Some Remarks

#1 New York Times bestselling author Neal Stephenson is, quite simply, one of the best and most respected writers alive. He’s taken sf to places it’s never been (Snow Crash, Anathem). He’s reinvented the historical novel (The Baroque Cycle), the international thriller (Reamde), and both at the same time (Cryptonomicon).Now he treats his legion of fans to Some Remarks, an enthralling collection of essays—Stephenson’s first nonfiction work since his long essay on technology, In the Beginning…Was the Command Line, more than a decade ago—as well as new and previously published short writings both fiction and non.Some Remarks is a magnificent showcase of a brilliantly inventive mind and talent, as he discourses on everything from Sir Isaac Newton to Star Wars.
What happens when one of science fiction’s most audacious minds turns his full attention to the real world?
- The History of Science: A brilliant analysis of the epic rivalry between Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, and how their metaphysical clash shaped the modern world.- Telecommunications Infrastructure: A legendary, globe-spanning piece of journalism that follows the laying of the longest wire on Earth, revealing the hidden backbone of our connected world.- Innovation and the Future: A provocative look at why we've stopped making big things happen, from the decline of the space program to our collective failure to solve our energy problems.- The World of Science Fiction: A candid inside look at the divide between "literary" and "genre" fiction, and why SF authors don't always get the respect they deserve.