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vaderbird's review
3.0
3.2
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
val_halla's review
3.0
It was tough to stick this book out, though it got much more interesting halfway through. At first Crichton seems to be arguing against the legitimacy of Title VII harassment claims, which seems misogynistic, but then one of the characters points out that only when women hold 50% of executive positions will sexual harassment cease to be such a huge problem. Overall I think Crichton is better at science fiction than corporate mystery, though this novel oddly tried to incorporate some sci-fi in the tech company's inventions.
fat_girl_fiction's review
4.0
Disclosure by Michael Crichton
This is one of the most addictive books I've ever read. If I hadn't had to finish a book due back at the library as well as one for my book club, then I would have read this in perhaps three or four days.
For a start, Crichton treates his readers as intelligent. He explains DigiCom in great detail, including the various products they're working on. To begin with, I wasn't entirely sure why he was telling us all about it, but it becomes clear later in the novel. The characters he portrays are vivid, well written and easily imaginable.
When the sexual harrassment occurs and the case begins to open up, it's easy to find yourself taking sides. It's easy to understand why this book was talked about for such a long time after it's publication. As a female I was horrified to read what female characters said about men in terms of sexual harrassment. Another character made the broad statement that all men were violent. It's definately a very contraversial book. I now wish I had someone to talk to about it because it makes you want to talk to others and find out their opinions.
This is one of the most addictive books I've ever read. If I hadn't had to finish a book due back at the library as well as one for my book club, then I would have read this in perhaps three or four days.
For a start, Crichton treates his readers as intelligent. He explains DigiCom in great detail, including the various products they're working on. To begin with, I wasn't entirely sure why he was telling us all about it, but it becomes clear later in the novel. The characters he portrays are vivid, well written and easily imaginable.
When the sexual harrassment occurs and the case begins to open up, it's easy to find yourself taking sides. It's easy to understand why this book was talked about for such a long time after it's publication. As a female I was horrified to read what female characters said about men in terms of sexual harrassment. Another character made the broad statement that all men were violent. It's definately a very contraversial book. I now wish I had someone to talk to about it because it makes you want to talk to others and find out their opinions.
irishannie's review
4.0
Crichton's ideas about business localization are spot on: make products where the are used instead of making them overseas and shipping them. It will save on costs in the long run and save the environment. I'm paraphrasing. I read this book so long ago, yet remember that about it.
athirah_idrus's review
4.0
TW: Sexual Harassment
I must admit that this was not what I had expected at all. Based on my first impression, I thought the story was about employees who were romancing at the office, but boy was I pleasantly surprised! The plot was more complex than I thought. In hindsight, I should not be shocked at all. After all, Crichton was a prolific storyteller and although he was famous for his Jurassic Park, he was also the genius behind ER and many other notable works.
There were so many good lines in the book that I feel compelled to share every single one but by doing so, I’d probably risk spoiling the story. Here’s one to bait you into reading the book if you haven’t already:
“Unfortunately, the law has nothing to do with justice, Mr Sanders. It’s merely a method for dispute resolution”.
What’s interesting to me was that the one being sexually harassed was the male protagonist, whose shrewd new female boss preyed upon for power. From the beginning, Crichton pointed out that "Power is neither male nor female” and while we usually hear cases where women are being harassed by their male superiors, it’s good to remind ourselves that the reverse is also not uncommon.
Throughout the book, I wondered if Crichton himself was a feminist, but I couldn’t find anything concrete to substantiate this. I thought Crichton did a good job with some of the characters. I was grateful for the representation of the women in the story; those who were great at their job, and also those who abused their power to get what they want in life. However, there were some figures who were often mentioned but lacking in character growth.
This was written in 1994 so a lot of ‘technology’ mentioned was outdated. I’m sure at the time it was written, this was ground-breaking but as we all know, technology evolves rapidly so reading it in 2021 I couldn’t help but chuckle. CD-ROMs anyone?
I was hyped up to see Malaysia being mentioned in the book, but after some paragraphs, I realized that they were not representing Malaysia in a good light. Although to be fair, they weren’t necessarily wrong either. Haha yikes
Crichton also mentioned that the book was based on a true account of a male employee being harassed by a female boss. I truly felt that Crichton was ahead of his time, where it was probably the norm that people would deride the idea of a man showing more of the characteristics usually associated with women due to the assumption that the latter is the ‘lesser’ gender.
Thought-provoking and ahead of its time, I’d recommend this book especially those interested to learn more about power play.
I must admit that this was not what I had expected at all. Based on my first impression, I thought the story was about employees who were romancing at the office, but boy was I pleasantly surprised! The plot was more complex than I thought. In hindsight, I should not be shocked at all. After all, Crichton was a prolific storyteller and although he was famous for his Jurassic Park, he was also the genius behind ER and many other notable works.
There were so many good lines in the book that I feel compelled to share every single one but by doing so, I’d probably risk spoiling the story. Here’s one to bait you into reading the book if you haven’t already:
“Unfortunately, the law has nothing to do with justice, Mr Sanders. It’s merely a method for dispute resolution”.
What’s interesting to me was that the one being sexually harassed was the male protagonist, whose shrewd new female boss preyed upon for power. From the beginning, Crichton pointed out that "Power is neither male nor female” and while we usually hear cases where women are being harassed by their male superiors, it’s good to remind ourselves that the reverse is also not uncommon.
Throughout the book, I wondered if Crichton himself was a feminist, but I couldn’t find anything concrete to substantiate this. I thought Crichton did a good job with some of the characters. I was grateful for the representation of the women in the story; those who were great at their job, and also those who abused their power to get what they want in life. However, there were some figures who were often mentioned but lacking in character growth.
This was written in 1994 so a lot of ‘technology’ mentioned was outdated. I’m sure at the time it was written, this was ground-breaking but as we all know, technology evolves rapidly so reading it in 2021 I couldn’t help but chuckle. CD-ROMs anyone?
I was hyped up to see Malaysia being mentioned in the book, but after some paragraphs, I realized that they were not representing Malaysia in a good light. Although to be fair, they weren’t necessarily wrong either. Haha yikes
Crichton also mentioned that the book was based on a true account of a male employee being harassed by a female boss. I truly felt that Crichton was ahead of his time, where it was probably the norm that people would deride the idea of a man showing more of the characteristics usually associated with women due to the assumption that the latter is the ‘lesser’ gender.
Thought-provoking and ahead of its time, I’d recommend this book especially those interested to learn more about power play.
bluejay1997's review
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
paperbackstash's review against another edition
3.0
"Power is neither male nor female."
Ultimately I'm giving this one a three star rating for various reasons, but it was engrossing and harder to put down than most 3 star books.
Crichton touches on the very real but often neglected and non-discussed issue of using sexual harassment as a weapon and political maneuver. Usually this subject is brought up because of the power being leaked out of the other end of the spectrum, producing victims, yet here he shows that certainly isn't always the case, even if it's not politically correct to point that out. The issue of diversity and women's rights come up often, but rather than making it sound like sexism digs, he's showing the black and white angles that aren't influenced by only emotive responses.
Despite having Meredith Johnson be a manipulative shrew who used sex as a weapon, and his wife Susan sadly seeing herself as a victim while not able to hold it together well, Crichton did deliver the excellent female character Fernandez as the attorney, and the intelligent and well-appreciated Stephanie Kaplan. Tom himself as a lead was relatively mediocre and not fully convincing by himself, but still the story was a hard to put down soap opera.
Technology in it is severely dated – oooh! Shiny cd drives alert! --- but I read it for the story and not the dinosaur advancements.
Sometimes first names are overused in dialogue, and sometimes characters are slightly one-dimensional, but it was an enjoyable corporate soap opera with a satisfying take-off turn in the end. I still have a lot of Michael Crichton left to read, which excites me since I’ve enjoyed most of the books by him I’ve tried so far.
Ultimately I'm giving this one a three star rating for various reasons, but it was engrossing and harder to put down than most 3 star books.
Crichton touches on the very real but often neglected and non-discussed issue of using sexual harassment as a weapon and political maneuver. Usually this subject is brought up because of the power being leaked out of the other end of the spectrum, producing victims, yet here he shows that certainly isn't always the case, even if it's not politically correct to point that out. The issue of diversity and women's rights come up often, but rather than making it sound like sexism digs, he's showing the black and white angles that aren't influenced by only emotive responses.
Despite having Meredith Johnson be a manipulative shrew who used sex as a weapon, and his wife Susan sadly seeing herself as a victim while not able to hold it together well, Crichton did deliver the excellent female character Fernandez as the attorney, and the intelligent and well-appreciated Stephanie Kaplan. Tom himself as a lead was relatively mediocre and not fully convincing by himself, but still the story was a hard to put down soap opera.
Technology in it is severely dated – oooh! Shiny cd drives alert! --- but I read it for the story and not the dinosaur advancements.
Sometimes first names are overused in dialogue, and sometimes characters are slightly one-dimensional, but it was an enjoyable corporate soap opera with a satisfying take-off turn in the end. I still have a lot of Michael Crichton left to read, which excites me since I’ve enjoyed most of the books by him I’ve tried so far.
gearsofted's review
3.0
Pretty good. Quick read (4 days). One of Crichton’s less Crichton-y books. Seemed to all come together kinda fast, but that was alright. Only gripe was that it got a little strange and fantastical the last hundred pages or so, but other than that, solid