The Diamond Age
by Neal Stephenson
★ Top 10 book of 1995 · #9 on Best Books of 1995
An engineer designs a device meant to raise a girl who can think independently. When a young girl from the poor underclass ends up with it, the consequences unfold.
Best for: Sci-fi fans interested in technology, education, and class
The Diamond Age is #9 on BookWard's Best Books of 1995, out of 28 1995 books that cleared our data bar.
What The Diamond Age is about
In a future shaped by nanotechnology, a girl named Nell grows up as a thete, a person without a tribe, in the Leased Territories slum of the artificial island of New Chusan. When she is four, her brother Harv gives her a stolen copy of the Young Lady's Illustrated Primer. It was commissioned for a lord's granddaughter and is designed to nudge its reader toward a more interesting life, responding to her surroundings and teaching what she needs to survive and grow. Its stories echo Nell's own experiences, including her four toy friends, within old folk tales. The engineer who designed it, John Percival Hackworth, makes an unauthorized copy for his own daughter, and the consequences ripple outward.
Neal Stephenson's inventive, satirical novel is part coming-of-age story, part look at education, class and culture. It won the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1996 and was shortlisted for the Nebula. It will appeal to readers who like their science fiction full of ideas.
The Diamond Age on the Best Books of 1995
The Diamond Age came out in 1995. Of the 28 books first published in 1995 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #9 on our Best Books of 1995 list.
Why it made the list: 322 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.1 out of 5 (94 ratings). The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 1995 list
- The Demon-Haunted World Carl Sagan, #7
- The Rainmaker John Grisham, #8
- Kiss the Girls James Patterson, #10
- Assassin's Apprentice Robin Hobb, #11
See all Best Books of 1995 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 1994 Best Books of 1996.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 189 want to read it, 11 are reading it now and 122 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4.1 out of 5 from 94 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 64 | 55% |
| Reader love | 82 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 39 | 20% |
Questions about The Diamond Age
When was The Diamond Age published?
The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson was first published in 1995.
Was The Diamond Age one of the best books of 1995?
The Diamond Age is #9 on BookWard's Best Books of 1995, out of 28 1995 books that cleared our data bar. 322 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.1 out of 5 (94 ratings).
Why is The Diamond Age on the Best Books of 1995 list?
322 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.1 out of 5 (94 ratings).
More of the best books of 1995
- The Lost World Michael Crichton, #1
- Emotional Intelligence Daniel Goleman, #2
- Northern Lights Philip Pullman, #3
- Mindhunter John E. Douglas, #4
- Rose Madder Stephen King, #5
- Wicked Gregory Maguire, #6
See the full Best Books of 1995, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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