Product Description
On December 16, 1947, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain, physicists at Bell Laboratories, jabbed two electrodes into a sliver of germanium. The power flowing from the germanium far exceeded what went in; in that moment the transistor was invented and the Information Age was born. No other devices have been as crucial to modern life as the transistor and the microchip it spawned, but the story of the science and personalities that made these inventions possible has not been fully told until now. Crystal Fire fills this gap and carries the story forward. William Shockley, Bell Labs' team leader and co-recipient of the Nobel Prize with Brattain and Bardeen for the discovery, grew obsessed with the transistor and went on to become the father of Silicon Valley. Here is a deeply human story about the process of invention-including the competition and economic aspirations involved-all part of the greatest technological explosion in history.

Amazon.com Review
The microchip at the heart of your computer is a complex device, but its historical origins go back to one crude-looking little gadget made up of a wedge of plastic, a strip of gold foil, a rough-hewn slab of crystallized germanium, some wires, and a bent-up paper clip. Slapped together by two Bell Labs experimenters on December 16, 1947, this invention later came to be known as the transistor, and it is the ancestor of every microchip in operation today.

Crystal Fire tells the story of the creation and development of that gadget, demonstrating that very little about the transistor's invention was as simple it seemed. The device put together on that December day was no idle experiment, but the product of decades of high-level research--and the first major practical application of the esoteric quantum mechanics that had emerged from European particle physics at the beginning of the century.

Just as fascinating as the scientific background, though, is the story of the brains and events behind the invention of the transistor. The collaboration and rivalry of the three men credited with the invention--the brilliant John Bardeen, the likable Walter Brattain, and the appallingly driven William Shockley--hold center stage. However, authors Riordan and Hoddeson make it clear that the unique organizational resources of Bell Labs, the furious course of the war effort, and the random twists and turns of historical accident played equally important roles. The saga makes for a gripping read and a crash course in the dizzying complexity of information-age invention. --Julian Dibbell

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 5 reviews)

Nice try but needs more work

The transistor is essential to modern life in America. Without its development I would not have been able to leave this review today. This is a look at how it developed and how it led to the start of the modern computer. My one complaint about this book is that it becomes far too bogged down in scientific jargon and lost the social history as it did so. The business discussion is mediocre at best especially given the delicate relations that occurred to fight over this chip. A much needed book but executed poorly.
December 16, 2006

A great read

Reading this book from the perspective of a retired history teacher and an amateur radio hobbyist might explain a bit of the 5 star rating. However, the book is well researched and well written.

I would say that anyone with a passing interest in how we got into this age of technology and information would find the book a great read!

August 18, 2006

Excellent technology history

A thoroughly informative and engaging look at the development of semiconductor electronics. A bit of physics background will help you get through some of the discussions of atoms and energy levels, but even if you skim this material, you'll better understand how semiconductor physics came about and how practical products left the lab and became the microprocessor, memory, and other chips that power "appliances" we take for granted. All too often we think of inventions as springing forth in one burts of energy. This book shows the slow and not-always-steady developments that involved more people that you can imaging. I recommend this book highly to engineers and non-engineers alike.
May 06, 2006

A Must Read for Engineers

This is an excellent book on the history of the transistor. Not exactly light reading, but still an enjoyable read. As an engineer it is wonderful to learn the history of the one of the most important inventions of recent times. Really a well written book.
July 07, 2003

Solid state is not a reference to California.

Who invented the transitor? The answer to this question is in the book. What is the transitor? The answer is in the book. Understanding the answer is another, more personal, matter. Why was the transitor invented in the US, when it was? This facinating question is well explored in the book. One may be surprised to see the names of Hitler, Einstein, Salvador Dali and Picasso mentioned in the same breath with the inventors. Which co-inventor of the transistor went on to win a second Noble prize for superconductivity? The book does not play favorites among the three co-inventors but the work of John Bardine on the transistor and superconductivity is reason enough for the biography fan to read this book instead of watching the biography of the "Hamburger Barrons" on TV. The story is not an "easy read." But cheer up, there are great pictures.
May 13, 1999

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