Michael Crichton: A Master Storyteller of Technology's Promise and Peril

Michael Crichton, who died from cancer Tuesday in Los Angeles at the age of 66, was an outsized figure in almost every possible way, beginning with his height, which is usually listed at 6 ft. 9 in. He was married five times, and divorced four. But it's his polymathic professional achievements that make him an almost implausibly imposing figure. Crichton trained as a doctor at Harvard Medical School. He directed Yul Brinner in Westworld and Sean Connery in The Great Train Robbery. He created ER, one of the most successful TV dramas of all time,...