Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology (Paperback)
  • Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology (Paperback)
zoom

Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology (Paperback)

(author)
5 Reviews Sign in to write a review
£10.99
Paperback 464 Pages
Published: 31/08/2023
  • 10+ in stock

Usually dispatched within 1-2 working days

  • This item has been added to your basket
Waterstones Says

A fascinating and often surprising account from a leading economic historian, Chip War shows how and why the control of the computer chip industry shapes the future of the global economy and the security of nations.

Winner of the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award 2022

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. But the West's lead in this area is under threat. At stake is America's military superiority and the economic prosperity of democratic nations.

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 naive 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.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
ISBN: 9781398504127
Number of pages: 464
Dimensions: 198 x 130 x 28 mm


MEDIA 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

‘A nonfiction thriller — equal parts “The China Syndrome” and “Mission Impossible"… If any book can make general audiences and finally recognize how [the silicon age] rivals the atomic age for drama and import — Chip War is it’  - New York Times

'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, Financial Times

'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

'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. But the book is not a polemic. Rather, it’s a non-fiction thriller - equal parts The China Syndrome and Mission Impossible... If any book can make general audiences grok the silicon age - and finally recognise how it rivals the atomic age for drama and import - Chip War is it.  - Virginia Heffernan, New York Times

'The battle for supremacy in semiconductors is one of the most important stories in geopolitics, national security and economic prosperity. But it's also been one of the least well understood. Thankfully, we now have Chip War to give us a clear view and sharp read on this essential subject.' - Andrew McAfee, author of More from Less

'Chris Miller's brain works like the computer chip he writes about. It is packed with dizzying, complex circuitry that results in sparkling clarity. He has written not only an amazing story, but also one of overwhelming importance that is both taut in style and epic in scope.' - Robert D. Kaplan, author of The Revenge of Geography

'Outstanding. Miller's history of the chip covers all angles: technological, financial and especially political. No book better discusses the intricacies of lithography techniques - and how they implicate global security. He has written the go-to reference on one of the most important industries today.' - Dan Wang, Technology Analyst at Gavekal Dragonomics

'In Chip War, Chris Miller has captured the essence of the most critical and strategic element of the 21st century geostrategic competition. This book is brilliantly and entertainingly written, deeply convincing, and grounded in both history and technology. A tour de force!' - Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret); 16th Supreme Allied Commander of NATO

'Terrific…With extraordinary breadth and absorbing storytelling, Chris Miller traces the global history of the chips that rule the world. A timely tale of how we got to now and the high-stakes politics that will determine what’s next.' - Margaret O’Mara, author of The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America

'An important wake-up call with solid historical context' - Kirkus

'An insightful history. Well-researched and incisive, this is a noteworthy look at the intersection of technology, economics, and politics' - Publishers Weekly

'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

'Semi-conductors may be to the twenty-first century what oil was to the twentieth. If so, the history of semi-conductors will be the history of the twenty-first century. This is the best chronicle of that history so far that we have had or are likely to have for a very long time. If you care about technology, or America’s future prosperity, or its continuing security, this is a book you have to read.' - Lawrence H. Summers, 71st US Secretary of the Treasury

Chris Miller’s riveting history of semiconductors explains why America is feeling vulnerable - Financial Times

You may also be interested in...

The Psychology of Money
Added to basket
Paperback
£14.99 £12.99
The Concise 48 Laws Of Power
Added to basket
The Diary of a CEO
Added to basket
Hardback
£20.00 £14.99
Autocracy, Inc
Added to basket
Hardback
£20.00 £15.99
Going Infinite
Added to basket
Paperback
£10.99 £8.99
The Invisible Doctrine
Added to basket
Hardback
£12.99 £10.99
Never Split the Difference
Added to basket
Technofeudalism
Added to basket
Paperback
£10.99 £9.49
Money
Added to basket
Hardback
£25.00 £20.99
Shoe Dog
Added to basket
Paperback
£10.99
The Trading Game
Added to basket
Hardback
£25.00 £21.99
But What Can I Do?
Added to basket
How Big Things Get Done
Added to basket
Paperback
£11.99 £9.99
The Art of Winning
Added to basket
Paperback
£10.99
Follow the Money
Added to basket
Paperback
£12.99
Think Again
Added to basket
Paperback
£12.99
Chums
Added to basket
Paperback
£9.99 £8.49

“Chip War by Chris Miller-Review by Samuel Miller Sunday 22 October 2023”

This book tells the story of how the race/fight for the planet's tech started, which countries are involved, and the history of how developments like the microchip has led to
what there is today, namely... More

Paperback edition
Helpful? Upvote 18

“A must read book on current affairs”

This is a great book for those looking to learn about one of the most important commodities of our time.

It was eye opening to see the geopolitical aspects of computer chips so well explained alongside the science... More

Paperback edition
Helpful? Upvote 18
Richard Hayden in Rye

“Semiconductor Struggle”

Chip War’s slightly populist title belies a deeply analytical history of the global semiconductor industry from its invention to the very latest developments in computer chip design and manufacture.

Along the way,... More

Paperback edition
4 similar books recommended
Helpful? Upvote 14

Please sign in to write a review

Your review has been submitted successfully.