Michael Crichton (1942–2008) is one of the most prolific bestselling authors of all time with over 200 million copies sold worldwide, in forty languages, including Jurassic Park, The Lost World, Sphere, Next, Prey, Disclosure, Eaters of the Dead, and Congo. His books have been adapted into fifteen films, most notably Jurassic Park directed by Steven Spielberg which launched one of the highest-grossing entertainment franchises of all time. A remarkable and versatile talent, Crichton wrote and directed several films including Westworld, The Great Train Robbery (based on his novel), and Coma and created the television series ER. He received his MD from Harvard Medical School and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. After writing novels under the pseudonyms John Lange and Jeffery Hudson while he was still a medical student, his first bestseller as Michael Crichton, The Andromeda Strain, was adapted into a classic film.