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

Despite working my entire adult life on computers, I never really dug all that deep into the history of the development of computer chips. They're such a key piece of almost everything in our lives so it's a little embarrassing I didn't know all this history.

This was a captivating book. It talked about the history of the development of some of the first chips that sent Apollo astronauts to the moon, to how Japan through its rebuilding after World War II became so big in the memory chip market, and how the Soviet Union struggled throughout the Cold War to match western chip developments.

The book does a good job talking the companies involve. About how Intel became so big as well as its missteps that have put it on its current unsure footing. It dives into TSMC and how they were able to corner the market for advanced chip manufacturing.

It also goes over the various geopolitical struggles between the U.S., China, and the rest of the world. How the American government dropped the ball with recognizing how important the advanced chips would be for modern technology, including military uses.

If you work with technology of any kind, or are interested in the history of the microprocessor, this is a good read.