An intriguing tale of corporate intrigue. Tom Sanders, head of the tech division at a computer firm (Digicom) is expecting to become the new company VP. However, a female employee Meredith Johnson -- who happens to be Tom's former lover -- is being viewed for the same position. When she invites him to her office for a late night meeting -- one with condoms and wine -- he resists her attempt to seduce him. Each of them charges the other with sexual harassment. The company execs believe her story, not his, and Tom has to scramble against the odds to hold onto his job.

Tom turns out to have a recording of the entire episode (through a less-than credible fluke: he makes a phone call to the wrong number just before the "action" starts and accidentally doesn't hang up -- such that it's recorded as a message on the other party's phone). Meredith capitulates, but launches a plan to have Tom fired for incompetence. Tom has to uncover her machinations and manages to expose her in front of the company board.


A few points of note: The technology is laughably dated (but what should we expect for a novel from 1994?). There's much awe over hand-held telephones that can store up to 200 phone numbers. The novel features as a new hi-tech device -- a hand-held CD ROM with a tiny screen (a technology outdated within a few years of this novel). Likewise, there's a virtual reality system through which users can walk around in the file system looking and reading for their file. VR never really took off; it has its uses, but this isn't one of them. Also, there's this new thing called "Internet" that has to be explained to the reader.

Then there's the sociopolitical subtext, which deserves mention given Crichton's well-known conservative politics. Meredith (the villain) has "slept her way to the top" (as we used to say) and in her wake is a long list of men whom she's either harassed or managed to depose in other ways. No doubt, this will appeal to legions of male readers resentful of (what they may see as) women using sex as a weapon...as well as affirmative action policies that benefit female employees. To offset any criticism, Crichton does have another female character (a quiet, competent sort) who is promoted into Meredith's position once she is fired. And then there's the sexual harassment issue. Absent any corroborating evidence, the company execs naturally believe the woman's version over the man's. Come to think of it, perhaps things haven't changed all that much, in that respect at least.

As most readers will know, Disclosurewas turned into a movie, starring Michael Douglas and Demi Moore. As a piece of advice: read the book first; otherwise all you'll envision is the movie characters while reading the book. ( )