State of Fear (Michael Crichton)

Global Warming: Reality, propaganda, or sophistry What is Global Warming and what is the reality of it? Is it real, or is it simply sophistry to placate the masses by giving them something to direct their fears toward? How does global warming, or "climate change", stack up against science and the scientific method? Are we doomed? What are the realities of this phenomenon known as Global Warming? Mr. Crichton does his best to delve into this thorny subject using science, fact, the scientific method, and extensive research to question this phenomenon known as Global Warming. If you are a Global Warming, now a Climate Change, advocate you will not like this book. If you are an opponent of Global Warming you will definitely like Mr. Crichton's massive work. If you are a seeker of truth you will find Mr. Crichton's State of Fear both interesting, refreshing and illuminating. What I found to be most intriguing was Mr. Crichton's arguments about WHY Global Warming TODAY. What is it... Read more

If you want to learn about how Global Warming Science is being manipulated by Al Gore and others to serve political interests, there are several good books out ("Climate of Extremes" and "Blue Planet in Green Shackles" for two). But Global Warming science is complex and the politics and tactics are, well, squalid. In the real world, FEAR and disinformation are being used skillfully to generate confusion and suppress critical thinking. As Crichton said once in a lecture, "The Information Age might better be called the Disinformation Age." Al Gore's Global Warming politics are tedious and contentious to the point where the large human issues that matter - freedom and economic prosperity - get lost in a gray fog of techno babble and over-the-top sound-bites, all warning of an imminent planet-wide apocalypse. This con ("Give us your firstborn -- only we can save you.") is as old as pagan priests, but it's well executed and comes wrapped in an impermeable cloak of esoteric science. The p... Read more

The book was in excellent condition and was received in a very timely manner after the order. Thanks

State of Fear can be read on many different levels. In part, it's an edge-of-your-seat thriller with Evans - the main character - as a kind of everyman thrown into the mist of an international crisis. Crichton slows the action at various points to effectively challenge many common conceptions about global warming and the environment in general. The peninsula of Antarctica is melting but the interior is cooling. Increasing temperatures in cities can be attributed to increased industrialization or urbanization. An upward trend in the number of hurricanes can not be statistically shown. Little is known about forest preservation and efforts at preservation at Yellowstone have had the opposite result. Crichton goes beyond the issue of the environment to address two key issues. One is the media and establishment manipulation of the public through the creation of an ongoing crisis (or state of fear) of one kind or the other. Crichton also confronts the enduring myth of the noble sava... Read more

Crichton did his homework for this book, as usual. Of course he used fiction to dramatize his story and to bring excitement to the novel. But he also exposed the environmentalist movement for what it is: propaganda, not science. The characters are compelling and interesting and his story is as believable and fun as those of Jurassic Park, the Andromeda Strain, and his other popular works. If you're looking for another fine read that provides a believable blend of greed and power lust straight from today's headlines, look no further. Get this book. Only be prepared to be surprised. Unlike Crichton's previous books, the bad guys in this novel aren't businessmen. In fact, they're the ones who pose as saviors of "Mother Earth."