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| View Larger Image | The Chip : How Two Americans Invented the Microchip and Launched a Revolution
by T.R. Reid
| | List Price: | $14.95 | | Price: | $11.21 | | You Save: | $3.74 (25%) |  | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours | | | | | Sales Rank: | 553266 | | Studio: | Random House Trade Paperbacks | | | Binding: | Paperback | | Number Of Pages: | 320 | | Publication Date: | October 09, 2001 | | Publisher: | Random House Trade Paperbacks |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
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. |
Amazon.com
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 |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 17 reviews)
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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.
April 07, 2008 | |
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
November 05, 2007 | |
The Chip
This book was very interesting, and the author did well at explaining things in terms that all could understand.
March 08, 2007 | |
reader's digest version of semiconductors and IC's 
I was literally stunned by the first three chapters in this book. The author seems to have gleamed what little he knows
of electronic history from Life magazine or maybe popular mechanics. There is very, very little mention of the impact of Germany and quantum theory in his history of semiconductors. His description of valance electrons and holes is almost comical.
I was expecting him to pronounce Sarnoff as
the wizard of the age, which he sort of does with Edison -
one of early electricity's greatest hacks and the 'great'
marconi,he who was so fond of ripping off tesla's patents.
Maybe the later edition is somewhat more worthwhile, the edition I bought was from amazon marketplace and although
I thought I was receiving the current edition, I was sold the book with a 1984 copyright. People it pays to have
merchants actually sell you the book that is listed.
I guess if you like really easy going and simplified story telling this book is for you.
January 26, 2007 | |
a good introduction to the history of integrated circuits
TR Reid, who studied ancient Greek and Latin at Princeton, has written an excellent short history of integrated circuits, or microchips, which is accessible to any high school student. The basic concepts and main figures, such as Kilby and Haggerty at Texas Instruments, Noyce at Intel, and others are described extremely well in language that is easily understandable, interesting, and enjoyable to read. On top of that, it is good pointers to other, more detailed books at the end.
If you have a PhD in electrical engineering, or are a veteran of the industry, you may, on the other hand, feel that this book is to short for your liking.
September 22, 2006 | |
SIMILAR PRODUCTS |
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