“True” genetic engineering came about in the 70’s, and shortly after, it became very popular for its vast potential to change the world, from the food we eat to lifesaving medications. For entrepreneur John Hammond, though, its potential lies in entertainment. He develops a park where guests can experience the wonders of seeing real dinosaurs, brought back to life through these new scientific breakthroughs. But when the park falls under scrutiny for suspicious behavior and possible escaped dinosaurs on the mainland, he has his team of consultants and lawyers come for a visit to clear things up. What could go wrong?

I want to start by saying how enjoyable of a read this book was, to the point where it was hard to put down. Interestingly, the plot of the movie is extremely similar to that of the book, albeit heavily abridged. I enjoyed the book more, especially with its perfectly stacked build up. The prologue and first iteration show snippets of how Jurassic Park has already failed before the reader even realizes it. The world building was terrific, as well, and the addition of graphs and other media almost allow you to play detective alongside the characters. The themes are powerful, looking at the hubris of man, the desire to control nature, and the downfalls of greed (corporate and individual). And in a way, all the characters who fell into these literary traps paid the price by the end of the novel, while those who saw a more pure view of the world and science survived.

Now, the opinions towards scientists were a bit of a let down, as I am someone who “exploit[s] genetic research” on a daily basis. As Crichton clearly meant for this book to be a warning call for genetic engineering, it reminded me of a 2002 book I read called The Molecular Invasion. That book, though, was a true, unfounded dumpster fire, but it did help me understand how some part of the population felt about GMOs in the end of the 20th century. There was a bit of rhetoric at the time suggesting that genetic engineering could essentially lead to the end of life as we know it, that scientists are completely misguided and proud, and that at the end, it will all be exploited for capital without any safety measures. Some of my favorite quotes in this vein were:

“Second, much of the research is thoughtless or frivolous.” Thanks.

“But most disturbing is the fact that no watchdogs are found among scientists themselves.” Pretty wild statement, as I believe ethics committees and standards for research were already a thing by then (although laws that ban things like germline engineering might have come later).

“But the virulence hadn’t been tested,” in regards to a fake story of a company that let a live rabies vaccine out in Chile. I can promise that people were definitely testing on animals first, even then.

“Discovery is always a rape of the natural world. Always.” I guess, but you can say that about more than just science.

“Cheat, lie, falsify– it doesn’t matter. Not to you, or to your colleagues. No one will criticize you. No one has any standards.” These lines from Malcolm show he has never been to a biology conference…

Overall, I highly recommend this book, assuming dinosaurs eating people doesn’t bother you. Even though some viewpoints on science are pretty off-putting, I can attribute most of it to being outdated. GMOs have been heavily protested for decades in many places in the world, and while there should always be concern and thought given to its consequences, a lot of the fear from back then came from a lack of understanding. I mean, I’ve had to read some papers from the 70’s/80’s where the whole paper was basically just sequencing a gene. This type of science was never a reality for the time, and it barely feels possible even now. But, it’s good to put ourselves in the shoes of the past to see what the times were like, and why not do it with some dinosaurs!

Happy reading,
-Beppa