Rating: 
Summary: Magnificent Meandering
Review: This is a very "manly" book, and I'm sure I wouldn't be drawn to it upon hearing only a bald plot outline (WWII battles, ugh, data transfer protocols, boring!) but Neal Stephenson managed to not only draw me in but fascinate me for 900+ pages.This is a sprawling historical saga, rich in detail and invention, not-so-concerned with characters' emotional states but rather just what *are* they going to do next--which certainly helps propel the book forward. The story unfolds across two timelines, and the characters of the contemporary plot are the descendents of the earlier. Since no one has any children yet at the earlier timeline, you're guaranteed a certain amount of survival from your protagonists (I always appreciate being able to relax at least a little!). I had one false start with the book, reading about a quarter into it, then setting it aside when easier, blither books came my way. I'm delighted I picked it up again (I re-read from the beginning) and have moved on to his most recent, which details the lives of the characters' great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents (so if you like Cryptonomicon, do pick up the Quicksilver, it's exactly the same idiom). Cryptonomicon's style is comparable to that of Dickens, in its skillful handling of numerous characters and subplots, to Tom Wolfe, in its exhaustive look at a particular subset of people at a particular time, to Victoria Holt (honestly) in its somewhat Gothic atmosphere and its sense that characters' acitivities can have implications down through generations, and to Eugene Sue, both for the well-handled theatrical sprawl and the intangible sense of purpose the characters convey. A nifty book! Note: a 3 star ranking from me means a pleasant enough read; 4 stars indicate a very enjoyable work; but I'll only give 5 stars to books that are or ought to be classic; sadly, most books published seem to warrant 2 or less ... I try not to read those.
Rating: 
Summary: A Masterwork
Review: Last year I read and enjoyed Neal Stephenson's Diamond Age, but was left dissatisfied by the abrupt ending. It was clear to me that Stephenson was something of a genius, with an exceptional grasp not only of science and technology, but also history, politics, anthropology and sociology. I was also struck by his sheer literary talent--mind-boggling creativity and a wicked sense of humor coupled with an ability to create memorable and engaging characters. Diamond Age failed, however, to provide a conclusion that properly brought together all the threads of the complex plot and to tell the reader what happened to all the main characters. Cryptonomicon is a better book because Stephenson manages to match or even improve upon the strengths of Diamond Age while providing a more satisfying conclusion. It is difficult to summarize a book of this scope, which comes close to a thousand pages and follows a large cast of characters through two pivotal periods of modern history: World War II and the information revolution of the 1990s. Stephenson's book makes most of Charles Dickens' works look spare by comparison. As indicated by the title, the book's central focus is cryptography and the role of computers in both processing and concealing information. Stephenson describes a fascinating crew of fictional characters, from hackers and nerds to Navy SEALS and leathernecks, who interact with the likes of Douglas MacArthur and Alan Turing to show the importance not only of military and economic might, but also the use and control of information, in determining the destiny of nations and the course of world history. No book is perfect, however. Stephenson has a unique authorial voice: breezy, conversational, and definitely never dull, whether he is describing the intricacies of cryptography or a bloody marine landing on a Pacific island. Yet the blunt, colloquial style of writing may not appeal to readers who prefer more elegant, refined prose. (Stephenson's characters don't make love, they f*ck, for example, and Stephenson pulls no punches when describing bodily functions that some people would rather just be left to imagine themselves--or not think aobut at all). I didn't mind it, but I'm sure many others will. What did irk me was that many of the characters (particularly the American hackers of the 1990s) speak and write in almost exactly the same tone, use exactly the same vocabulary, and ruminate on exactly the same subjects as Stephenson himself. In some cases, even characters like Enoch Root, an enigmatic and apparently ageless ex-Catholic priest, also fall into an identical style of speech. While this does lend the book a certain stylistic unity, it also sometimes makes it difficult for the reader to suspend disbelief and to distinguish the characters' viewpoints from those of the author himself. Ultimately, though, any criticism of this book pales in comparison with its immense achievements. No review can do justice to the genius of the Cryptonomicon--it transcends genres and is one of the few books that really deserves the overused adjectives "unique" and "original". Read it!
Rating:
Summary: Very entertaining and thought provoking.
Review: Let me preference this book by stating that I am a WWII history buff that rarely reads historical fiction. My friend gave me this book after I expressed some interest about WWII codebreaking techniques and I couldn't put this book down. As an Engineer, it kept me interested from a technical point of view but overall was very entertaining as well. The book has a great plot tying together several main characters ranging from a WWII Marine to a WWII codebreaker to a present day computer programmer. This book also taught me a lot about the history of computers as well as teaching me a few Unix commands. This book is so well written and has so many interesting thoughts and good information that I felt like using a highlighter while I read. The only reason I give this book 4 rather than 5 stars is that to me the ending came a little to fast. The ending worked but to me felt like the author ran out of steam or had to get the ending in before a deadline as the final events aren't quite as deeply discussed as the rest of the text. Regardless, this is a great book to read.
Rating: 
Summary: I didn't like it
Review: Unless you have A LOT of time on your hands or the patience for long winded, stream-of-consciousness writing, you'll probably get bored with this book like I did. I was eager to read this book and wanted to like it but didn't get past 100 pages.
Rating:
Summary: You'd think 1100 pages would be enough
Review: One of my pet peeves is some authors' inability to make those hard choices about what ought to stay in a finished work and what needs to go. By all rights, I should hate Stephenson's mammoth Cryptonomicon, in which tangents and diversions abound. To my surprise, I didn't mind the digressions. Much of the novel's charm comes from the author's fascination with unabashedly geeky details and neat historical tidbits. Stephenson plays the role of that guy you know who always has a cool story to tell. He goes further than telling a mere string of anecdotes: out of these threads he weaves a tale of intrigue that brings together World War II adventure and cutthroat tech industry dealings in the modern age. What he doesn't do is tie off all the loose ends. The story ends rather abruptly, and I can only imagine that Stephenson suddenly realized he had ran out of money, time, or ink.
Rating:
Summary: Close but no cigar
Review: I would reccomend this book to anyone who I think has the patience to read it. A fully captivating book, and for people who like Stephenson's style, a masterpiece. A four out of five is deserved only because Stephenson leaves too many loose ends. A good wrap up of all plot lines, and total consistency are two things that this book desperately needs. However, the lack can be forgiven based on the excellence of the book overall. Though it has too many small good things about it to describe, the collective effect of these balances out the major problems. A solid read, and worth your time
Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: This book was good but I want to write about something else....the reviewers here. Hey you intellectual-elitest morons; stop talking down to everyone that isn't you. It is possible that some of us are just as intellectual and genius as you are (even if we didn't buy the Star Trek: The Next Generation compendium).
Its a book guys. Crypto is not a lifestyle, its not some fun game people play, its crypto. Please go throw yourselves at the next intellectual fad that gets posted on some announcement board at Cal-Berkley.
Rating:
Summary: I would have given it 6 stars (if there were 6)
Review: The first time I read Cryptonomicom, my reaction at the end was very much like other reviewers': "Where's the rest?" My next thought was along the lines of, "Almost a thousand pages and it still isn't enough!" If you can't tell, I personally love this book. It has wonderful moments of pure hilarity, sometimes embedded in scenes of pure horror, but other times just happily "out there." It has plenty of "huh?" moments, resulting in me going back to reread whole sections, sometimes several chapters back in the book, to make sure I was on the right track. The second time I read Cryptonomicon, I had a little better sense of the history portrayed in the book, especially the histories of the fictional characters (and the fictional histories of the real characters). Knowing how the book ends (or doesn't end, depending on your opinion), I was able to put all of the events into a different context. Kind of like when you know what the end result of some big world event, and then go back to read the history books of how it happened. Hindsight, as they say, is 20-20. Just like history, this book reminds us that sometimes stories don't have an ending....
Rating:
Summary: XJBLH MNMOS XMN
Review: When I ordered Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson from Amazon, I didn't look into the book too much. I had liked Snow Crash a lot, needed something to read, and heard some vague positive words about the book that I really didn't much pay attention to. So I added Cryptonomicon to my order that included Gibson's Mona Lisa Overdrive and the most recent Star Trek: Next Generation Companion. Within a handful of days a package arrived at my doorstep, and after wrestling it out of my grandmother's hands, I was able to take it to my room and open it. I couldn't imagine why they'd send me such a big box for such a small order, until I opened the box: Cryptonomicon comes in at almost 1200 pages... TWELVE HUNDRED PAGES!!! Well, if anything, I said to myself, I wouldn't have to buy a new book for a while. From Pearl Harbor to the near present, Cryptonomicon tells the story of Randy Waterhouse, a present-day UNIX geek who, in the course of being roped into building a start-up with international ramifications, becomes embroiled in the results of the past: World War 2 encryption, Nazi cunning, Japanese atrocity, and stolen gold. How the past affects the present is a major theme of Cryptonomicon and we spend considerable time exploring several characters deeply entrenched in World War 2. Bobby Shaftoe is a highly decorated Marine Raider, survivor of Guadalcanal, is recruited into the mysterious Detachment 2072. Lawrence Waterhouse, Randy's grandfather, is a Navy musician, survivor of Pearl Harbor, who is discovered to be a brilliant mathematician and becomes a primary geek of the Detachment. Colorful secondary characters, such as Enoch Root, the bizarre medic-priest, Günter, the crazy U-boat captain, Goto Dengo, the Japanese engineer sans faith in the war, Rudy, the gay cryptogenius recruited by the Nazis, Doug Shaftoe, Bobby's son and an ex-Marine, his daughter Amy, the object of Randy's affection when he's not wondering if she's a dyke, Ari, Randy's business partner who's obsessed with Holocausts, The Dentist, an overly rich investor with ties to the Philippine underworld, every featured member of the Secret Admirers with their guns and obsession for hacking and secrecy, richly fill out the text as we traverse the world: everywhere from Manila to Guadalcanal to London, New Guinea, Qwghlm, the Sultanate of Kimakuta, Sweden and the shores of America... an epic world-wide scope of colorful scenes of brutality and survival, discovery and redemption. A true whirlwind of breathtaking imagination. Let's see if I can condense the storyline: Randy is recruited by Avi, his pen-and-paper role-playing buddy from college to build a complex international Internet start-up. Over the course of their work, a sunken U-boat is discovered off the coast of the Philippines, a location where it shouldn't be, loaded with gold. Meanwhile, the Allies are busy trying to decrypt the coded messages of the Axis, kill a bunch of the enemy and simply stay alive. Secrets become conspiracies that fuel Randy's accidental search for gold as his company struggles with lawsuits and the enormity of their business plan, coupled with Ari's obsession to prevent future holocausts. I had to draw a poorly drawn and confusing map just to outline the story and characters. Fortunately, the book is not as convoluted as I am. Stephenson brilliantly takes us between present and future, the Pacific and Atlantic theatres without blinking an eye. His tale is so deftly woven that by the end, when all the pieces are brought together you can't help but be marveled by his genius. Cryptonomicon is a brilliant display of storytelling, and despite it's girth, a very fast and extremely enjoyable read that at times is outlandishly funny and outright weird set in a oft violent world of the past that is gripping and intelligent. You must read this book. Now. Thank you. (The title of this article is a pathetically simple, grade-school crypto. It's so obvious it's pathetic)
Rating:
Summary: Rotors: 3,4,1. Initial Positions: 3,7,6. Clear plugboard.
Review: WACBP TBWAG PPICP FSOYO ULLBW KSWDC CYTBA SJPCK PXHGP XQAIT AHIEA BUQAM KUGCF PJW
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