The Baroque Cycle

Only a few times in my life have I been equally entertained an edified by an author. William Shakespeare comes to mind. James Joyce, some of the poets. More recently: Yann Martel, Howard Zinn, and yes, even Jon Stewart.

Each time Neal Stephenson releases a book, he rises to the top of that list. His imagination has expanded mine exponentially with each story: Snow Crash, The Diamond Age, Cryptonomicon. And now The Baroque Cycle. Not since Lord of the Rings has my vocabulary grown so rapidly. The Baroque Cycle is how History class should have been. I finished The System of the World last night at 2am next to the fire in a feast of the mind that will leave me imagining for days.

I've decided to follow up with a bit about Benjamin Franklin (who makes a brief appearance in Quicksilver). The Future was Then.