THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN (1969)
In this prescient novel written during Crichton's Harvard Medical School days, scientists race to contain a deadly space organism. His first bestseller.
CONGO (1980)
A smart, fast-paced tale of a jungle expedition—complete with its own signing simian—gone awry. The '95 film adaptation didn't do it justice.
THE TERMINAL MAN (1972)
A modern-day Frankenstein featuring a murderous artificial-intelligence programmer. Plays deftly into '70s computer paranoia but still thrills in the MySpace age.
JURASSIC PARK (1990)
This monster hit reaffirmed Crichton's talent after a rough patch during the late '80s. The movie version grossed almost $1 billion.
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