Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon is a 1,000-page epic that operates on two timelines: World War II codebreaking efforts and 1990s tech entrepreneurs building a data haven in Southeast Asia. The novel follows three families across generations, connected by their involvement with cryptography, mathematics, and the digital revolution.

The WWII storyline features Bobby Shaftoe, a Marine, and Lawrence Waterhouse, a mathematician working on breaking Axis codes alongside figures like Alan Turing. The modern storyline follows their descendants—Randy Waterhouse, a Unix hacker, and Amy Shaftoe, as they navigate the early days of internet culture and digital currency schemes.

Published in 1999, Cryptonomicon was remarkably prescient about cryptocurrency, data privacy, surveillance, and the geopolitics of information. Stephenson’s technical detail is exhaustive—the book includes actual working cryptographic algorithms and explores the mathematical foundations of computer science with the rigor of a textbook and the pacing of a thriller.

What makes the novel enduringly relevant is how it captures the intersection of abstract mathematical concepts with very human concerns about power, privacy, and freedom. It’s both a celebration of technical ingenuity and a warning about the political implications of cryptographic technology.