Amsterdam history in fiction

I'm in the middle of reading "Quicksilver" by Neal Stephenson. When I bought it, and its two sequels, I had never heard of the books or the author, but they are big thick books with small print - perfect! Now I can hardly put it down.

This book starts in the New World colonies, goes back in time to 17th century London, Paris, Amsterdam and various baronies in present day Germany. The characters range from Sir Isaac Newton, to Hooke, Leibniz, William of Orange, Louis XIV even. Plus a few fictional main characters who, if you aren't so up on your 17th century history like me, you don't know for sure they are fictional til you check it out.

This book is so well written that it makes history a fascinating read. Espcially when you live in one of the major cities. And who would have thought that William of Orange was so fond of blow jobs.

This last summer I also read "A Short History of Nearly Everything" which also has some of the same characters. If you are a science fan, and are also interested in European history, these books are fun reads and highly recommended.