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. Here, in this paperback edition of the book, the author
has added intriguing new material focused on "America's Chip Comeback,"
which overviews the global consequences of the just passed CHIPS Act,
the new export controls on China, and the effort to rally allies to
better guard chip technology.
Illuminating, timely, and fascinating, Chip War is "an essential and
engrossing landmark study" (London Times).
