State of Fear by Crichton

(review by Julie)
Michael Crichton is one of my favorite authors and since my undergraduate degree is in Environmental Science, I was especially interested in State of Fear. In this novel, eco-terreroists create disasters to fool the public into believing bad global warming science and to further their own political agenda.

Crichton is such a talented author and he tackles this hot topic with amazing results! I especially appreciate the summary of his beliefs on environmentalism at the end of the book. However, what I found most interesting in the book was the role the media played in the spread of false information and raising the public alarm. I'm often reminded that most media is a for-profit entertainment business and I can't really expect a fair and balanced review of the world's events. Even my beloved NPR probably has it's own agenda. I really hope this book depicted a much more sinister world than reality.

Whether you believe we're causing the earth's temperature to rise or not, it's a good read- 4 stars out of five.