Published in 2004, State of Fear is the latest in a long series of techno-thrillers by Michael Crichton. The novel focuses on the issue of global warming and eco-extremists are plotting to affect the climate in severe ways that will support a media-driven campaign to amass large amounts of cash from wealthy donors. The donors are naively committed to a cause that is portrayed by the media as an imminent threat to mankind, but that is not supported by legitimate research. Near the end of the 500-plus-page novel, Kenner, sort of an atmospheric super-cop, explains in a soliloquy that governments maintain their power, and keep order among the masses by keeping people in a constant State of Fear. He cites the "military-industrial complex" that Eisenhower warned of during the Cold War as an example. He claims that after the demise of the Soviet Union - the boogieman...