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El planeta Arbre estuvo al borde del colapso hace miles de años. Los nuevos intelectuales, los avotos, se reunieron en monasterios para iniciar un nuevo tipo de vida de reflexion sin elemento religioso alguno. El ritmo de evolucion y cambio de los avotos es lento, mientras el planeta sufre todo tipo de transformaciones. Ahora, casi cuatro mil años despues de la Reconstitucion y la fundacion del sistema cenobitico, el Poder Secular parece ocultar que hay una nave alienigena orbitando el planeta. Descubrirla, establecer contacto y comprender a esos extraños seres procedentes de otro lugar es el gran trabajo que espera al protagonista, fra Erasmas, discipulo del heterodoxo Orolo../Anathem, the latest invention by the New York Times bestselling author of Cryptonomicon and The Baroque Cycle, is a magnificent creation: a work of great scope, intelligence, and imagination that ushers readers into a recognizableyet strangely invertedworld. Fraa Erasmas is a young avout living in the Concent of Saunt Edhar, a sanctuary for mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers, protected from the corrupting influences of the outside ""saecular"" world by ancient stone, honored traditions, and complex rituals. Over the centuries, cities and governments have risen and fallen beyond the concent's walls. Three times during history's darkest epochs violence born of superstition and ignorance has invaded and devastated the cloistered mathic community. Yet the avout have always managed to adapt in the wake of catastrophe, becoming out of necessity even more austere and less dependent on technology and material things. And Erasmas has no fear of the outsidethe Extramurosfor the last of the terrible times was long, long ago ... Read more

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Tomorrow Through the Past: Neal Stephenson and the Project of Global Modernization is the first collection of scholarly essays dedicated exclusively to this important voice in contemporary American fiction.The collection grew from five essays originally presented at the 2006 XXth Century Literature Conference at the University of Louisville, and the contributors are made up of graduate students, independent scholars, and university professors who hope the collection will aid general readers as well as instructors teaching Stephenson and professionals building the critical response to his work.Reading through the lenses of history and linguistic, cultural, and science fiction studies, the essays in the collection examine each of Stephensonâs novels from The Big U to The Baroque Cycle as well as his long non-fiction work on computer operating systems, In the Beginning ⦠Was the Command Line.Included in this collection is a new interview conducted with Stephenson during the summer of 2006. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An important guide to Neal Stephenson's work
This collection is one of a kind. It's a great overview of the work of one of the most essential SF writers out there. ... Read more

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See main text for details. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great Condition
This book has been a huge help.Now I don't have to borrow a copy from classmates

The study guide only had selected answers
I thought it was ok because the guide did not have all of the odd problems worked out. Usually a study has all the odd problems answered. Without it, you are left wondering if the guide has an explanation at all for the problem.

When the it does have the answers, it explains it very well and does not leave any doubt about the solution. ... Read more

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The trials of Dr. Daniel Waterhouse and the Natural Philosophers increase one hundredfold in an England plagued by the impending war and royal insecurities, as the beautiful and ambitious Eliza plays a most dangerous game as double agent and confidante of enemy kings.
In The Baroque Cycle, Neal Stephenson’s award-winning series, spans the late 17th and early 18th centuries, combining history, adventure, science, invention, piracy, and alchemy into one sweeping tale. It is a gloriously rich, entertaining, and endlessly inventive historical epic populated by the likes of Isaac Newton, William of Orange, Benjamin Franklin, and King Louis XIV, along with some of the most inventive literary characters in modern fiction.
This complete and unabridged presentation of The Baroque Cycle was produced in cooperation with Neal Stephenson. Each volume includes an exclusive introduction read by the author. ... Read more

Product Description
The trials of Dr. Daniel Waterhouse and the Natural Philosophers increase one hundredfold in an England plagued by the impending war and royal insecurities, as the beautiful and ambitious Eliza plays a most dangerous game as double agent and confidante of enemy kings.
In The Baroque Cycle, Neal Stephenson’s award-winning series, spans the late 17th and early 18th centuries, combining history, adventure, science, invention, piracy, and alchemy into one sweeping tale. It is a gloriously rich, entertaining, and endlessly inventive historical epic populated by the likes of Isaac Newton, William of Orange, Benjamin Franklin, and King Louis XIV, along with some of the most inventive literary characters in modern fiction.
This complete and unabridged presentation of The Baroque Cycle was produced in cooperation with Neal Stephenson. Each volume includes an exclusive introduction read by the author. ... Read more

Product Description
The trials of Dr. Daniel Waterhouse and the Natural Philosophers increase one hundredfold in an England plagued by the impending war and royal insecurities, as the beautiful and ambitious Eliza plays a most dangerous game as double agent and confidante of enemy kings.
In The Baroque Cycle, Neal Stephenson’s award-winning series, spans the late 17th and early 18th centuries, combining history, adventure, science, invention, piracy, and alchemy into one sweeping tale. It is a gloriously rich, entertaining, and endlessly inventive historical epic populated by the likes of Isaac Newton, William of Orange, Benjamin Franklin, and King Louis XIV, along with some of the most inventive literary characters in modern fiction.
This complete and unabridged presentation of The Baroque Cycle was produced in cooperation with Neal Stephenson. Each volume includes an exclusive introduction read by the author. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Hell-for-Leather Cryptogeekery
Having enjoyed Snowcrash and being a bit of a crypto fan, I was predisposed to like Cryptonomicon and like it I did.This novel combines edge-of-your-seat war action, treasure hunting and modern geekery into one highly entertaining package.This book takes you from the battlefield at Guadalcanal to Silicon Valley and, while I can't say from experience that Stephanson has everything right about the war scenes (though I found them quite exciting), he certainly nails the start-up culture of the 90's in the Bay Area.

I did find the book to drag a bit for me about two thirds through, but the rough spots were minimal and kept the story moving forward.I also found that I did not much care for the protagonist, but that's fine--why should I?

On the whole, I'd recommend this book to fellow geeks and fans of the shadowy world of cryptography.I would also recommend, as a follow-up reading or as a preface, Steven Levy's excellent non-fiction work, "Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government Saving Privacy in the Digital Age."Levy's book provides an excellent foundation for understading the personalities and politics of Cryptonomicon, both in therms of the early history of cryptography and the attitudes that some geeks have toward government crypto today.

a story of computer geeks stumbling onto history
This is a story of World WarII and a story of computer geeks stumbling onto history.
Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse is the main character.He has what may be Asperbgers syndrome.In college he meets Alan Turing and a German, they are all math wizs.The story in the book bounces around with several characters being important.It gets to the point you can see all the story lines will meet.It makes a really good story.
The computer geeks are starting a company to do something and stumble onto scavenger treasure.The Japanese build a mountain of gold and bury it.This does get to be a bit of a complex story, and knowing that all the storylines come together, you read on to see where and how.It is most interesting that the author does introduce masterbation and sexual relief.You know that this stuff does happen, but authors do not generally bother to mention it.

Great Book, but THIS IS IN GERMAN
This book is sublime. It is fiction in the sense that none of the events depicted actually happened, but it is true in a deeper sense in that something like it almost assuredly did. BUT THIS IS IN GERMAN!!!The irony of reading Cryptonomicon in German is not lost on me, but I would like that to have been clearer. I know it is in the "Language" section of the description, but I think something as important as that could have a more descriptive listing.Why would the German language be the first one to come up anyway?Frustrating.

Not my cup of tea...
Yes, I read all 910 pages of this monster.No i did not understand a lot of it.Is Neal Stephenson from another planet?There must be some pretty smart folks on this earth.Maybe I missed something?I guess I'll read it again, naw i think I'll stick to Harry Potter!My brain hurts after reading this thing.And I thought The Satanic Verses was complex!

Most readable doorstop ever
What a sprawling book. Big enough to serve as a decent door stop in a minor gale. Characters and events galore. All tied together by the invention of the digital computer in WW2 for the Brits (using mercury) and the Americans (using vacuum tubes) and cryptology and cryptanalysis, then andtoday, more or less, for the creation of an Internet data haven in a fictitious monarchy in the vicinity of Malaysia. Along the way, there are submarines, gold bullion, Guadalcanal, Douglas MacArthur, lawsuits, computer hacking, and the harrowing creation of (and escape from) a granite crypt for the storage of stolen German and Nipponese gold. That ought to be enough to interest anyone. Although the author is generally considered a science fiction writer, there seems to be little enough of scifi in this tale. But it suffers not a bit for the lack thereof. ... Read more

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Jack Shaftoe, el llamado Rey de los Vagabundos que será rey de verdad en el Indostán, sigue con sus peripecias por todo el mundo, de Japón a México. Mientras, Eliza, la joven de Qwghlm que ha sido odalisca y espía para convertirse en una influyente dama de la corte de Francia, estrecha lazos con Sofía Carlota, esposa de Federico I de Prusia y protectora de Leibniz. Por su parte, la Filosofía Natural sigue avanzando en su camino para desbancar a la alquimia. Daniel Watherhouse, más cercano al racionalismo de Leibniz, debe, pese a todo, convencer a Newton de que acepte ocupar el cargo de director de la nueva Casa de la Moneda de Inglaterra. La confusión inevitablemente asociada al nacimiento del mundo y la mentalidad moderna es en realidad el eje central de una vasta peripecia humana, social e intelectual que configura el segundo volumen de una magna obra, el Ciclo Barroco. / Jack Shaftoe, the so-called King of vagrants to be king of truth in Indostan, continues with his adventures throughout the world, from Japan to Mexico. Meanwhile, Eliza, the youngest of which has been Qwghlm Odalisque and spy to become an influential lady of the court of France, close ties with Sofia Carlota, the wife of Frederick I of Prussia and protective Leibniz. For its part, the Natural Philosophy continues to make progress on their way to oust alchemy. Daniel Watherhouse, closest to rationalism Leibniz, must nevertheless convince Newton to accept the post of director of the new Mint England. The confusion inevitably associated with the birth of the modern world and the mentality is really the hub of a vast peripecia human, social and intellectual who set up the second volume of a great work, the Baroque Cycle. ... Read more