Chip War
The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology
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4.5 • 228 Ratings
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
One of Barack Obama’s Favorite Books of 2023
The Financial Times Business Book of the Year, this epic account of the decades-long battle to control one of the world’s most critical resources—microchip technology—with the United States and China increasingly in fierce competition is “pulse quickening…a nonfiction thriller” (The New York Times).
You may be surprised to learn that microchips are the new oil—the scarce resource on which the modern world depends. Today, military, economic, and geopolitical power are built on a foundation of computer chips. Virtually everything—from missiles to microwaves—runs on chips, including cars, smartphones, the stock market, even the electric grid. Until recently, America designed and built the fastest chips and maintained its lead as the #1 superpower, but America’s edge is in danger of slipping, undermined by players in Taiwan, Korea, and Europe taking over manufacturing. Now, as Chip War reveals, China, which spends more on chips than any other product, is pouring billions into a chip-building initiative to catch up to the US. At stake is America’s military superiority and economic prosperity.
Economic historian Chris Miller explains how the semiconductor came to play a critical role in modern life and how the US became dominant in chip design and manufacturing and applied this technology to military systems. America’s victory in the Cold War and its global military dominance stems from its ability to harness computing power more effectively than any other power. Until recently, China had been catching up, aligning its chip-building ambitions with military modernization.
Illuminating, timely, and fascinating, Chip War is “an essential and engrossing landmark study" (London Times).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
International affairs analyst Miller (We Shall Be Masters) offers an insightful history of the global competition for control of the silicon chip industry. Chips, also known as semiconductors and integrated circuits, are embedded in every device that requires computing, Miller explains. He delves into the historical links between the U.S. military and Silicon Valley; the nurturing of relations between American companies and chip manufacturers and designers in Asia; and the ascendancy of the Taiwanese semiconductor industry thanks to a former Texas Instruments executive who founded the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., in 1987. Miller also explains how Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution put China's chip industry far behind its neighbors', and tracks the rise of Chinese tech giant Huawei thanks to the advice of IBM consultants and technology transfers from such American companies as Qualcomm. Since the early 2000s, China has devoted billions to developing its technological industries through subsidies and the theft of intellectual property, setting the stage for Huawei, a leader in 5G technology, to potentially rival Silicon Valley's influence by 2030. Miller makes clear that rising tensions between the U.S. and China over Taiwan pose a grave threat to global semiconductor supply chains, and ominously predicts that future wars will be determined by computing power. Well-researched and incisive, this is a noteworthy look at the intersection of technology, economics, and politics.
Customer Reviews
First rate topic by 3rd rate author
A first-rate topic, written by a 3rd rate author, who has done little deep research. More like a collection of news articles and google search results, but even that would generated many interesting pieces to write about.
One extra star for perfect timing.