Disclosure by Michael Crichton *****

Disclosure by Michael Crichton reminds me of the differences between ordinary authors, many who write best sellers, and great authors. Michael Crichton is one of the greats. Disclosure is a cautionary tale about sexual harassment and should be read by any who has a boss or is a boss. If you work in an organization that extends beyond your immediate family, this should be required reading.

Fortunately, the story is excellent and well told. It has enough plot twists to keep the most sophisticated reader involved, and the writing is crystal clear to keep the most basic reader following along. An extremely fast read.

This is a book for working adults, the topic is sexual harassment, and it includes one extended sex scene.

A perfect summer read that still seems current, even though it the story involved high-tech before the Internet. Disclosure was published the same year at Microsoft's CDROM encyclopedia Encarta.

In the future, information was going to be stored on [CDROM] disks, or made available in large databases that users would dial into over telephone lines.

Regular readers of this blog realize that the selections are eclectic and wide ranging. As with many complex appearances, the underlying mechanism is rather straight forward and simple. I take a few recommendations from friends, NPR and my recollection of those books I should have read as part of my formal education. I fill in the remainder with books grabbed from the the new releases section in my local library. When I travel, I stock up on 25c paperbacks from the same library. Today's selection is a travel selection.