Travels

A must read for anyone who wants to be inspired! I have more of a drive to read, write, enjoy life, take risks and explore. I have been recommending this to everyone I know since i finished Chapter 1!!

Some interesting insights sprinkled throughout, but Crichton eventually turns into a prophet for New Age paranormal investigation by the end. The bits about medical school and the practice of medicine were engaging.

In this series of autobiographical essays, Crichton comes off as self-absorbed, selfish, emotionally immature and alarmingly credulous about paranormal phenomena. If you enjoy Crichton, give this book a wide berth; it will reveal your hero's feet of clay

I bought this book "used". It was delivered promptly and in quite good condition. I loved the book! If you would like to "know" Michael Crichton better, this is a must read. I have a Kindle, but suspected that I would want the hard copy of this one - I was right.

As I had some thrilling experiences reading this author, my expectations were high. I liked the part where the author shares his decision-making process to become a writer instead of a physician, but I found the rest of the book much less interesting.

Crichton is a pretty good fiction author, but this autobiography left me quite unimpressed. It starts out OK - his days in medical school - and there are some good sections when he is travelling the world, but the stuff at the end about auras and the possibility (or liklihood if you believe Crichton) that para-psychology is real made me lose a lot of respect for the guy. OK, I can buy into the fact that there are levels of subconsciousness, but I can't buy into the spoon bending, psychic readings, or the seeing of auras, etc. James Randi is a famous skeptic who has offered $1 million for anyone who can show that any aspect of telepathy, etc., is real, and he has had no one walk away with the money.

How much money do you think Crichton paid for his "conferences" in the desert? Or his readings with psychics? Please. This was a very wealthy guy who got hoodwinked by a lot of different people over the years. The problem with the book is that he claims to be of a very scientific mind, yet he never discovers the man behind the curtain. He wants all of his observations to be true, so of course, they are true.

I really think he spent too much time in L.A.

Also, he claims that most illnesses are brought on by the individual and that much of western medicine is a crock. However, he died of cancer at a fairly young age. Where were his crystals when he needed them?

This book sounded interesting since Crichton is such a fabulous author. But in this genre, he sucks. His story about browsing for child prostitutes in Asia shows serious lack of judgement in his personal life. He seemed more disappointed about the lack of selection than the fact that it existed at all. Read something from Paul Theroux instead.

I’m a memoir enthusiast. Nothing thrills me more than to read a book where the narrator gleans insight about life and him/herself through experiences. There was none of this to be found in Crichton’s stories. This is a “journey” of a self-absorbed, whiny, thoughtless individual who is so blind to life’s offerings that after finishing medical school and making a book into a movie, he falls into a major depression because he’s been everywhere and done everything that counts. Wow!

The few insights he throws out during the work are later contradicted by his future biased stories. For example, when he perceives tribal women who have flies landing on their faces as animal-like and then is later examined in a curious and somewhat disrespectful manner by some young boys, he “sees the light.” They find him just as mysterious and it would appear he plans to try to see people of all nationalities/races/cultures from a less biased and critical point-of-view. Pages later, he describes some Pakistani boys as mongrels – this is one of several examples of “insight” promptly forgotten…Perhaps these mongrels wouldn’t have tangled hair and sores if their homes had running water and they had access to all the comforts the author takes for granted.

I am delighted that to date none of my former lovers have written about our relationships gone wrong in published form, especially in the manner the author chose to do to his exes in this work. I would pity these women if it weren’t for the fact that I detest the narrator so much, I felt critical only of him post-read. I couldn’t help scanning over his critical portrayals of one of the woman’s foul moods during a vacation and thinking “I’d be tempted to blow my brains out if I had to spend more than 10 minutes in this man’s company.”

What shocks me more than anything is how this grown man pities himself when people ignore him or treat him in an insensitive manner. One woman even used him for sex. That part had me laughing out loud. What’s up with this? Crichton never treats any other humans in his world like they are worth an ounce of anything. Didn't he ever hear that cliché what goes around comes around? That’s a phrase he should have deliberated over for a minute or two…if he'd had time to squeeze a sound thought in between retreats to study auras, bend spoons and spectrally project.

I read this book seventeen years ago. It was great then, and it holds up even now. Crichton goes to the edge of the known, in both
the inner and outer worlds. Crichton does not really state a life philosophy, or the reasons for his wanderlust.

Knowing what I know now about the world. I figure if he had sat in one place and meditated for fifteen months - he would have
gotten further both spiritually, and surprisingly, even in terms of general knowledge. As the historical Buddha is reputed to have
said: we learn not from experience, but by our capacity for experience.

The book however is descriptive. It talks about his Harvard Medical School days, and his travels in Asia.

The book is mostly about some of the "travels" Michael Crichton did over his life time. The beginning part was about his studies and how he became a MD. There are a few observations that I have taken away from reading this book. First, Crichton appeared to be extremely honest in describing his feelings and observations. Not many people are willing to admit that they saw some humans and wondered if they were really human. Second, for all his success and money, he appeared to be an unhappy man who was always searching for something else. He didn't state which travels were for research and which were for himself. Also, he appeared to have no stability in his personal relationships with others. I am studying the Book of Ecclesiastics at the same time I was reading this. I noted similarities between King Solomon and Crichton. The both had more of the wealth of this world than most people, yet they were both unhappy. Both continued to search for something else, whatever that may be. Both had multiple relationships and had difficulties sustaining something permanent. I would sum it up as Solomon wrote, “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
Crichton tried to find comfort and truth in many areas, but never (at least from what is written in this book) tried to find THE TRUTH as is presented in the Bible. As I read this book, I felt sorry for this man who had so much but appeared to want more but was unsure of what that more was.

The author of many famous science related thrillers and movies like Jurassic Park, Crichton pens a concise story behind his life. He  covers his time as a medicals student and why he quite after getting his degree.  It certainly seems that he  was a very efficient writer, publishing The Andromeda Strain while still in med school ! He  details his background  and physical and mental journeys through many different experiences.  I was surprised at his dedication to research, his eclectic interests and playful nature toward everything ( Ie a very open mind) .  A real bonus is the appended speech he was to give at Cal Tech on Science and Mysticism. It is a very coherent analysis which presents the material in an open fashion and is well worth the read. 

In "Travels," Michael Crighton writes from the heart....and he writes well, skillfully and succinctly. Reading his memoirs provides not only literary pleasure but emotional relief. It's like having a long, interesting conversation with a highly intelligent, totally honest, compassionate, and, therefore, trusted friend.

In Crighton's restless urge to squeeze life for everything it has to offer, he often takes himself to exotic places and finds himself in highly uncomfortable situations. His honesty in describing the gamut of his reactions -- from horror to fear -- elicits the satisfyingly expanded self-recognition that comes with reading emotionally honest authors.

What strikes one most about Crichton is his ability and desire to see the other person's point of view, his compassion, his recoiling from aggression. As one of his "patients" said about him during his medical student days, he is a "giant Cherub" (he was 6'9"). His gentleman's horror of confrontation often is his undoing. Crighton wants to get what he wants, but he wants to do so without eliciting others' hostility and opposition; so he waffles. He evades telling the truth; he lies even though deep-down, as his writing proves, he highly values truth. Finally, Crighton relates how, during his filming "The Great Train Robber," actor Sean Connery set him partially free by sharing his alternative approach to truth-telling. Connery told him, "You should always tell the truth, because if you tell the truth, you make it the other person's problem." Crighton thought the approach had merit...but...

Crighton regularly fled the city to the wilderness to gain a different perspective on his life shed of its mind-numbing routines. He also explored his mind and heart through meditation and trance states -- through the various psychological practices that flooded California in the 1970s and 80s. He filtered them through his experience and common sense. He accepted the existence of auras and states of expanded consciousness, because he had experience them. He was undogmatic; if his life's experiences contradicted a belief, he jettisoned the belief.

In the postscript of the book Crighton exposes the lies of science, in particular, the lies of medical science. Would that these pages formed the preface of his next book of memoirs! Michael Crighton died much too young at age 66. A later memoir undoubtedly would have yielded even more wisdom, truth, and companionship for the discriminating heart than his first.

It can often be interesting to encounter an author outside of his or her normal genre, as it can reveal things about the author that might not be apparent from his or her more conventional work. Based on the title and the cover description, this one appeared to be a travel narrative, which is a genre I typically enjoy, from an author better known for what might be best characterized as pulp thrillers. And while this book does include stories from Crichton's travels, it isn't really a conventional travel narrative, in that it doesn't really focus on the stories about the places Crichton visits, so much as on how visiting these places impacted Crichton. Perhaps this book is best approached as a memoir, starting as it does with the stories about the author's experiences in medical school, and including extensive stories about his exploration of a number of "new age" or "psychic" phenomena.

If there is a central theme to these stories, it is the author's exploration of himself. The lessons he draws from these stories are about how he reacted and changed in response to his experiences. To the extent that this self-examination can provide a guide for the reader's own such journey, this book can be useful. However, for me, the extensive navel-gazing was eventually the books undoing, because I simply ceased to care. Combine that with my deep skepticism about psychics and other paranormal experiences, and much of the second half of the book simply didn't appeal to me all that much. While I don't doubt the sincerity of his examination of these experiences, and I must give him credit for his efforts to bridge the gap between conventional rationalism and these intrinsically non-rational fields, it is just too big of a leap for me to make.

So, if you are a Crichton fan and are looking for some insight into the man behind the books, then this may well appeal to you. However, if you are looking for stories about the places he visited and the people he met along the way, this is going to be something of a disappointment.

Reading this once again after several years, and it's just as wonderful and fascinating as the first time! Michael had a style of writing that always flowed so beautifully, drew you in, and made it (and still makes it), difficult to put one of his books down, even though you might have to get up at a certain time, and need to go to sleep- now!

Somehow, even the most simplistic stuff is interesting! But this has to be one of the very best semi-autobiographcal books I've ever read! Aside from the amazing travels, (which come a little later in the book), Michael's experiences in medical school are recounted in the first section of the book, and are far more fascinating- as well as sometimes humorous and touching- than one might imagine!

It's certainy sad that Michael died so youg- with his talent and imagination, he probably had so much more to give us in the way of books and movies, etc.

This was a truly fascinating text -- Crichton has led a life
as rich and diverse as anyone could hope for -- travelling
to Nepal, attending psychic parties in California -- he's
done it all. Seeing what he's done and where he's gone really
gave me a new "confidence" in reading his ficiton novels -- this
man is basically an authority on anything and everything.

The most interesting part of this book
wasn't his travelogues (although they were quite interesting in their own right),
but rather his discussions of person-to-person relationships.
The discussions of his relationships with women were particularly
enlightening -- he's really had some unpleasant experiences with
members of the opposite sex, and after reading them, you'll
understand the real-life roots of some of the female characters
in his fiction works (read Disclosure again after reading Travels...)
After reading his personal philosophy on what men and women
are both REALLY after in a relationship, I had to put
the book down and think for a while -- he, more so than
any self-help book I've ever seen, hits the nail right on
the head in just a ten-page vignette.

Another striking thing about this book is that (unlike some
of his later works -- Lost World, for example...) Crichtion seems to be writing for himself,
without any thought toward any movies that might be made from
this book, and he reveals some VERY personal things in this
book, much more personal that what might be revealed in
some 20/20 interview (it is one of his earlier works,
and he may not have beem so audience-conscious when he wrote it).
Overall, this is a fascinating book -- it's really compelling
to see Crichton turn his analytic mind away from current events
and focus it on himself instead.

It's always fun to randomly pick something off of the shelf and discover, after about 20 pages, that it is quite good. I've never been a fan of Crichton's other books - pseudo-science thrillers that most seem to be - so it was just luck that for some reason I picked this off the shelf in a used bookstore. Again, I usually don't find much pleasure in reading paranoia-inducing pseudo-science thrillers and the authors of such novels usually seem to me to be after money and nothing more.
However, Crichton appears to have quite an interesting story. The book starts out with some of his experiences as a pre-med and medical student that helped form some of his opinions about science. The tales culminate in his decision to leave the medical profession due to so many conflicts with the methodology of treating humans, well, basically products. Interwoven into the 'early days' is some information on early travels in addition to some background on his rather spotty relationships and family problems.
After moving to California to try to make a new career writing and working on movies Crichton begins to dabble in, shall we say, somewhat 'new age' spiritualism including psychics. It is only after a several years of such dabbling, in addition to some other large events that occur during his travels, that Crichton gradually comes to accept that there is much much more to the universe than all that we are taught in science textbooks.
This is the major theme that gradually is revealed over the course of the book: what we experience is relative to our state of mind and that state can range from all-encompassing to completely self-centered. I believe the final pages, where Crichton presents some quite apt commentary on our new religion of science, have so much impact simply due to Crichton's unflinching presentation of his personal growth. For that really is what makes the book such a great read: Crichton never backs away from showing the reader his frailties and foibles.
Great fun and much more relevant today than when it was first published.

Michael Crichton's deeply autobiographical work, Travels is as an exploration into a person's quest for understanding the world around him and within him. The reader is entertained with snippets of stories that begin in Mr. Crichton's days in medical school and end with a treatise on understanding reality that was to be delivered to a debunking society. Between these bookmarks, Crichton has visited many exotic locals (including northern Pakistan) in addition to quasi summer camps for spiritual growth, charkas, and other New Age topics.
Crichton succeeds in writing about these inner travels as clinically as possible. He is not trying to "sell" you on his experience but rather just trying to get the reader to listen to him. He allows you to make up your mind and even towards the end of the book, he outright states, "Don't take my word for it. Go out and see for yourself."
Travels is my favorite Crichton work because it covers most of his life as he transforms from a purely scientific individual to one who learns to accept that maybe science doesn't have all of the answers. We see how he challenges himself to look at things in a different way or have a new experience which he claims ultimately makes him a more well-rounded person.
While Crichton is supporting the non-scientific world (i.e. psychics, metaphysicists etc.), he is quick to point out that that realm doesn't have all the answers either but that world cannot be discounted. You may not agree with some of the ideas presented in the book but Crichton doesn't necessarily want you to change your thinking. Rather he wants to get you thinking about ideas in a different way and that is the book's greatest value.

This is a consistently intriguing collection of autobiographical sketches. Mr. Crichton has done some serious travelling in his time, around our planet, and also inward, metaphorical travels. His journeys are either to rarely visited geographical locales (such as various obscure Himalayan kingdoms, pre-massacre Rwanda, Hong Kong...) or to even more rarely visited, X-Files-ish states of mind, where spoons are bent with sheer concentration, the human aura is visible, and the future can be seen.
I wasn't sure what I thought about some of the more mystical explorations he undertakes here, but the older I get, the more open-minded I am to things like that. He really comes across as being honest, and quite psychologically perceptive. If you liked his novel "Sphere", this will give you a sense of the kind of thought processes that gave rise to the interesting ending of that story. Also, I should say, if you liked "Congo", be on the lookout for various scenes here that clearly influenced the writing of that book. I won't give them away here...
In general, I have to say that many of the more spiritual components of this book are some of the most accessible, interesting, and provocative passages on the nature of consciousness I've ever had the pleasure of reading. He makes you really think about the mind, and how we use it, or fail to use it. He uses plain, unacademic language to describe experiences that are too often shrouded in mumbo-jumbo words like "epistemelogical" or "phenomenological". Anyone can read this book, and anyone who thinks about it can profit from it. Two thumbs up.

In the Preface of this highly informative and entertaining collection of musings, experiences and travels of the body, mind and spirit, Crichton explains the reasons that prompted him to write this book:

"If you are a writer, the assimilation of important experiences almost obliges you to write about them. Writing is how you make the experience your own, how you explore what it means to you, how you come to possess it, and ultimately release it."

Crichton explores our need for direct experience. His premise is that modern man has lost his innate sense of himself and existence, relying on opinions, concepts and information structures, second hand knowledge, in order to make sense of the world, which, in the end, is a false perception. He proposes that the modern city-dweller, for example, cannot even see the stars at night due to the false light around him, causing a serious alienation from himself and reality. We've become so reliant on the media, hyper -realty, that simulation has become the real, thus we have generally lost our bearings, we have lost track of ourselves in relation to the greater scheme of things. Travel for Crichton, then, helped him to have "direct experience", thus achieving a greater sense of himself and his place on the planet. This book is about these direct experiences.

In Travels there are twenty- eight essays covering the author's early life in medical school and his bout with psychiatry, moving on to his first years in Hollywood as an aspiring writer and filmmaker, to his experiences in exotic lands and his musings on his experiences with the esoteric and the unexplained. These last essays are extremely interesting because Crichton attempts to rationally explain those phenomenon that dwell in the irrational - entities, other dimensional realms and the underrated "sixth" sense, that we've come to know as intuition. His proposition is that, fundamentally, just because certain phenomena cannot be explained "rationally", doesn't mean it doesn't exist. And to dismiss such phenomenon because it cannot hold up under the rigors of scientific analysis, is a mistake.

Crichton's Travels is a writer's exploration of himself and the world. It is an entertaining chronicle, at times hilarious and sad, and ultimately a strong argument for the need for all of us to have "direct experience", reinforcing his view that we also need greater insight into the mystical as well as the scientific, in order to truly understand ourselves and existence.

As usual, similar to all his books, Crichton has given us something informative, as well as tremendously entertaining.

Usually I adopt a rather snobbish tone when discussing books by Michael Crichton. "He is a great author," I say with disdain, "When he isn't writing Hollywood scripts and passing them off as novels." I tell you this so you can somehow transcend your own Crichtophobia. Because this, ladies and gentlemen, is something different. This isn't Crichton's genre fiction. This non-fiction account of his travels, both geographic and metaphysical, will change the way you view the world. Absolutely a gem of a novel, full of a truly candid tone and eye-opening revelations. It makes you wonder what he's doing writing The Lost World. My well-thumbed copy has certainly gone above and beyond the call of duty, having been loaned out to great acclaim from everyone from my stage manager to my socialite sister to my staunchly skeptical neighbor. Incidentally, an earlier Crichton novel called Case of Need (originally published under a pseudonym, which is how I read it...didn't know it was actually Crichton until I read Travels)is worth the time, too.

Cleverly named book... It doesn't just cover Crichton's geographical journeys, it covers his internal journeys as well... The book starts off with Crichton in university and describes not only his experience as a medical student, but also how he blossumed into the successful author that he is! It was fate (and a bit of heritage...).
But apart from his travels all over the world, it is fascinating to start reading about his experimentation with the pychic world and all. True, there is a bit of a "I tried and tried and nothing seemed to happen, then suddenly it did" air about his experiences, a vague cynical suspicion (on my behalf) that is sounded terribly like a 'growing up in California' experience, and one had to wonder, would Crichton have done what he did if he hadn't been so successful so young in life... But, the fact is he did, and as long as you are an open minded individual this book will be a very interesting read!
If on the other hand, you are looking for a straightforward autobiographical account of rags to riches and writers angst of an amazingly successful and thoroughly readable author, you will be disappointed. This book REALLY gives an insight into the Michael Crichton one wouldn't suspect from his fantastic and diverse novels and its actually, quite interesting...

Surprisingly great autobiography from the master of fiction.

On the surface, this is an interesting background biography of popular author Michael Crichton. It covers his academic background at Harvard Medical School, follows his decision to drop out of modern medicine (interesting given that he produces TV series ER) and then follows him around the world.

Get past the biography and find a tale about exploring the world. I read the book several years ago just as my eyes were starting to open to the world. His adventures were a roadmap for expanding the mind through travel.

It's a very interesting travel log. Are his experiences more clouded by a medical background, a writer's imagination or a desire to live as the locals? In the end it's a remarkable tale of discovery, not so oversimplified as to ignore the pains of the road. Think a medically trained Paul Theroux.

I highly recommend this book on both levels - to understand the author, and to encourage a broader worldview.

Sorry to disagree with everyone so far, but I regretted how much of a glimpse into his personality Crichton gave me with this book. He comes across as insufferable and arrogant; a person with whom I certainly would not enjoy travelling. He has visited some interesting places, but his ego was paramount to most of them. There are other books about personal experiences with travel that have much less "I" in them (including "Into Thin Air," which certainly is personal, but is not egocentric), and are more enjoyable because of it. The beauty of a good selection of travel essays is that one can imagine oneself participating in the experience. Not "Travels." Crichton is omnipresent.
That being said, I enjoyed reading about climbing Kilimanjaro for the realistic descriptions of the experience. Still, I would have preferred to climb it without Crichton, who should stick with gripping, well-researched fiction.

I've always loved Michael Crichton's style of writing; he's so eloquent and engaging when he writes his fictional accounts. Well, he's equally as eloquent and engaging as he reports about his own travels, both physical and metaphysical.
In the first part of the book, he writes about his days as a medical student and trips to exotic locales. His description of scuba diving is incredible; it had me on the edge of my seat and I felt as if I were diving alongside him! The second part of the book takes us on a spiritual/metaphysical journey. Whether or not you approach it with an open mind, it's very well written and worth your time.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book to everyone, whether you travel alot or not. This book quickly became one of my favorites, and I often find myself rereading various parts of it depending on my mood and circumstances.

"Travels" is a collection of essays forming an autobiography of this amazing man's adult life. Michael Crichton is a modern renaissance man--a disillusioned doctor, a fantastically successful writer, a world traveler, an amateur practitioner of paranormal phenomena. Everyone knows his books, but you don't have to be a fan (I'm not particularly) to enjoy "Travels."

But what kind of guy is he really? Obviously extremely intelligent, tall and good-looking (just glance at the cover), at ease in all kinds of situations. Self-absorbed, over-confident, a bit arrogant? I thought so by the end of the book. I originally read this for the chapter on Kilimanjaro--he made it to the top, despite being foolishly unprepared and having ill-fitting boots. Only a supremely confident person would try something like this. Diving in Bonaire, he attempts several increasingly dangerous dives, ignoring warnings, pushing the edge of the envelope to near disaster.

I was also uneasy about how he described the one personal relationship he mentions--after what seemed to be many years of faithfully participating in his adventures, Loren and he simply discovered their hopes for the future lay in different directions. Or so he says. Maybe he was just being discreet, maybe just cold--I really wondered what was going on in her mind, though.

Overall, this is quite an interesting book--not too heavy, very well-written. You don't have to like Crichton's books--or him personally--to enjoy this collection.

Michael Crichton has been through a lot, and in this book he shows that he doesn't need to make stuff up to be interesting.
The early sections of _Travels_ cover his days at Harvard and in medical school and offer an interesting perspective on experiences there. Later he describes travels to various exotic locations. Some of the accounts are illuminating; others are no deeper than a travel guide. The last sections are devoted to Crichton's supposed experimentation with the paranormal, i.e., bending spoons and seeing auras and the like.
Crichton strains credibility with his descriptions of these hokey ESP things, but in general his writing is engaging. Even the hokey sections have a spookiness to them that I must admit I enjoyed quite a lot. Better travel writing can be found elsewhere, but it is interesting to hear the familiar Crichton narrative voice focusing his lens inward in these pages.

This is book was incredible! Crichton's days as a medical student are humorous and thought-provoking, his globe-trotting is exotic and awe-inspiring, and his psychic adventures left me with a whole new vocabulary of chakras, auras, etc.
The amazing med school stories are great, which is no surprise since he's written Five Patients and is the creator of ER. The travelling stories were interesting because they seemed believable. Tourbook, camera, sore feet ... I can relate to this guy a lot better than a Hemingway-type figure.
I don't know if I'm going to go out and talk to cacti or fluff my aura anytime soon, but I thought Crichton's journies of the world and the soul were amazing. This is probably among the least-known of his books, but definitely a must read.

Authors are always trying to craft the ultimate opening sentence. In "Travels," Michael Crichton outdoes himself: "It is not easy to cut through a human head with a hacksaw." Crichton is off and running, and the first nine chapters, all dealing with his medical studies, simply fly by. It's absolutely engrossing material. The book takes a sharp turn into accounts of Crichton's world travels, and by the time he segues into the paranormal, the pace slows considerably.

Crichton discusses his experiences with psychic phenomena such as seeing auras, talking (and listening) to plants, palmistry, being possessed, and on and on. He is a skeptic with a medical and scientific background, so his perspective is an interesting one. He makes a good case for there being areas of consciousness that we have barely begun to explore.

I have read all of Michael Crichton's fiction, but this was the first nonfiction of his that I have read. One thing is clear: the guy can flat-out write. When I can read page after page and not even think about the mechanics of the text, I know the author is a good one. "Travels" is a fascinating book, particularly if you have an interest in exotic locales and the world of the paranormal.

Have you ever wondered how Michael Crichton came up with such diverse stories as "Jurassic Park", "Sphere", "The Andromeda Strain" and "Congo"? Maybe because he draws on real life experiences...as his curiosity urges him to find out first hand. I mean, what better way to do research for his novels?
I have read many of Micheal Crichton's books in the past and found this one to be just as enjoyable as any of his fictional stories. I highly recommend this book as it gives you an insight into how he chose the subjects for many of his stories. I guess that's why you always feel a certain amount of realism when reading his work.
Follow his journeys which range from the spiritual to the dangerous, his experiences as a doctor and feeling embarrassed to use his own name when he sold his first few short stories.

This book fascinated me. I've read most of Crichton's fiction, and I've been particularly interested in the way his characterizations of men and women have changed over time. Now I understand the background for those changes in his work, after reading this chronicle of decades of this author's personal development.

"New Age" experiences do nothing for me, but I nevertheless found it interesting to read about Crichton's perception of such experiences - and, especially, about his need to have them. The medical school chapters and the straight travel chapters engaged me best, though, because I could relate to them in a way I couldn't hope to relate to his accounts of channeling, exorcism, and so on.

Worth reading for Crichton fans, although I'm not sure how much interest this book might hold for someone unfamiliar with his fiction.

I enjoy Crichton's fiction and this example
of his non-fiction is not a disappointment.
I have always found his books and movies to be based
on fascinating ideas. Jurassic Park- Dinosaur DNA from mosquitos trapped in amber?? What a concept! Now reading about his personal experiences and travels I get a glimpse at the man behind
his books.
This book is wonderful: it's honest, rude, interesting, self-depreciating. And the range of topics is vast: spoon bending, seeing auras, swimming with sharks, to climbing Kilimanjaro.
At times I caught myself laughing out loud. When he talks
to his cactus you almost can't believe that he shares this with you.
I am a big Paul Theroux fan, but I find Michael's insights on travelling a bit more interesting. Crichton has a gift for storytelling and it
certainly shows here. I would love to go to lunch with him
to hear the tales he can tell.
Don't miss this book, it's not as flashy as his others, but
I think that is what makes it the most interesting.

Among his many excellent books, Travels is one of best and most gripping. As the autobiography of one of the most celebrated writers of our time, this book does not disappoint. The fascinating life of Michael Crichton is painted by this master story teller as a gripping tale of adventure, mental angst, and spiritual development. Everything from attending medical school to almost drowning while scuba diving is covered in this thoroughly engrossing book. Crichton describes his life's journeys in a very, almost brutally, honest way. This book, apart from being a great read, lets you get inside Crichton's mind and discover where all of his amazing tales originated.