Created at: 2024-09-04
The book provides a linear view of the major achievements and discoveries in the semiconductor industry since the advent of the transistor.
The book is insightful, but not technical. The narrative is presented from a fascinating business and political perspective. The author describes important transitions in technology along with their side-effects on the political landscaping.
The book puts emphasis on the "chip war" that is happening behind the scenes between global super powers.
This war is defined by a military race for more advanced computer chips so that ever-more sophisticated apparatuses of mass destruction can be created for both defence and offence.
The book brings urgency to the fact that the whole world depends on technology that is concentrated among few players. Taiwan and South Korea concentrate the production of chips, the Netherlands the advanced machinery for photolithography, the U.S the big corporations that design, finance, and research chips, and many Asian countries provide the human labour required for chip manufacturing.
This is an elucidating reading that made me feel way more informed about the struggles to advance the semiconductor industry than I would be if I was only watching the news and reading sporadic articles.