I have had this book sitting on my bookshelf for sometime now but until just recently I didn’t feel I wanted to read it. It wasn’t until after I picked this book up that I found out that Crichton wrote the famous Jurassic Park series. I had only ever watched Jurassic Park on TV so I was interested to see what I thought of Crichton’s writing style. It didn’t take long for me to decide that I absolutely loved his writing. He had my interest piqued when he spoke about CD-ROMs and CD-ROM players etc. It was so fascinating to read about the problems associated with developing these products with 2017 eyes. It was like stepping back in time and guided through what the early development of these products involve to get where we are today some 23 years later. It was also interesting to find that, like today, many of the tech people were young (in their 20s) indicating that some things stay the same regardless of the number of years that have elapsed in the meantime.

Throughout this book (and this is a good indication of how well written it was) I found myself being pulled so much into the book that I lost all sense of where I was, at least whilst reading. I was very much in the book and couldn’t wait to read it every chance I got. As a result of this I managed to finish it in 3 days! I loved the book's whole premise and the way it was dealt with allowed the reader to see how notoriously fraught with difficulty sexual harassment cases are.

There are many characters throughout but it never felt like it was overdone. We meet Meredith Johnson who is the woman who harassed the male protagonist, Tom Sanders. Tom’s lawyer proved to be a force to be a reckoned with and she didn’t hold any prisoners. She certainly knew her stuff and rarely allowed herself to be ruffled by people who should have known better. This book also showed how nasty office politics can get especially when there’s a company merger on the table. I’m sure that this sort of thing can also happen outside of a merger as well. The characters in this book were well described and developed and they came across as very real and believable.

I absolutely loved this book and now I want to get, and read, many more of Crichton’s books. I have added him to my list of favourite authors. I can’t recommend him highly enough.

Truly deranged paean to men’s rights that is the personification of the Hamlet line “The lady doth protest too much, methinks”

This one is a slow burner. It is really strange for a dude like myself to get into, and yet you can't put it down. It is about sexual harassment in the workplace, which goes on. You have to be lying to not admit you've seen it, or in some ways, as a man probably did it yourself, or were on the verge of doing it. Its a strong and serious topic and in this book, Crichton tackles it but puts a really interesting spin on this. In the case involved in this book, the female executive in charge is the harasser. Now I remember when this book came out, the feminists and female action groups were all up in arms. They were on tv and the news, downing this book and really spreading a heaping helping of hate all over about this book.
And then they found out it was based on a real event and an ensuing lawsuit. Oh CRAP!
Yup, things just got real and the book goes into what in all the female villain ends up doing and becoming to save face and cover her unfortunate acts. The issues boil down to her making mistakes and forging lies about substandard products from her company that end up being useless and possibly dangerous. Man, this book really opens your eyes as a man and is a cautionary tale that those little comments you make can lead to some pretty bad things and that's what I took away from this book. Respect the ladies, guys! Be nice and professional! Watch what you do and say, and police your thoughts and words.

Danny

Gripping, brilliant, radical, un-putdownable. The story of a man at a leading technology company who was sexually harassed by his female boss, files a complaint, and is soon ensconced in a dangerous world of law and corporate politics.

Whilst charming to see the characters describe CD-ROMs as “up and coming technology”, the central focus of the book is as ever relevant today: sexual harassment (and perhaps sex generally) is all about power. In this book, its use as a corporate weapon is chillingly explored.

The scene of the harassment itself was haunting. Crichton writes it so well, and highlights its complications so perfectly, that you are forced to think just exactly how the power dynamics played out.

Read this book if you’re keen to dive into an excellently written and thought-provoking story of role reversal.

The first time I saw the movie based on the book, it was fabulous. Normally i try to avoid books based on movies if I have already seen the movie. So i gave up many opportunities to buy this book. Finally I couldn't resist when I saw a bargain on this one and I bought it since it was almost 15 years since i watched the movie. I was not disappointed at all. The movie might have taken liberties with the plot subtly but it was not so obvious.

The plot is about our protagonist who is sexually harassed by his female boss and how he unravels the plot with the help of a female attorney. The subject of sexual harassment is equally relevant today. It might have been a novel thing 20 years back and to bring out a book on the subject where the harasser is a woman, is definitely commendable at that time. According to the author, it was based on a true incident.

The plot is wonderful and the climax is equally rivetting with its twists and turns. I couldn't put down the book. Real edge-of-the seat thriller.

Crichton returns with his scariest dinosaurs ever penned, Corporate Senior Management....

Disclosure is dated both by the technology and by the gender bias when considering sexual misconduct and harassment in the workplace. However, this reads like a believable tale from the not so distant past but thankfully times have certainly changed in the business world.

At the time of writing, Crichton probably used role reversal to provoke thought and highlight that supervisor / subordinate harassment can occur regardless of gender, abuse of power might be more equal in a world where senior job opportunities existed.

Without getting too hung up on the wider themes and agenda, Disclosure is fast paced thriller that was very uncomfortable in places but impossible to put down. Crichton's character work continues to improve, particularly in terms of his female characters that have been less well written in previous works.

This, following Rising Sun is another snapshot in time looking at corporate America and the influence of emerging technologies, globalisation and changes in corporate behaviour. However, I'm looking forward to reading on in the Crichton catalogue to explore other subjects, next up is actual dinosaurs with The Lost World...

GARBAGE!

A book that demonstrates the corporate world can be just as dangerous as any geopolitical venue. This novel, along with John Grisham's The Firm, strongly influenced my own first novel, Terminal Value. It strikes just the right balance of the details required to inform the reader about business and the actions necessary to propel its plot.

Brilliant, marvellously brilliant. “The system did not screw you, the system revealed you.” Crichton once again showcased his writing prowess to me in a high-fuelled, exceptional piece of writing.

Crichton at his best. I am shocked at how relevant some of the DEI-related conversations still are today, and then the main character says he doesn’t “understand the internet.” 1993 was a weird time.

“Harassment is about power---the undue exercise of power by a superior over a subordinate.”
― Michael Crichton, Disclosure

I would love to see, how this book would be received were it released today. As it was, it did cause a stir way back when it was first released. I thought it was a great book and the movie, while not AS good was pretty awesome as well.

I happen to know that this sort of thing happens..harrassers can be either female or male. It is all about control and really does not have anything to do with sex although some people, even as far as we have come, cannot seem to come to grips with that fact.

I believe this book was in fact, based on a true story and names and situations were in fact changed.


It is a strong and powerful read and anyone who has missed this one really should read it. It remains one of my all time favorites.

Despite my low expectations for this book, the final third of the book that was more about the "corporate" drama did draw me in and kept me in suspense. Sometimes it was a bit too dense, like....I feel like my age and general lack of experience in a work environment put me at a disadvantage in fully understanding the "office politics" re management and the corporate ladder. There were assumptions in place about....IDK, how upper-level/management positions are structured and how people are "expected" to act in these situations that I don't fully understand, so the reasoning behind X chain of events was confusing. I can't explain it well, but the best example of when things went over my head is when Tom tells his wife about the event and that he plans to bring a sexual harassment suit against Meredith, and she essentially responds with "You're crazy to bring this up at the time of the merger...you're gonna be in deep shit *knowing looks pass between them*" Like,,she never explicitly says why it would be SO bad to come forward with a harassment claim, and although I can guess why, I was a bit lost during their exchange. And I don't think that's a problem with the writing, I think I'm just young and naïve lmao.

In short, this book is dated and it mires the whole reading experience. I can get past the dated tech..I think. At times it's so technical that it's boring. But I think the novelty of Tom's "cellular telephone" that has "enough memory for 200 phone numbers!" VERY funny. And the virtual reality database is also funny because the idea that you have this virtual world of information but the "world" is just a recreation of filing cabinets...it's very obviously an idea developed in 1993 xD. And this isn't something funny about the dated technology, just frustrating, but it KILLS me that it takes him until page 253(!) to remember that his phone died early the day of the Event because he was interrupted while leaving a message (so it follows that it was just on the whole time). I- is it a trauma response that explains why he forgets that part of the evening until like, a week later?? Because immediately once Meredith interrupted him and he sets his phone down, I thought "OH, there'll be a recording now that'll provide evidence for his side of the story!" but it doesn't occur to him at. all. until sooooooo long into the proceedings! I just- is it not obvious?? "Oh, why is my phone dead..hmm..oH, that's right! It was on the whole time!" I just ????

What makes me scrunch my face up in a frown when I think about this book is that it's also dated in its socio-political context. So I have mixed feelings. Because there are legitimate points made by Tom's lawyer, Louise Fernandez, about how sexual harassment is all about power, regardless of gender. And she rightfully points out the ways in which power structures protect the powerful, which is how men have gotten away with so much in the past (and it explains how Meredith had also gotten away with being manipulative and abusing past employees but still getting promoted).

But.

This is a cultural commentary that is steeped in 1980s/1990s discourse on feminism and gender politics. So, characters will make these grand assertions like "women and men are just different" and "Men can't control themselves around women that's just how they are!" And of course there's also the whining like "Oh, people can't do ANyThIng these days without risking a harassment suit, young people are too SeNsiTivE - in the ""real world"" there's going to be remarks made that make you uncomfortable, but that's not HarAsSmeNt that's life" And I said "of course" this exists because that kind of narrative still exists today. But I think now there's more of a cultural consensus/awareness that just because a behavior was tolerated in the past, doesn't mean it's okay or shouldn't be called out. And that's where I just get bad vibes from this book!! It places itself on this, pedestal almost, of being like the narrative that's asking the "tough questions" and "making a statement" about the state of society, but it has undercurrents of misogyny that have me waiting for like, a Yikes moment, where there'll just be something racist or homophobic said that is just accepted by the characters. And at the meta-level, maybe it's a bit "edgy" but it's not explicitly negative. This never happens...ehh, well, actually, there's some dicey lines, but they're not reoccurring themes.

There's two moments that stick out to me that I just wanna mention:

1. Tom and his wife Susan have this argument at the very beginning of the book that's SO awkward and not at all how real people talk. She's all "You don't understand because you're a mAn but I AM oppressed!" and he goes "No you're not, you have a high-level job as an attorney!" and it goes back and forth like that for a while. And it's just such...a blatant attempt to insert commentary into the book. It was cringe-worthy to read.

2. The Connie Walsh opinion column was a YIKES for me! She's supposed to be a "feminist" but she's saying things like "women *can't* rape men, this guy is just mad that he has to report to a woman!" And that's so