''Travels'' (published in 1988) is a
nonfiction
Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...
book by
Michael Crichton
John Michael Crichton (; October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavily feature tech ...
that details how he abandoned his medical education at
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is cons ...
, moved to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
, and began his professional writing career with ''
The Great Train Robbery'' (1975). After this book became a movie starring
Sean Connery
Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...
, Crichton undertook a variety of international adventures and experimented with
mysticism
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ...
, including
out-of-body experience
An out-of-body experience (OBE or sometimes OOBE) is a phenomenon in which a person perceives the world from a location outside their physical body. An OBE is a form of autoscopy (literally "seeing self"), although this term is more commonly us ...
s,
astral projection
Astral projection (also known as astral travel) is a term used in esotericism to describe an intentional out-of-body experience (OBE) that assumes the existence of a subtle body called an " astral body" through which consciousness can funct ...
, and
fortune-telling
Fortune telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115-116. The scope of fortune telling is in principle identical wi ...
. It is his fourth, final, and most famous non-fiction book.
Contents
* Medical Days (1965-1969)
* Travels (1971-1986)
* Sex and Death in L.A.
* Psychiatry
* Bangkok
* Bonaire
* Pahang
* An Elephant Attacks
* Kilimanjaro
* Pyramid of the Magicians
* My Father's Death
* Ireland
* London Psychics
* Baltistan
* Shangri-La
* Sharks
* Gorillas
* An Extinct Turtle
* Cactus Teachings
* Jamaica
* A Human Light Show
* They
* Seeing Headhunters
* Life on the Astral Plane
* New Guinea
* Spoon Bending
* Seeing Auras
* An Entity
* Direct Experience
* Postscript: Skeptics at Caltech
External links
Article on how Crichton came to write his famous book, 'Travels'Crichton answers questions about Travels
Books by Michael Crichton
1988 non-fiction books
Alfred A. Knopf books
Astral projection in popular culture
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