I confess, as a reformed English major, that I don't care much about authorial intent. If I did, then I'd probably have to destroy the joy that books like Ender's Game bring. To me, it's much more useful and no less true to pretend that books are independent of the author.

If your point is that Crichton is a jerk or a climate change denier, I don't disagree. It jibes with what I've heard. Much beyond that, I'm not sure it's possible for us to interpret his motivations accurately.