Chip War

The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology

By: Chris Miller

Narrated by: Stephen Graybill

***Winner of the 2022 Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award***
***Selected as one of Barack Obama's Favourite Books of 2023***

'Pulse quickening. A nonfiction thriller - equal parts The China Syndrome and Mission Impossible' New York Times

An epic account of the decades-long battle to control the world's most critical resource—microchip technology

Power in the modern world - military, economic, geopolitical - is built on a foundation of computer chips. America has maintained its lead as a superpower because it has dominated advances in computer chips and all the technology that chips have enabled. (Virtually everything runs on chips: cars, phones, the stock market, even the electric grid.) Now that edge is in danger of slipping, undermined by the naïve assumption that globalising the chip industry and letting players in Taiwan, Korea and Europe take over manufacturing serves America's interests. Currently, as Chip War reveals, China, which spends more on chips than any other product, is pouring billions into a chip-building Manhattan Project to catch up to the US.

In Chip War economic historian Chris Miller recounts the fascinating sequence of events that led to the United States perfecting chip design, and how faster chips helped defeat the Soviet Union (by rendering the Russians’ arsenal of precision-guided weapons obsolete). The battle to control this industry will shape our future. China spends more money importing chips than buying oil, and they are China's greatest external vulnerability as they are fundamentally reliant on foreign chips. But with 37 per cent of the global supply of chips being made in Taiwan, within easy range of Chinese missiles, the West's fear is that a solution may be close at hand.

'A riveting history. Features vivid accounts and colourful characters' Financial Times

'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' Forbes

'Indispensable' Niall Ferguson©2022 Christopher Miller. All rights reserved. (P)2022 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Critic reviews

'Miller [argues that] the future of humanity hinges on the "chip war" between two ecosystems vying to design and make the most advanced micro-processors - that of the United States and its friends (including Taiwan), and that of the People’s Republic of China. . . The result is an indispensable book.' (Niall Ferguson, author of Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe)

'Chip War is essential for understanding our modern world…With a sweeping narrative that captures the people who risked a lot and made it all happen, Chris Miller tells how our chip-powered world has been shaped by constant battles - among innovators and technologies, among companies, among countries, and now, of critical importance, in the great power competition between the United States and China that will define the future of geopolitics.' (Daniel Yergin, Pulitzer-prize winning author of The Prize: the Epic Struggle for Oil, Money and Power)

'A riveting history of the semiconductor...a compelling book that explains a very complicated industry in digestible fashion...His volume could not be better timed.' (Demetri Sevastopulo)

'A remarkable book…The devil is in the details, and it is there where Chris Miller is at his best…An eye-popping work, a unique combination of economic and technological - and strategic - analysis.' (Paul Kennedy, author of The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers)

A history and future lessons

Words can't express the joy I have had in reading this book. So many lessons. Great work one of the modern classics.

Semiconductor history

Wealth of information regarding the history of semiconductor. Essential for understanding one of the most critical part of the technological revolution humanity is still going through.

Must read

A book that must be read. Topical, excellently researched and written. Brought into very sharp focus the impact that this critical technology has on contemporary developments in global military, political, economic, technological trends

Required reading

A book that everyone must read. A great way to understand the history of Silicon Valley and the role it has played in the world. The role of geo politics and how different leaders made history forming decisions. China and the US. And very much about the role of Taiwan as a center of the global semiconductor world. Excellent book!

Reads like a novel

Very good historical overview of the semiconductor industry and sets the stage for the future.

Must read for anyone

Great explanation of the history and current status of the chip industry. Gets into detail but also explains the basics

Incredible.

A must read for anyone who wants to know more about, not only technological advances, but the shape of contemporary geopolitics.

Interesting

The book focuses on the history of development of semiconductor-based chips. It is very detailed and provides new insights regarding the interconnections between various players from different countries in reltion with the chip industry. What I found lacking is a focus on rare metals, their role in the numerous devices that use chips, where they are located, in what quantities, etc to get a clearer picture. The discussion is not quite impartial in the sense that a subtitle of the book could be "How to maintain USA technological lead in face of Asian competition".

Excellent overview & analysis of the development and importance of semiconductors

Excellent overview & analysis of the development and importance of semiconductors. Very much worth a listen!

Disappointing

A few episodes of the Acquired podcast contain more information about the companies mentioned in this book. More importantly the "go USA" tone of this book seems, judging on the content of the book, completely uncalled for and is at times simply gag-inducing.