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377 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
Διαβάστε και ελληνική κριτική στις βιβλιοαλχημείες.
I promise! This is the last Crichton for this month. In October I'll have 4 and by November until next August just 1.
This book was a surprise. I was expecting it to be a wonderful experience but it turned out to be my worst Crichton!
Yes! I admit it. I, a huge fan of Crichton who has read 30 of his books hated some parts of this book.
Well, shit happens.
This book had 2 surprises.
By the title I assumed the obvious.
That this was going to be travel writing, all about Crichton's travels in exotic places.
All about Crichton's adventures in dangerous places.
But the 1st part consisting of 80 pages was all about his medical years, at Harvard University.
And I was sure I was going to be disappointed.
Surprise number 1. This 1st part was my favourite and the most interesting.
The 2nd part was all about his travels BUT only 17/28 chapters were the actual travels, the physical ones around the world.
The other 11 were chapters about mysticism, yoga, tarot, spoon bending, auras, astral protections, astrology, chakras and other spiritual mumbo jumbo shite.
Surprise number 2
I felt cheated!
I wanted more about his actual travels, hiking in Pakistan, mountain climbing in Kilimanjaro, snorkelling with sharks, tracking gorillas in Congo, filming in Ireland, but no.
He wrote a 20+ pages chapter about people shooting energy from their fingertips as if they were Darth Sidious. And I was like: "What the fuck am I reading?!
20 pages of shit like this and only 3! pages about the Mayan ruins in Mexico.
If I exclude the spiritual travels, this was a decent book about Crichton's experiences at Harvard Medical School, his travels around the world and his personal life, (his bad relationship with his father and the absence of grief during his funeral (a tough chapter to read), his first divorce etc.)
I didn't care if he believed in auras, in divination, in spoon bending, in astral experiences, and of course I wasn't persuaded by his 20+ pages postscript titled Sceptics at Cal Tech were he tries to show the relationship between (real)science and pseudo(science) and shed some truth on the latter one. I wasn't convinced.
I wanted more about his Medical Years, more about his Physical Travels, more about his Personal life and much less than his Spiritual 'Travels'.