State of Fear by Michael Crichton

[Marina]

I think now, in light of more Climategate e-mails having just been released, is a good time to have a discussion on this book. It's easy to forget that, at the time it was published, global warming was "undisputed" and "settled" fact of science. The only question all the (mostly federally funded) climate scientists were considering is how much we would have to restrict our lives to mitigate the damage. Just a few year and hundreds if not thousands government regulations later, cracks are finally beginning to show in the monolith of this particular orthodoxy. Michael Crichton wasn't the first to question the global warming assumptions, but he was the first major writer to address it in a popular novel form. It's also the first major piece of fiction to question motives and methods of environmental movement. It's a shame Dr. Crichton didn't live to see how right he was.

[Marina]

Here's a good (as usual) review by our group member Mike (the Paladin)- thanks Mike!
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[Marina]

I think most people prefer books that fit either their ideology or, if they are not aware of having one, their general worldview. That's why Goodreads is full of disagreements between people who like their books to have clearly delineated morality (good vs. evil) and people who love to have shades of gray and heroes who are actually baddies. I have seen complaints of Harry Potter not being nuanced enough and how Voldemort death was not a cause for celebration. Some of these people may be entirely apolitical, but they do definitely have a worldview. I personally don't find my openly ideological approach limiting, but rather empowering. I know what I like, and I can tell why.

Back to Dr. Crichton, an ongoing theme in many of his other novels, most notably Jurassic Park and Prey, but to a lesser extent The Andromeda Strain, is man's insignificance when it comes to forces of nature. There's a passage in Jurassic Park, famously read by Charlton Heston, about man's inability to "damage" the earth. In State of Fear, he addresses the issue head-on, but also brings in the element of unholy alliance between government and corrupt science. The Afterword, with its brief history of government commingling with science, is not to be missed and the implications are truly chilling.

[Rich]

Another great part about the afterword, (and I do agree it was chilling), is his inclusion of "further reading." I have marked most of those books on my TBR and have perused many a website for years after reading the book on the topic. Mostly I was surprised and intrigued by his comparison (historically) of global warming to eugenics, and I still want very much to read the book he recommends called THE WAR AGAINST THE WEAK by Edwin Black.

Funny you should mention that about readers claiming to be "apolitical," because I have thought about this a good deal. I have read a lot of reviews where people claim to not like the politics of a book, but not because they take a side, they just don't like any politics in a book. They determine immediately that any position taken by any character in a story on any issue with current political implications is "preachy" and "hits you over the head" with the author's worldview. I have always viewed this as a bunch of BS. People who say things like this are not apolitical. They simply don't agree. And rather than identifying themselves as an "opposing view," they would simply rather identify themselves as not having a position, or opposing both positions, or simply being above the fray. They are too smart to stoop down into the muck of politics, and don't want to read a book by someone who isn't. But the truth is, of course, that these people absolutely do identify with one side or the other, they just feel the need to hide that fact when taking pot shots at an author they disagree with.

The shades of gray argument has been going on for a long time and will continue for much longer I am sure. People mainly seem to not recognize the difference between having a "flawed" character and having a "corrupt" character. Most people identify the need for characters in the story to be rendered more real and relate-able if they have a few minor flaws just like the rest of us. But there is a minority of corrupt readers who think the "flaws" can only be relate-able if they are immoral or borderline criminal, because the basic moral worldview of those readers sees no distinction.

And that's damn scary.

[Michael]

Rich wrote: "Another great part about the afterword, (and I do agree it was chilling), is his inclusion of "further reading." I have marked most of those books on my TBR and have perused many a website for year..."

I too loved State of Fear. I read years ago...

“The greatest challenge facing mankind is the challenge of distinguishing reality from fantasy, truth from propaganda.” Michael Crichton

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Hi, and belated Happy Thanksgiving. First time I scrolled through the sight in a few days.

Note today (in looking at the book's subject matter) that few people use the term "Global Warming" anymore. Now it's "Man Caused Climate Change" (and all bow to Al Gore).

I remember when we were all being warned about the next ice age being just around the corner...

[Mike (the Paladin)]

By the way, I haven't read War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master Race yet myself, but... Have you read that American "scientists" and "leaders" in the '30s was a bit upset because Germany had taken the lead in Eugenics?

Thank you Margaret Sanger.

[Marina]

Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "By the way, I haven't read War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master Race yet myself, but... Have you read that American "scientists" and "leaders" in t..."

Considering how disproportionately minority pregnancies are being terminated, I think the eugenics movement is alive and well, in fact if not in name.

And of course they had to change the name to Climate Change because now it really can't be disproven with facts. Yay science!

[Greyweather]

Kindle Edition of State of Fear is on sale for 99 cents right now.

http://amzn.to/1KNj9ih