Chip War
Chip War recounts the rise of the chip industry and the outsize geopolitical implications of its ascendancy. In this book, international affairs analyst and economic historian Chris Miller, offers an insightful history of the global competition for control of the silicon chip industry. Miller explains how the semiconductor came to play a critical role in modern life and how the U.S. became dominant in chip design and manufacturing and applied this technology to military systems. He chronicles the development, proliferation and strategic deployment of the semiconductor chips that accounts for virtually everything—from missiles to microwaves, smartphones to the stock market. Chip War reveals how we can’t make sense of politics, economics or technology today without first understanding the central role played by computer chips in shaping the modern world.
RECOGNITION FOR THE BOOK
Financial Times Business Book of the Year
New York Times Bestseller
Winner 2023 PROSE Award for Outstanding Work by a Trade Publisher
Shortlisted for the Lionel Gelber Prize
PRAISE FOR THE BOOK
“Pulse quickening…Chip War makes a whale of a case: that the chip industry now determines both the structure of the global economy and the balance of geopolitical power... If any book can make general audiences grok the silicon age — and finally recognize how it rivals the atomic age for drama and import — Chip War is it.”
—New York Times
“A riveting history of the semiconductor by Chris Miller, a historian at Tufts University…His volume could not be better timed…[features] vivid accounts [and] colorful characters.”
“In Chip War, his elegant new book, Chris Miller of Tufts University shows how economic, geopolitical and technological forces shaped this essential industry… For those seeking to understand it better, Chip War is a fine place to start.”
“Fascinating…A historian by training, Miller walks the reader through decades of semiconductor history – a subject that comes to life thanks to [his] use of colorful anecdotes…Chip War makes clear that the battle for the multi-billion-dollar struggle for semiconductor supremacy in an increasingly-digitized world will only intensify in the years to come.”
“The most interesting book [I have] read all year.”
—Ryan Heath, writing in Politico’s “Global Insider”
“An insightful history… Well-researched and incisive, this is a noteworthy look at the intersection of technology, economics, and politics.”
—Publisher's Weekly
“An important wake-up call with solid historical context…America’s tech lead is shrinking, so the time has come to develop policies to ensure that the secret machinery of the digital era continues to operate smoothly…Miller’s implicit message to U.S. policymakers is to recognize the danger and act accordingly.”
—Kirkus Reviews
"Miller uncovers the complex history of the microchip...Touching on U.S.-China relations, globalization, and the microchip industry, this insightful book is key to understanding the chip's power in shaping all aspects of society in the U.S. and the world at large."
—Booklist