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Cryptonomicon

by Neal Stephenson
Cryptonomicon

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  • Synopses & Reviews

ISBN13: 9780060512804
ISBN10: 0060512806
Condition: Standard


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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments

With this extraordinary first volume in what promises to be an epoch-making masterpiece, Neal Stephenson hacks into the secret histories of nations and the private obsessions of men, decrypting with dazzling virtuosity the forces that shaped this century.

In 1942, Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse — mathematical genius and young Captain in the U.S. Navy — is assigned to detachment 2702. It is an outfit so secret that only a handful of people know it exists, and some of those people have names like Churchill and Roosevelt. The mission of Watrehouse and Detatchment 2702 — commanded by Marine Raider Bobby Shaftoe — is to keep the Nazis ignorant of the fact that Allied Intelligence has cracked the enemy's fabled Enigma code. It is a game, a cryptographic chess match between Waterhouse and his German counterpart, translated into action by the gung-ho Shaftoe and his forces.

Fast-forward to the present, where Waterhouse's crypto-hacker grandson, Randy, is attempting to create a "data haven" in Southeast Asia — a place where encrypted data can be stored and exchanged free of repression and scrutiny. As governments and multinationals attack the endeavor, Randy joins forces with Shaftoe's tough-as-nails grandaughter, Amy, to secretly salvage a sunken Nazi sumarine that holds the key to keeping the dream of a data haven afloat. But soon their scheme brings to light a massive conspiracy with its roots in Detachment 2702 linked to an unbreakable Nazi code called Arethusa. And it will represent the path to unimaginable riches and a future of personal and digital liberty...or to universal totalitarianism reborn.

A breathtaking tour de force, and Neal Stephenson's most accomplished and affecting work to date, Cryptonomicon is profound and prophetic, hypnotic and hyper-driven, as it leaps forward and back between World War II and the World Wide Web, hinting all the while at a dark day-after-tomorrow.

Review

"A powerfully imagined story revolving around a vast conspiracy affecting history and different generations in one family who attempt to unravel its secrets." Seattle Post Intelligencer

Review

"Suspenseful...moves along as such a fantastic clip." Wall Street Journal

Review

"There is a scope here, a wildness, that you rarely find in fiction today. Buckle up." Minneapolis Star Tribune

About the Author

Neal Stephenson issueth from a Clan of yeomen, itinerant Parsons, ingenieurs, and Natural Philosophers that hath long dwelt in bucolick marches and rural Shires of his native Land, and trod the Corridors of her 'Varsities. At a young age, finding himself in a pretty Humour for the writing of Romances, and discourse of Natural Philosophy and Technologick Arts, he took up the Pen, and hath not since laid it down.

Other books by Neal Stephenson:

In the Beginning . . . Was the Command Line

Cryptonomicon

The Diamond Age

Snow Crash

Zodiac


4.7 6

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating 4.7 (6 comments)

`
Daniel Brady , January 04, 2012
Long, complicated, and thoroughly enjoyable test of ones literary commitment.

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`
Ambrosia4All , February 21, 2010 (view all comments by Ambrosia4All)
Delightfully complex, full of quirky characters, and Stephenson's trademark wit is packed in this novel of World War II, high-tech finance, and treasure hunting. It seems so long when you start, but it moves so fast that before you know it you're at the end and can't believe it's over. Stephenson's thoughts on the human psyche, technology, religion, government and more are interwoven with two timelines - one in modern(ish) times and the other during WWII. Long passages of cryptology and mathematics are well-explained, so this book should be accessible to the ignorant reader as well as the math whizzes. So delightful to read, I've already recommended it to everyone I know!

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`
tbob , January 05, 2010
Wonderfully complex and engrossing plot line. Computers, treasure, pirates,Nazis,romance, war,international finance, villains and geeks; what more could you want?

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Nancy McClure , January 04, 2010 (view all comments by Nancy McClure)
It was hard to decide whether to read this book headlong or with particular care. I wanted to read it headlong, because it's so full of events and I didn't want to lose track of the interweaving scenarios. On the other hand, I wanted to pause and absorb ideas, because Stephenson can effortlessly include more ideas on a page than most writers can in a chapter. It's educational about what was going on during WWII, and I know the crypto included is good because it was provided by Bruce Schneier, who writes the afterward.

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`
Karl Knaub , January 03, 2010
This is the most fun I've had reading a book as an adult. A non-stop adventure ride plus diversions to finance, cryptography, WWII lore, and mathematics (ever wonder what the mathematically correct way is to divvy up a complicated inheritance - wonder no more). I know I should be commenting on the literary merits of the book, and there are greater prose stylists, but...relax and have some fun for once.

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Mark , April 21, 2006 (view all comments by Mark)
Don't let the length of this book intimidate you, it is excellent! Neal Stephenson does a great job of weaving stories and characters from different time periods together. It's impressive the way he keeps several plot lines going at the same time, most of which could have made good books by themselves, and brings them all together in a way that fits. He also develops his characters well. Each is unique and identifiable, and they're consistent in their actions and words. There are a lot of scenes that are so much fun they repay several re-readings. Be careful to have some free time available when you get into this book. Things will get put off when you get into the story.

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Product Details

ISBN:
9780060512804
Binding:
Mass Market
Publication date:
11/05/2002
Publisher:
HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS
Pages:
1168
Height:
1.95IN
Width:
4.30IN
Thickness:
2.00
Number of Units:
1
Copyright Year:
2002
Series Volume:
no. 788
UPC Code:
2800060512806
Author:
Neal Stephenson
Author:
Neal Stephenson
Subject:
Popular Fiction-Technothrillers
Subject:
World War, 19
Subject:
Adventure fiction
Subject:
Thrillers
Subject:
Cryptography
Subject:
Science / High Tech
Subject:
World war, 1939-1945
Subject:
Data encryption.
Subject:
Gold

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