The Chip: How Two Americans Invented the Microchip & Launched a Revolution

[Martin Tolchin] Reid, T.R.

ISBN 10: 0671453939 / ISBN 13: 9780671453930

Published by Simon and Schuster, New York, 1984

Reporter and author T.R. Reid's fine work on Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce, being a narrative of their discovery and invention of the microchip. Nice association copy inscribed to Martin Tolchin, political columnist and journalist. 8vo, 243pp. Photographs, index. Signed and inscribed by Reid to Martin Tolchin on the ffep. Cloth backed blue paper boards in jacket. Some edge toning to boards else near fine in like jacket with some use at head of spine. Seller Inventory # 5691

Synopsis:

Traces the innovative development of the monolithic integrated circuit, or silicon chip, discussing the scientists who created it, its structure and functions, the evolution of the semiconductor industry, and the vast implications of the silicon chip

Review: 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

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Chip: How Two Americans Invented the ...
Publisher: Simon and Schuster, New York
Publication Date: 1984
Binding: Hardcover
Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
Signed: Signed by Author(s)
Edition: First edition.