Living with the Chip

Rating:
Summary: Primer on the History of Microelectronics
Review: "Living With the Chip" is a primer on history of microelectronics. It discusses the evolution of the IC chip from its roots in tube-based electronics to the future. In the process it provides a survey of the people (primarily American) and companies that developed the technology.

The book was informative in cursory way, but was uneven in presentation. Some chapters are flat and report-like, others are blue-sky. Some chapters pre-suppose a technical background and others do not. It appears the book was originally written in Japanese. I believe it probably started as a graduate or PhD thesis and was "dumbed-down" and hyped-up for publication.

"Living with the Chip" provides a good start for someone looking for information on the microelectronics industry, but is not a source.