads as almost believable; it certainly seemed “real” as I read it. The suspenseful story was a really fun read and I found it fascinating.

Note: I made the mistake of seeing the movie because I did enjoy the book so much. The movie is appallingly bad. I don’t suggest that anyon...more

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Mar 02, 2012 Deslni01 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, science, dinosaurs

Jurassic Park is one of the most successful and popular literary ventures ever, with high book sales, film gross in excess of $900 million, and popular toys and spin-off books aimed at children. Of course, the brunt of the sales was through and because of the Spielberg film, which set the bar for special effects, but the film had to be based on something.[return][return]And that something was Crichton's cautionary tale involving some of the most captivating creatures ever - dinosaurs. What the s...more

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Apr 02, 2009 Max Maxwell rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anybody, esp. intelligent children who like dinosaurs

Recommended to Max by: I saw the film when I was 7; I then read the book when I was 9

Shelves: sci-fi, literature

Why do people think of this as a mere adventure novel?

To be sure, it is gripping, and, as the kids are saying, "action-packed." But that's only skin deep, only one level, this being the level that made up the massively popular film version. Just below the surface is a masterpiece, multifaceted and multidisciplinary, sincerely philosophical, and breathtaking in its pacing and scope. All the different capacities in which the novel functions are essential; without the action, the doomsday science...more Why do people think of this as a mere adventure novel?

To be sure, it is gripping, and, as the kids are saying, "action-packed." But that's only skin deep, only one level, this being the level that made up the massively popular film version. Just below the surface is a masterpiece, multifaceted and multidisciplinary, sincerely philosophical, and breathtaking in its pacing and scope. All the different capacities in which the novel functions are essential; without the action, the doomsday science would lack appreciable consequences; without the science, the action would be essentially without meaning. The brilliance of JP is that it mixes intelligence with entertainment. It makes you think, on the one hand—on the other, well, dinosaurs are freakin' sweet. Don't pretend you don't know it.

How many questions does this book pose? To the imaginative reader, probably a functionally endless number, but here are a few of those that anyone could catch: do we have the right to create life, metaphysically and otherwise? Is it acceptable to "own," and profit from, a life form? Is mankind really the pinnacle of creation, with the rest of life subjugated to us? Furthermore, in what ways is our perception of nature dependent on this notion? Can we comprehend nature if we see ourselves as outsiders? In what ways will life escape efforts to control it? Indeed, can life be controlled? What is the nature of history? What is the importance of meaningful coincidence (contingency) to history? Is the universe chaotic at heart? Were dinosaurs more successful than man, by certain criteria?—and so on.

Some day, this will be considered to be a part of the literary canon, Harold Bloom be damned. In his day, Shakespeare was considered bawdy and unfit. The Easton Press is already offering fine leatherbound editions. My edition, however, is a ratty, highlighted, plastic-tabbed paperback, one of millions on 25¢ tables in the backs of legion halls the world over. These yellow pages seem as old as the terrible lizards they bring to life, but, I can't see them becoming old-hat anytime within the next geologic era.(less)

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Jun 11, 2008 Steven rated it 3 of 5 stars

I stumbled upon this book when I was in a library with a friend. I remember never reading this book because it was extremely long. So i saw the movie, and i liked it. Now that i read it, i liked this plot very much. It makes me think of how the world would be like if we had scientist studying real live dinosaurs on a remote island. Although, if something were to go wrong it would go terribly wrong. I would give this a 3 to 4 because there were some parts that were exaggerated when it wasn't nece...more

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May 12, 2013 Seth Carlin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton is a fantastic story about the creation of dinosaurs by means of cloning. John Hammond and his team make this happen and they plan on turning their island into a dinosaur park. Who wouldn't want to go see animals that nobody has ever seen before? Until everything falls apart. The dinosaurs escape their enclosures and the people on the island must find a way to return them and stay alive.
This was an interesting and exciting book. Some of the pros are that it seem...more

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Apr 04, 2013 Regina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When I was 4, I was obsessed with dinosaurs. My passion for these extinct creatures did not die out (ha!) until sometime mid-elementary school and was then temporarily re-ignited in 7th grade by a science class where we reviewed dinosaurs...and the Jurassic Park movie. I was familiar with Michael Crichton from reading the Andromeda Strain-so I decided to read Jurassic Park. I know I finished it, but can't remember very much about it. And knowing myself, my eyes were probably crossing from all th...more

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Apr 04, 2013 Zora rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bad-couldn-t-finish

At the risk of offending what looks to be all my male goodreads friends who loved this (none of my female friends have read it, which is remarkable but probably not random), I couldn't finish it. It wasn't the multiple viewpoints or so-so prose, it was the science. I worked for awhile as an assistant paleontologist--field, prep, and curating--and I promise you, pretty much everything in the first 50 pages on this topic is wrong. I wasn't loving the book anyway, and kept finding random factual er...more At the risk of offending what looks to be all my male goodreads friends who loved this (none of my female friends have read it, which is remarkable but probably not random), I couldn't finish it. It wasn't the multiple viewpoints or so-so prose, it was the science. I worked for awhile as an assistant paleontologist--field, prep, and curating--and I promise you, pretty much everything in the first 50 pages on this topic is wrong. I wasn't loving the book anyway, and kept finding random factual errors (passports not needed for international travel? You can't possibly fake a fax of a x-ray?) But the scenes on the fossil "dig" did me in.

1) you don't clean fossils in the field. You get them out of the field and into the lab, where you have air scribes, microscopes, safe places to rest them, and far more tools than you can schlep on your back out to the field.

2) "bits of bone flaked away as he dug." Then he's an incompetent idiot. You do everything to keep "bits" from flaking away. A bit IS the fossil. If this happens in the lab, you stop, stabilize, get a better prep person if you have a real star at it in your group, or you just quit. Plenty of fossils remain only partially exposed in museums trays because they are too friable to clean further. They're still useful. Just because it isn't on public display to wow the kiddies doesn't mean it isn't there. This Alan guy, he just keeps ruining the fossil. When real paleontologists flake a tiny little something away, they beat their breasts and curse and sometimes even cry.

3) They have the only egg site in the world for this species, and they're using jackhammers on it. Seriously? Jackhammers? We didn't own one. We wouldn't have taken one if it were a gift. You preserve the data at all costs, including leaving it the heck alone, if need be. Jackhammers may be rarely used with huge, whole specimens, if your team can drag a generator that far, but not in this case--never ever would that happen.

4) The broken bones get tossed aside and whirred up into fragments... No. Broken bones are also useful. Very useful. Broken bones get collected, cleaned, and curated. Museum collections are mostly of fossils that are partial. The only fossils I ever saw thrown away were some that got lost from their documentation and were therefore useless.

5) ...from which DNA is extracted. Not even in a million-year-old fossil, much less a 190-million-year-old one. When you crunch up fossils into sandy bits, all you get is sand.

6) rubber cement. Very big for stabilizing in 1903. Not so much when this book was written. A plastic resin dissolved in acetone is used, like polyvinyl butryal.

... and so on.

You simply cannot make that many factual errors and I continue reading. My suspension of disbelief is gone long before the monsters come on stage.

This is the third of his books I've tried, the second I've given up on before the end, and all three were just riddled with errors. And he was already famous--he could have interviewed anyone before writing. Why get it wrong when he could have, with a few hours of work, gotten it right? Maddening.
(less)

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Mar 20, 2013 La Stamberga dei Lettori rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sakura87

1989. Un operaio giunge in un pronto soccorso in Costa Rica con il corpo squarciato da un animale predatore, ferite che vengono giustificate con un “incidente sul lavoro”. Nella stessa area geografica, una bambina viene morsa da un rettile delle dimensioni di un pollo, ritto su due zampe e dotato di tre dita. E gli incidenti occorsi ai neonati sembrano subire un’impennata.
Nel deserto del Montana, frattanto, il paleontologo Alan Grant e la paleobotanica Ellie Sattler stanno lavorando ad alcuni...more

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Mar 18, 2013 Maxzine Rossler rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, chapter

Jurassic Park is a book about a scientist that cloned dinosaurs and put them in a zoo called Jurassic Park. However, one of the employees are killed by a velociraptor so the owner requests that Dr. Grand and his girlfriend come to the park to ensure that they park is safe. While doing this Dennis Nedry shows up to the park, but not to ensure the safeness of the park, but to get his hands on the embryos.
Later the power in the park is shut down by Nedry so that he can steal the embryos for his bo...more

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Feb 24, 2013 Will Joslyn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The plot in this story is extremely suspenseful and intriguing. Throughout the entire book the author's writing style makes the reader want to continue reading. For example, a suspenseful event is when the tyrannosaur breaks through the electric fence. After reading this conflict, it causes the reader to desire to read until the outcome of this event. In addition to the suspense in the story, the information is so realistic that it makes the reader actually feel like the events are happening ar...more

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Feb 14, 2013 Jared Titus added it · review of another edition

The novel Jurassic Park takes place in the twentieth century. In this time period technology has really come a really long way to the point where they have actually figured out how to clone a dinosaur. The company that comes up with this way to clone dinosaurs is called InGen, which is short for International Genetic Technologies. Mike Bowman is on vacation in Costa Rica with his wife and his daughter. His daughter, Tina, goes onto the beach and follows a set of three toed animal tracks and when...more The novel Jurassic Park takes place in the twentieth century. In this time period technology has really come a really long way to the point where they have actually figured out how to clone a dinosaur. The company that comes up with this way to clone dinosaurs is called InGen, which is short for International Genetic Technologies. Mike Bowman is on vacation in Costa Rica with his wife and his daughter. His daughter, Tina, goes onto the beach and follows a set of three toed animal tracks and when she finds where they end up she see's a lizard like animal standing on its back legs in front of her and it makes chirping noises like a bird. The lizard animal attacks her and she screams which makes her dad, Mike, come running to see what was going on and they end up bringing her to a hospital. Tina's whole left arm is covered in small bites and the doctor asked what happened and they had her draw a picture of the animal that bit her and they did not recognize the creature. They brought the picture to a famous paleontologist and he said that it looked like a basilisk, but the three toes threw him off a little and he thought it was a dinosaur.

Mike Bowman and the Paleontologist found an island right off the coast of Costa Rica where they think the dinosaur could have come from. They find out that the island is called Jurassic Park which used to be a theme park that cloned dinosaur DNA using prehistoric mosquito ambers. The chief programmer there, Dennis Nedry, remembers that he built a backdoor into the system which has all the records of the dinosaurs. He see's that he needs to get off the island so he takes some of the frozen dinosaurs for their DNA and he leave in the car, later getting killed by a dilophosaurus. When Nedry got the dinosaurs he shut off the security systems on the island and some of the dinosaurs escape making the island very dangerous now with dinosaurs roaming around on it. They later have to get the power back on to escape and they do this by traveling down a river with raptors following them and then they have to distract them while Mike and others get the power back on. They succeed at doing this and the Costa Rican Air Force come in a helicopter to save them.

I really liked this book, mainly because there was a lot of action in the book. I like books with action in them because it makes things more interesting and engages me with what is going on. Also, I liked how Michael Crichton describes the island with a lot vivid, mind-provoking detail making it very easy for me to picture the island in my head and painting the picture so I can "see" what the island looks like. He also describes the dinosaurs on the island so well so I can see what they look like in my mind. If I didn't know better, I would think they were resal. If I had to choose one weakness of this book it was when the characters were conversing back and forth about the dinosaurs. I would have preferred more action during these parts of the book. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good adventurous fiction novel. (less)

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Feb 13, 2013 Nora rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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This is one of my favorite books of all time. I read this book before the movie came out sometime back in the Spring of 1993, and it has stayed with me all these years. It is full of suspense and a powerful environmental theme. It asks the universal question, just because we can do something, does it mean we should. It frames the question in the context of genetically engineering dinosaurs, but I think it applies to many endeavors we as human being have tried and failed to master. One of the bes...more

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About Michael Crichton

Michael Crichton was an American author, film producer, film director, and television producer. His books sold over 150 million copies world wide, and among his best-known works were techno-thriller novels, films and television programs. His works were usually based on the action genre and heavily feature technology. Many of his future history novels had medical or scientific underpinnings, reflec...more

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“God creates dinosaurs, God kills dinosaurs, God creates man, man kills God, man brings back dinosaurs.” — 164 people liked it

“The planet has survived everything, in its time. It will certainly survive us.” — 123 people liked it

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