Next
by Michael Crichton
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Book Summary Information
Author: Michael CrichtonEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2006-11-28
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 448
Publisher: HarperCollins
Book Reviews of Next
Book Review: Entertaining, Thought-Provoking Pageturner
Summary: 5 Stars
And scary. The first page says, "This novel is fiction, except for the parts that aren't." The really frightening thing is that the parts I thought were over-the-top fiction, weren't. I was shocked to read Crichton's final "Author's Note" and bibliography, which make it clear that some very weird things are going on these days in the name of science. In fact, Crichton could have titled the book, RIGHT NOW.
NEXT is a first-class thriller with multiple subplots that all cleverly come together on the final pages. It's also very funny. I don't want to be a spoiler, but I must say that this is the first thriller I've read in which the climactic fight scene is dominated by a chimp that looks like Curious George.
I found Crichton's depiction of the politics of scientific research to be exactly correct. The odd connections among university researchers, commercial researchers, university technology transfer administrators, venture capital, and government agencies are truly byzantine. Because of my academic background, I enjoyed this aspect of the book tremendously. I suspect that other readers might find this to be a bit off-putting. For those readers, I'd like to suggest that they read NEXT as if they were reading a science-fiction fantasy set on another planet--just go with the flow. Academia is a lot like being on another planet, and government agencies do tend to act as if they're from outer space, too.
This is one of Crichton's "themes" (to use an old high-school book report term). In his "Author's Note" he urges Congress to repeal the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, which was intended to promote university research by giving researchers access to capital markets. Crichton feels that this legislation transformed medical research from an open to a closed system from which only big business benefits. If it helps readers to understand what is going on in the book, I'll try to explain: Universities not only teach, they also conduct advanced research. The faculty and non-faculty researchers conduct research studies and experiments and then write articles on their findings. They can also profit from any discoveries that result by patenting these discoveries. Most universities have an "office of technology transfer" to help them with these patent applications and with the sale of licenses to private companies. Many, if not most, of these patents are at least partly owned by the universities themselves. The private companies are often owned by faculty or former faculty, who seek funding for further research and for product development based on the patents from venture capital firms. The problem is that these venture capital firms are out to make a very quick buck. In fact, they're commonly referred to as "vulture capitalists." In NEXT, Crichton depicts one such VC's highly unethical, quasi-legal machinations.
NEXT is frightening because it's fundamentally true. Our ability to manipulate the human genome far outstrips our wisdom. No nation can prohibit inhumane research when scientific research is global. Even within our own borders, such legislation is futile and often leads to unintended consequences. In my opinion, our only hope is education: America's public schools must begin to provide our children with a firm grasp of math and science. Only if the average American understands what the science of genetics is all about will we be able to make intelligent, ethical decisions about the use of new knowledge.
Summary of Next
Is a loved one missing some body parts? Are blondes becoming extinct? Is everyone at your dinner table of the same species? Humans and chimpanzees differ in only 400 genes; is that why a chimp fetus resembles a human being? And should that worry us? There's a new genetic cure for drug addiction?is it worse than the disease?
We live in a time of momentous scientific leaps, a time when it's possible to sell our eggs and sperm online for thousands of dollars and to test our spouses for genetic maladies.
We live in a time when one fifth of all our genes are owned by someone else, and an unsuspecting person and his family can be pursued cross-country because they happen to have certain valuable genes within their chromosomes . . .
Devilishly clever, Next blends fact and fiction into a breathless tale of a new world where nothing is what it seems and a set of new possibilities can open at every turn.
Next challenges our sense of reality and notions of morality. Balancing the comic and the bizarre with the genuinely frightening and disturbing, Next shatters our assumptions and reveals shocking new choices where we least expect.
The future is closer than you think.
Is a loved one missing some body parts? Are blondes becoming extinct? Is everyone at your dinner table of the same species? Humans and chimpanzees differ in only 400 genes; is that why a chimp fetus resembles a human being? And should that worry us? There's a new genetic cure for drug addiction--is it worse than the disease?
 What's coming Next? Get a hint of what Michael Crichton sees on the horizon in this short video clip: high bandwidth or low bandwidth |
We live in a time of momentous scientific leaps, a time when it's possible to sell our eggs and sperm online for thousands of dollars and to test our spouses for genetic maladies.
We live in a time when one fifth of all our genes are owned by someone else, and an unsuspecting person and his family can be pursued cross-country because they happen to have certain valuable genes within their chromosomes...
Devilishly clever, Next blends fact and fiction into a breathless tale of a new world where nothing is what it seems and a set of new possibilities can open at every turn.
Next challenges our sense of reality and notions of morality. Balancing the comic and the bizarre with the genuinely frightening and disturbing, Next shatters our assumptions and reveals shocking new choices where we least expect.
The future is closer than you think.
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