Stephenson did a great job with telling the story of encrytion from WW2 up to and including what the near future holds. The book could of been about 150 pages shorter, but still keeps the readers attention. The story goes back and forth between 2 men and their 2 grandkids in different times in history. Although this can be confusing sometimes, the ideas and concepts, like all Stephenson's work, is very timely. The hope for a "data haven" is something that is in the mind of every person, or will be after reading this book. All in all it's a very witty, real, and great written story. We'll see if he decides to make a series out of it.