Microchip: An Idea, Its Genesis, and the Revolution It Created

Rating:
Summary: Full of dramatic errors
Review: As a semiconductor device specialist, I am shocked by the huge amount of errors in this book. Just two examples (my wordings):
"silicon is not a semiconductor, it becomes one only when it is doped with particular impurities." (page 27)
"MOS is not a type of electronic device, but instead a type of chip made from Metal-Oxide semiconductors." (Pages 94-95).
It is unbelievable that such writing has gone to print without (apparently) any sanity check on the technical content. The lack of accuracy renders this account of recent history useless.

Rating:
Summary: Well written, accessible account of Microchip drama
Review: Even if you are not interested in microchip evolution and the undeniable impact it has made on our daily lives, you should read this book to understand the dilemma posed by creative scientists whose inventions and creative energies transcend the limitations of the times. This is the story of free enterprise as a uniquely American phenomenon. An added bonus is, this book is written in a richly loquacius style that makes every sentence a study in grammatical prowness. Even if you have no interest in the microchips, read this book for the beauty of the syntax.

Rating:
Summary: Worse than useless
Review: Interesting attempt but way too slow and repetitive. Mostly assumes the reader is a moron who needs things explained 3 different ways. Too much verbage; too much "fat".

Rating:
Summary: Worse than useless
Review: It is hard to understand how a book bulging with so many factual errors could have slipped through even a cursory editorial review. Zygmont exhibits a jaw-dropping ignorance of his subject at the technical level, and a remarkably poor grasp of the history of semiconductor devices and integrated circuits. One is bound to wonder about the author's objectives, in view of the numerous excellent texts that have already been publised on this topic, for both the casual reader and the serious researcher. His obsessive use of fancifully florid language would be inappropriate even in pulp fiction: here it only makes an already poor piece of journalism ludicrously unreadable. I offer as my credentials a lifetime of contributions to this field, with an international reputation, and Life Fellow of IEEE.