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Editorial Review Product Description
Barely fifty years ago a computer was a gargantuan, vastly expensive thing that only a handful of scientists had ever seen.The world’s brightest engineers were stymied in their quest to make these machines small and affordable until the solution finally came from two ingenious young Americans.Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce hit upon the stunning discovery that would make possible the silicon microchip, a work that would ultimately earn Kilby the Nobel Prize for physics in 2000.In this completely revised and updated edition of The Chip, T.R. Reid tells the gripping adventure story of their invention and of its growth into a global information industry.This is the story of how the digital age began.
From the Trade Paperback edition.Amazon.com Review
They're everywhere, but where did they come from? Silicon chips drive just about everything that sucks power, from toys to heart monitors, but their inventors aren't nearly as widely known as Edison and Ford. Journalist T.R. Reid has thoroughly updated The Chip, his 1985 exploration of the life work of inventors Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce, to reflect the colossal shift toward smarter gadgets that has taken place since then.Satisfying as both biography and basic science text, the book perfectly captures the independence and near-obsessive problem-solving talents of the two men. Though ultimately only one of them (Noyce) ended up with legal rights to the invention, they shared a respect for each other that persisted throughout their careers. Since Kilby won the 2000 Nobel Prize for Physics for his work, the story is all the more compelling and intriguing over 40 years after the invention. Reid's work uncovers human dimensions we'd never expect to see from 1950s engineering research. --Rob Lightner ... Read more Customer Reviews (20) 
Author doesn't understand the subject.
The subject matter seems daunting.The photograph on the cover of the book, which shows two inventors, is intimidating.But do not be deceived.The book is not daunting or intimidating.
LEVEL OF READING.The first 50 or so pages reads like a little kids' book.Later on, the subject matter gets more advanced.Almost anybody can read the entire book in one sitting.At any rate, the writing flows along, and we learn many interesting details about the beginnings of the Silicon Valley. The author does not "talk down" to the reader.The problem, at least to me, is that none of the business relationships regarding setting up various semiconductor companies is disclosed in any detail.Also, nothing much is disclosed about how electrical engineers interact in the inventive process.Another complaint is that the book is very small--eight inches by five inches.
PATENTS.The author pauses to provide a background in patent law (pages 98-102).While the author certainly meant well, the "information" provided on patents is a bit messed up.There is a page on trade secrets and Coca Cola (not relevant to patents in electronics).There is a paragraph on Thomas Jefferson's stint in examining patents (not relevant to patents in electronics).The author writes about a patent being a "sword or a shield."But patent attorneys do not habitually characterize patents as a "sword or a shield."Instead, they characterize patents as a "limited monopoly."The author writes that patent examiners "are generally lawyers."But this is false.Patent examiners in mechanical arts and electrical arts just have an undergraduate degree, while examiners in the biotech arts have a Ph.D.On a rare occasion, a patent examiner has a law degree.The author also writes that "the lawyers threw in some language to fudge the issue." (page 105).But this is false.The author fails to realize that the language in question is standard in most or all patents, and is just added as a matter of custom (it is not added to "fudge" any issues).Another problem is that the author fails to mention that the single greatest reason to have patents is to grant the inventor a limited MONOPOLY.Nowhere in these pages does the author mention "monopoly."
I don't have much confidence that anything written in this book is as reliable as it could be.I am under the impression that the author was thinking this while writing the book: "If I gear the writing level to that of an intelligent teenager, and if only teenagers read my book, then perhaps none of my readers will suspect that I have no idea what I'm writing about!!!"
RECOMMENDATIONS.For readers interested in an adult-oriented book on semiconductors, I recommend CRYSTAL FIRE by Michael Riordan. For teenagers or adults interested in techno-biographies on other topics relating to electronics and such, I recommend Robert Buderi's THE INVENTION THAT CHANGED THE WORLD (which concerns radar), A.Edward Evenson's THE TELEPHONE PATENT CONSPIRACY OF 1876, or Nick Taylor's fine book, LASER.I might suggest, CATHEDRALS OF SCIENCE by Patrick Coffey.
I was there
I got into the electronic business in 1954 when it was all vacuum tube and I worked in electronics until 2001.I was there and saw it all as an electronic technician working with all the parts and am more that aware of the numbers problem.We fought assembly problems for years with all the wiring necessary to make all the circuits.I worked with aircraft electronics for 13 years and then in industry for 38 years in data storage systems,magnetic tape and magnet disk, floppy and rigid.Even when we went from vacuum to solid technology it still required massive wiring and we used automatic back panel wire wrapping machines, (Ditmaco).Not until the invention of the microchip did this problem go away.The invention of the first integrated circuits was a major step but we still had the wiring problem.The microchip solved the wiring problem.As I am reading this book (The Chip) it sure brings back a lot of memories, especially trying to over come the interconnect problems.I was there and saw it all from leaded parts to surface mount, from vacuum tubes to transistors, to integrated circuits to microchips.I am very familiar with the early Fairchild and Texas Instrument parts.The Fairchild 9000 series and the T.I. 7400 series.I was an interesting enviroment and now I am enjoying reading the story.
Engaging, but it has filler added to it.
This is a good book, but it would have been much better if the author had not decided to add "filler". The best example is the chapter "DIM-1", which explains in quite some detail, the working of digital microchips. While this may be interesting, it is not related to the book's tagline: How two Americans Invented the Microchip and Launched a Revolution".
There are some technical mistakes, like showing a bipolar transistor structure, and labeling its pins "Drain, Gate, Source", whereas it should be: "Collector, Base, Emitter".
Those issues aside, the book is very engaging, and the author does a superb job of explaining difficult technical material to non-techies.
A great introduction to technology
"The Chip: How Two Americans Invented the Microchip and Launched a Revolution," by TR Reid, Random House, NY, 2001.This 309 page paperback provides a highly readable account of the invention of the integrated circuit.It begins with the discovery of the Edison effect and carefully explains the various technologies in a non-technical way as it goes along.The heros of the story are Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments and Robert Noyce of Fairchild Camera and later Intel.Both invented integrated circuits and received patents for them.Interferences were filed to resolve the issue resulting ultimately in a cross licensing arrangement.Kilby also invented the pocket calculator.
Along the way the book describes the work of Edison, Fleming and DeForest in invention of the vacuum tube, and later the invention of the transistor at Bell Labs.Other technologies are also mentioned including development of radar and television, the first Altair computer, and the Intel microprocessors.The transition from magnetic core memory to semiconductor RAM is described.The story of the pocket calculator, digital watches, and some early computers are mentioned.Apple is mentioned but not Motorola.And little is said of Microsoft.Strangely absent are Radio Shack and their TRS-80, Commodore, Atari, Sinclair, TI-99-4a, and CP/M.
The book was originally written in 1985, and then revised and update in 2001.Not surprisingly it devotes considerable space to the Japanese conquest of digital memory chips.It notes that when shortages forced domestic customers to use Japanese chips, they found those made in Japan were of higher quality.This discovery was a major factor is the quality programs initiated soon after.The books stops before the emergence of China as a major producer of electronics.
The detailed non-technical explanations of numerous related topics (thermionic emission, discovery of the electron, conductivity theory, doping, Boolean algebra, digital arithmetic, Deming quality programs, patent law, operation of a digital calculator, etc) make this an excellent introduction to the field.In addition to those interested in the history of technology, those considering careers in engineering, electronics, or information technology will find the book especially useful.Extensive references.Indexed.
an excellent book
Reid balances the general narrative with the "drilling down" into details with virtuosity. You brain will love the way he lays the information out. You'll never get bored throughout the book. The author successfully reverse-engineers the story of electronics all the way down to a vacuum tube. Read this book yourself and read it to your kids.
Vicki
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