Author Michael Crichton wrote about traveling too

Author Michael Crichton, whose death at 66 was announced today, undoubtedly will best be remembered for his blockbuster books-turned-movies “Jurassic Park” and “The Andromeda Strain,” but for me it’s his real-life “Travels” (1988) that made me appreciate this gifted writer.

His insights in this book resonated with me:

“For many years I traveled for myself alone. I refused to write about my trips, or even to plan them with any useful purpose. … I eventually realized that direct experience is the most valuable experience I can have. Western man is so surrounded by ideas, so bombarded with opinions, concepts and information structures of all sorts, that it becomes difficult to experience anything without the intervening filter of these structures….”

In “Travels,” Crichton skillfully limns why we all travel: to learn more about others, to learn more about ourselves. My favorite piece is “Kilimanjaro,” an account of his high-altitude trek to Africa’s highest point (19,340 feet), a trip that has long been at the top of my own hiking list.

Here’s how it starts:

“The odds are seven to one against,” the courier said.
“Against what?” I said.

“Against making it to the top of Kilimanjaro. I polled the men, and they are seven to one you’ll never make it.”

Crichton creates tension and drama in this piece by recounting his own nervousness, the “flat, dull quality” of those who had already hiked the peak, the terror of having to plod on. It’s as hair-raising as any of his sci-fi tales. The images he created of the peak, the jungles and the effort will stay with me forever.

— Mary Forgione, Los Angeles Times staff writer

[Photos: Top, Jim Cooper / Associated Press; middle, Elephants in Kenya, with the snowy top of Mt. Kilimanjaro in the background, Karen Prinsloo /Associated Press; bottom, book cover, harpercollins.com ]

Los Angeles Times