ANATHEM by Stephenson, Neal - [2008]

New York: William Morrow, [2008]. First edition. A fine copy in a fine dust jacket. (18849). Octavo, boards. "Set in a world that is similar but not identical to our own, "Anathem" imagines a modern-day monastic order whose members have pledged to live their lives without computers or electronic technology. Having long ago set aside such un­answerable questions as "Does God exist?" these alternative Augustines are free to contemplate issues of math, physics and philosophy; depending on the order they belong to, they are allowed to visit the outside world as much as once a year or as little as once a millennium." "...Stephenson's larger point, perhaps the most resonant and consequential in all of "Anathem": the absence of religion does not prevent passionate and violent disagreements over theoretical matters; such conflagrations can occur even in societies that hold rational thought as their highest virtue." - Dave Itzkoff, New York Times book review, 10/17/2008.