Disclosure (novel) 2002895 223103827 2008-07-02T16:14:57Z Fratrep 4541225 Repairing link to disambiguation page - [[Wikipedia:Disambiguation pages with links|You can help!]] {{infobox Book | <!-- See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels]] or [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Books]] --> | name = Disclosure | title_orig = | translator = | image = [[Image:MichaelCrighton Disclosure.jpg|200px]] | image_caption = First edition cover | author = [[Michael Crichton]] | illustrator = | cover_artist = | country = [[United States]] | language = [[English language|English]] | series = | genre = [[Crime novel]] | publisher = [[Alfred A. Knopf]] | release_date = January 1994 | media_type = Print ([[Hardcover|Hardback]] & [[Paperback]]) | pages = 397 pp (first edition, hardback) | isbn = ISBN 0-679-41945-4 (first edition, hardback) | preceded_by = | followed_by = }} '''Disclosure''' is a novel by [[Michael Crichton]], released in [[1994]]. The novel is set in a fictional high tech company, just before the beginning of the [[Dot-com bubble|dot-com]] [[economic boom]]. The plot concerns [[protagonist]] Tom Sanders, and his battle against unfounded allegations of [[sexual harassment]]. ==Summary== High-tech company executive Tom Sanders expects a promotion following DigiCom's merger with a publishing house. Instead, his ex-girlfriend, Meredith Johnson, is offered the position he thought would be his. When he spurns her amorous advances, she exacts her revenge by undermining his work and arranging his transfer to a different department in addition to filing sexual harassment charges against him. The transfer prevents him from getting stock options which would have made him a wealthy man. Sanders decides to countersue for sexual harassment, throwing the merger and his future with the company in jeopardy. Sanders begins to build his case against Johnson with the help of virtual reality technology and a helper known only as "A. Friend." In the end, he discovers that he was a pawn in a much larger game of corporate intrigue. Along the way he learns about sexual politics in the workplace, including a raft of double-standards in the way men and women are expected to act and how they are perceived. ==Major themes== The primary theme is sexual harassment. The book features a male protagonist who is being sexually harassed by a female executive, reversing the expected gender roles. Not surprisingly, the book has been harshly criticized by [[feminism|feminist]] commentators and accused of being anti-feminist. [http://jci.sagepub.com/cgi/content/short/23/1/68] Crichton, anticipating this response, offered a rebuttal at the close of the novel which states that a "role-reversal" story uncovers aspects of the subject that would not be as easily seen with a female protagonist. ==Sub Themes== Minor threads of the plot include two issues which have become relevant in the 21st century IT industry: outsourced American manufacturing and virtual reality. The book explores the implications of outsourcing American manufacturing to developing worlds through the fictional case study of disc drives that the protagonist's company is manufacturing in an Asian country. The drives are failing at higher rates than ever, due to the [[Malaysia|Malay]] government's demands for more manpower instead of automation, which would have produced better drives. Virtual reality is briefly addressed as the protagonist's company is building a head-up display for a small virtual world created for data retrieval and other purposes. In addition to sexual harassment, issues of [[management|management theory]], [[gender role]]s and [[justice]] are explored. ==Film, TV or theatrical adaptations== In 1994, ''[[Disclosure (film)|Disclosure]]'', a film adaptation of the novel was released. It starred [[Demi Moore]], [[Michael Douglas]], [[Donald Sutherland]] and [[Dennis Miller]]. ==External links== *[http://www.michaelcrichton.net/disclosure/index.html Author's official site] {{Michael Crichton}} [[Category:1994 novels]] [[Category:Novels by Michael Crichton]] [[Category:Crime novels]] {{crime-novel-stub}} [[de:Enthüllung (Roman)]]