The Cobweb

The Cobweb is a 1996 novel written by Neal Stephenson with Frederick George. In early editions it is credited to the pseudonym Stephen Bury. When Clyde Banks, an Iowan Deputy with a newborn baby and a wife in the first Gulf War, starts looking into odd events in his town, he discovers a plot involving a new Triangle Trade of terrorists, chemical warfare, and training. Mixing the events staged in Washington, D.C. and those happening in the Gulf, a strange thread of deceit appears to be winding its way back to Iowa. Although fictional in its narrative, the story includes appearances by Tariq Aziz and George H. W. Bush. The novel is set in the fictional Iowa twin towns of Wapsipinicon-Nishnabotna, named for the Wapsipinicon River and Nishnabotna River. In many important respects, this town resembles Ames, Iowa, where author Neal Stephenson attended Ames High School, graduating in 1977 (Located at 42° 2'22.55"N, 93°38'1.31"W).