Contains a lot of factual "connections" type information the development of "Natural Phlosophy" (see Scientific Method) in Britain and Europe, i.e. Newton, Liebnitz, Hegel, etc., the American Colonies, plus 17th century religion and politics (synonomous at that time) thrown into a very good story line. It's out in paperback.
The "heavy lifting" math and scientific parts of the story are nicely interspersed with the juicier bits to keep it from becoming too dry.
The Weekly Standard had a long article on Stephenson's Baroque Cycle a couple of weeks ago:
Back to the Baroque: Neal Stephenson's science fiction of the past.
The other two books of the trilogy are out in hardback. If you liked Quicksilver, try Cryptonomicon, also by Neil Stephenson. I consider it his best book to date, and it has some interesting ties to the Baroque Cycle: Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World.