Michael Crichton Dies at 66

Micheal Crichton, the bestselling author of Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, Eaters of the Dead (which was later adapted into the movie The 13th Warrior), Congo, and The Lost World died today after a long battle with cancer.

Crichton was born in 1942 in Chicago. He attended medical school at Harvard University and it was during this time that he began writing novels under the pen name "John Lange."His novels very much became iconic in our culture, and though often referred to as only pulp literature, no one can deny the wide-spread effect these stories have had on our cultural imaginations-- aided largely by their great adaptability into a movie format.

We offer our condolences to Crichton's family and friends. See this retrospective of his work in the NY Times.