Worth noting for the HN crowd that Cryptonomicon is split between action in WW2 and the present day (OK ~2000) - with the latter mostly involving a start-up working on a cryptocurrency.
The template start-up business plan from Cryptonomicon is available online:
I tried about 3 times to read the Baroque Cycle - couldn't finish Quicksilver. But the unabridged audio books on Audible are a delight - I've listened to the entire set at least twice now.
Jack Shaftoe (AKA King of the Vagabonds, L'Emmerdeur, Half-Cocked Jack, Quicksilver, Ali Zaybak, Sword of Divine Fire, and Jack the Coiner) is probably my all time favourite fictional character.
The template start-up business plan from Cryptonomicon is available online:
http://avsport.org/microcomm/admin/busplan.pdf
NB The entire Baroque Cycle is utterly fantastic - particularly in the audio book version.