public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his w ...

Woodside, Queens Woodside is a residential and commercial neighborhood in the western portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is bordered on the south by Maspeth, on the north by Astoria, on the west by Sunnyside, and on the east by Elmhurst, ...

Leonia, New Jersey Leonia is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 8,937, He graduated from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the c ...

and

Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) is the graduate medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Founded i ...

, and finished his postgraduate medical training at Harvard. Cook ran the

Cousteau Society Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful Aqua-Lung, open-circuit SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus). Th ...

's blood-gas lab in the south of France. He later became an aquanaut (a submarine doc) with the U.S. Navy's

SEALAB SEALAB I, II, and III were experimental underwater habitats developed by the United States Navy in the 1960s to prove the viability of saturation diving and humans living in isolation for extended periods of time. The knowledge gained from the S ...

program when he was drafted in 1969. Cook served in the Navy from 1969 to 1971, reaching the rank of

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

. He wrote his first novel, '' Year of the Intern'', while serving on the

Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...

submarine .

Novelist

''The Year of the Intern'' was a failure, but Cook began to study bestsellers. He said, "I studied how the reader was manipulated by the writer. I came up with a list of techniques that I wrote down on index cards. And I used every one of them in ''Coma''." He conceived the idea for ''

Coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

'', about illegally creating a supply of transplant organs, in 1975. In March 1977, that novel's paperback rights sold for $800,000. It was followed by the

Egyptology Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...

thriller ''

Sphinx A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches o ...

'' in 1979 and another medical thriller, ''

Brain The brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head ( cephalization), usually near organs for special ...

'', in 1981. Cook then decided he preferred writing over a career in medicine. Cook's novels combine medical fact with fantasy. His medical thrillers are designed, in part, to keep the public aware of both the technological possibilities of modern medicine and the ensuing socio-ethical problems which come along with it. Cook says he chose to write thrillers because the forum gives him "an opportunity to get the public interested in things about medicine that they didn't seem to know about. I believe my books are actually teaching people." The author admits he never thought that he would have such compelling material to work with when he began writing fiction in 1970. "If I tried to be the writer I am today a number of years ago, I wouldn't have very much to write about. But today, with the pace of change in biomedical research, there are any number of different issues, and new ones to come," he says. Cook's novels have anticipated national controversy. In an interview with Stephen McDonald about the novel '' Shock'', Cook admitted the book's timing was fortuitous: To date, Cook has explored issues such as

organ donation Organ donation is the process when a person allows an organ (anatomy), organ of their own to be removed and organ transplantation, transplanted to another person, #Legislation and global perspectives, legally, either by consent while the donor ...

,

fertility treatment Assisted reproductive technology (ART) includes medical procedures used primarily to address infertility. This subject involves procedures such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), cryopreservation of gamete ...

,

genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including ...

, ''in vitro'' fertilization, research funding,

managed care The term managed care or managed healthcare is used in the United States to describe a group of activities intended to reduce the cost of providing health care and providing American health insurance while improving the quality of that care ("man ...

,

medical malpractice Medical malpractice is a legal cause of action that occurs when a medical or health care professional, through a negligent act or omission, deviates from standards in their profession, thereby causing injury or death to a patient. The neglige ...

, medical tourism, drug research, and

organ transplantation Organ transplantation is a medical procedure in which an organ (anatomy), organ is removed from one body and placed in the body of a recipient, to replace a damaged or missing organ. The donor and recipient may be at the same location, or organ ...

. Many of his novels revolve around hospitals (both fictional and non-fictional) in Boston, which may have to do with the fact that he underwent his post-graduate training at Harvard and has a residence in Boston, or in New York.

Personal life

He is on leave from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Cook is a private member of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees, led by chairman Joseph B. Gildenhorn, are appointed to six-year terms by the President of the United States.

Books

* '' Year of the Intern'' (1972), * ''

Coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

'' (1977), * ''

Sphinx A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches o ...

'' (1979), * ''

Brain The brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head ( cephalization), usually near organs for special ...

'' (1980), * ''

Fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. There is not a single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature with sources using val ...

'' (1982), * '' Godplayer'' (1983), * ''

Mindbend ''Mindbend'' is a novel by the author Robin Cook, first published in 1985. The current paperback edition is available with . Plot Arolen is a giant pharmaceutical company, expanding at rapid pace and bringing more and more doctors into its c ...

'' (1985), * ''

Outbreak In epidemiology, an outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease when cases are in excess of normal expectancy for the location or season. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire ...

'' (1987), * '' Mortal Fear'' (1988), * ''

Mutation In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, m ...

'' (1989), * ''

Harmful Intent ''Harmful Intent'' (1990) is a novel by Robin Cook. Like most of Cook's other work, it is a medical thriller. Social concerns and themes ''Harmful Intent'' takes on a different type of medical-related target: ambulance-chasing lawyers. Coo ...

'' (1990), * '' Vital Signs'' (1991), * '' Terminal'' (1993), * '' Fatal Cure'' (1993), * ''

Acceptable Risk Broadly speaking, a risk assessment is the combined effort of: # identifying and analyzing potential (future) events that may negatively impact individuals, assets, and/or the environment (i.e. hazard analysis); and # making judgments "on the to ...

'' (1995), * '' Invasion'' (1997), * ''

Toxin A toxin is a naturally occurring organic poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. Toxins occur especially as a protein or conjugated protein. The term toxin was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849 ...

'' (1998), * ''

Abduction Abduction may refer to: Media Film and television * "Abduction" (''The Outer Limits''), a 2001 television episode * " Abduction" (''Death Note'') a Japanese animation television series * " Abductions" (''Totally Spies!''), a 2002 episode of an ...

'' (2000), * '' Shock'' (2001), * ''

Seizure An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with l ...

'' (2003), * ''Death Benefit'' (2011), * ''Nano'' (2013), * ''Cell'' (2014), * ''Host'' (2015), * ''Charlatans'' (2017), * ''Viral'' (2021), ISBN 9780593328293 ; ''

Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery series The ''Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery series'' is an ongoing series of New York Times Bestselling medical thrillers by Robin Cook that follows pathologist Jack Stapleton and his co-worker (and later wife) Laurie Montgomery as they attempt to ...

'' * '' Blindsight'' (1992), * ''Contagion'' (1995), * ''Chromosome 6'' (1997), * ''Vector'' (1999), * ''

Marker The term Marker may refer to: Common uses * Marker (linguistics), a morpheme that indicates some grammatical function * Marker (telecommunications), a special-purpose computer * Boundary marker, an object that identifies a land boundary * Marke ...

'' (2005), * ''Crisis'' (2006), * ''Critical'' (2007), * ''Foreign Body'' (2008), * ''Intervention'' (2009), * ''Cure'' (2010), * '' Pandemic'' (2018), * ''Genesis'' (2019),

Film and television adaptations

* ''

Coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

'' (1977) has been adapted for both film and television: ** ''

Coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

'' (1978), a feature film directed by author/doctor Michael Crichton and produced by Martin Erlichmann for

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

** ''

Coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

'' (airdates September 3–4, 2012) a four-hour A&E television

mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

based on the 1977 novel and subsequent 1978 film, directed by Mikael Salomon and produced by brothers Ridley and

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as ''Top Gun'' (1986), ''Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''Day ...

* ''

Sphinx A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches o ...

'' (1979) was adapted into the feature film ''

Sphinx A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches o ...

'' (1981), directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, produced by

Orion Pictures Orion Pictures (legal name Orion Releasing, LLC) is an American film production and distribution company owned by Amazon through its Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) subsidiary. In its original operating period, the company produced and released films ...

for Warner Bros., and starring

Lesley-Anne Down Lesley-Anne Down (born 17 March 1954) is a British actress, singer and former model. She achieved fame as Georgina Worsley in the ITV drama series ''Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1973–75). She received further recognition for her performances in ...

and Frank Langella * ''

Harmful Intent ''Harmful Intent'' (1990) is a novel by Robin Cook. Like most of Cook's other work, it is a medical thriller. Social concerns and themes ''Harmful Intent'' takes on a different type of medical-related target: ambulance-chasing lawyers. Coo ...

'' (1990) was adapted as the CBS television movie ''Robin Cook's Harmful Intent'' (airdate January 1, 1993), directed by John Patterson and produced by David A. Rosemont * '' Mortal Fear'' (1988) was as an eponymous TV movie, airdate November 20, 1994, directed by Larry Shaw * ''

Outbreak In epidemiology, an outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease when cases are in excess of normal expectancy for the location or season. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire ...

'' (1987) was adapted as the film '' Virus (Formula For Death)'' (airdate May 1995), directed by Armand Mastroianni * '' Terminal'' (1993) was adapted as TV movie, directed by Larry Elikann * '' Invasion'' (1997) was adapted as an eponymous NBC TV mini-series (airdate May 4, 1997), directed by Armand Mastroianni. * ''Acceptable Risk'' (2001) * '' Foreign Body'' (2008) spawned a 2008 prequel, produced as an eponymous web series by the production companies Vuguru (owned by former

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

CEO

Michael Eisner Michael Dammann Eisner (born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film st ...

), Cyber Group Studios (owned by the former Walt Disney executives Dominique Bourse and Pierre Sissmann), and Big Fantastic (owned by the creators of the web television series '' SamHas7Friends'' and '' Prom Queen''). The series, which ran from May 27 through August 4, 2008, comprised 50 episodes of approximately two minutes each, with a new video posted every weekday.

References

External links

* *
Robin Cook on The Internet Book ListRobin Cook on Fantastic Fiction UK
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Robin 1940 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American medical writers Aquanauts Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni Harvard University alumni Medical fiction writers People from Leonia, New Jersey People from Queens, New York United States Navy Medical Corps officers Wesleyan University alumni 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers Military personnel from New Jersey

Early life and career

Novelist

Personal life

Books

Film and television adaptations

References

External links