“But most disturbing is the fact that no watchdogs are found among scientists themselves.”
“’Story of our species…Everybody knows it’s coming, but not so soon.’”
“’Personally, I would never help mankind.’”
“’Scientists are actually preoccupied with accomplishment. So they are focused on whether they can do something. They never stop to ask if they should do something…Discovery is always a rape of the natural world.’”
Jurassic Park is about a theme part centered around bringing dinosaurs back to life but I think a majority of people already know this. This book and the subsequent movie are about 30 years old. There have been numerous spinoffs and the cultural awareness is strong. We follow a group of people who were invited to the park as a sort of vetting and analysis process. We have paleontologists, kids, a mathematician, and a lawyer trying to survive. John Hammond is the brains behind this and wants to make tons of money from his endeavor. Something goes wrong and there are multiple problems that occur. The dinosaurs escape and the humans are trying to figure out how to get everything back on track. Who will survive and will nature triumph?
I grew up with Jurassic Park and I finally got to reading the novel that it was based on. It is so good and it had so much more than the movie. The movie was still fantastic and what Steven Spielberg was able to do with the dinosaurs was nothing short of brilliant. He brought the book to life. The movie is a classic and I think more people should read the book too. Michael Crichton starts off with an introduction that should send chills down most people’s spines. The change in science and the focus on profits is scary. He was so technical in his descriptions of everything. The details regarding medicine, technology, and science really created a realistic aura while reading. There were some good and fun words like rapacious. Let’s talk about the differences between the movie and book. First, there was a part of the book that was describing a little elephant that Hammond carried around. He used it to showcase genetic work and to bring in donations. That would have been cute to see on the screen as elephants are my favorite animal. There were also speeches that occurred in a different part of the story or different location or were attributed to a different person. For example, in the movie the lawyer talks about money they could charge per day but in the book, it is the rival of InGen. The water droplet down the hand was Arnold in the book, not Malcom. Lex is younger than Tim in the book. One of my biggest issues with the book and this is where I think the movie got it right, was with Hammond. In the book, he was less caring and more concerned about money. He didn’t seem to care about his grandchildren very much. In the movie, Hammond was this misguided but loveable, concerned person. In the book, he was hard and self-centered. There were many more characters that had big roles in the book. Gennaro was more fleshed out and was described as being muscular in the book. Also, many more main characters died in the book, which I thought made it more realistic and complex. In the book it is explicitly said that Grant likes kids. I won’t go into all the differences but there are plenty so find out for yourself! The scene where the Tyrannosaur breaks out was exciting and thrilling in the movie and was equally as exciting to read about. However, in the book, did Grant not know that dinosaurs vision was based on movement because in the movie it was very clear. I know that if the movie was extremely true to the book that it would be hours longer, but I found it fascinating that a scene in this book was not brought to the screen until this latest movie…the one that was released in 2025…the seventh film in the franchise! There were a couple scenes that occurred in other films. I think Michael Crichton brings up some very interesting and thought-provoking topics such as power, discipline, and profit. There are many good points and it gets one to really think about the state of the world. I really have a new appreciation for the author and this book. This is exactly the type of book I would want to read for pure pleasure and enjoyment, to relive a cherished childhood movie, and to view science & humanity in a different light.
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