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(U) Book Review: Cryptonomicon
FROM:
SIGINT Communications
Run Date: 06/25/2003
(U) With the weather being so dreary, rainy-day reading has become more of summertime
activity than many would like. While the weather does take away some outdoor playtime
opportunities, it also offers a terrific opportunity to curl up with a fantastic book that is likely the
strike the fancy of many NSA employees. Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon , a New York Times
bestseller, takes the reader on a journey from World War II to the present in a historically
fictional representation of the development of cryptology, the breaking of the ENIGMA, the birth
of the computer, and the founding of the National Security Agency.
(U) The book weaves in and out of two major storylines: the mesmerizing life of Lawrence
Pritchard Waterhouse, a mathematical, code-breaking genius, and his participation in World War
II; and Waterhouse's grandson Randy who takes after his grandfather, but now, in a
technologically-advanced society. Stephenson has produced an enthralling work that proves to
be as much of a history lesson as an eye-opening thriller. As an NSA employee, it is particularly
entertaining to read the depictions of intelligence officials and code-breakers from days long
past, and days more recent. It's a thick one, but well worth the time investment! What better
way to take advantage of the rain than to add a new book to your list of favorites!
"(U//FOUO) SIDtoday articles may not be republished or reposted outside NSANet
without the consent of S0121 (DL sid comms)."
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DERIVED FROM: NSA/CSSM 1-52, DATED 08 JAN 2007 DECLASSIFY ON: 20320108