The Diamond Age   (book)

The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer

This book is about nanotechnology, the education of little girls, and subversion (no, not the version control software). It's quite entertaining.

And at the same time, it's a thought-provoking look at the future. As in Snow Crash, the world is divided up in ways that seem rather strange, not in countries, but divided on idealogical and racial boundaries. The characters are very well developed, the story is intriguing, and the details seem well thought out across the board. Definitely recommended for anyone who has a clue what nanotechnology is or likes a good cyberpunk action story.