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For more than just the story As a novel and story, I would have given this a three-star rating. In its favor is a good handling of what would be a tough pill to swallow for many people. I think that even a person who claims to be an environmentalist could get through this book without giving up on it. Against it is a bit of extreme characterization to make his points: the environmentalists in the novel are portrayed by ruthless and ignorant characters bent on manipulating information---and events---in whatever way they need to to advance their causes, based on faulty or questionable science as the case may be. The ruthless ones being the environmental lawyers and the ignorant ones the celebrities that lend their names, time and money to some of these causes. The "good guys" (it's no secret where Crichton lands on this issue)come off as a bit arrogant and incredibly lucky in spotting the next environmentalist "attack" as they jet around the world in a private plane saving the planet from huge man-made disasters. It is unquestionably a strong page-turner. I did give it a four because I liked the technical and scientific information he presents and the way he presents it. He makes a strong case for better and more objective analysis of the science and the social cost of environmental proposals or initiatives. The real strength of the book for me was outside of the story. One was the appendix where he shares with us the now largely forgotten issue of "eugenics" that was all the rage in some scientific and social circles in the early part of the 20th century and which was taken to a terrible extreme in Nazi Germany. The other was the author's bibliography and suggested further reading. I think he fairly presents sources for both sides of the arguments, but presents more of what he considers to be balanced articles and books that rely on the science, not the emotions. The book is a very easy read that would hopefully be read by a lot of people as a prelude to becoming more informed about this political and social hot-button.