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1. What a book, thought-inspiring!
   I heard of this book a lot and decided to purchase. It does not disappoint. This is not just a book about semiconductors and global competition, this work allows you to view our modern history through this very unique lenses of technology, specifically, the development of semiconductors. It is masterfully written, engaging and unleashes your mind, providing not just answers but also new interesting discussion questions.

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2. A story of innovation history and Chinese competition
   I have the hardback, which is 431 pages including acknowledgments, extensive notes and index. There are 351 pages of text itself. The book is well-written and a relatively easy and informative read for which the author deserves credit. There are some good reviews of the book that outline the history of the development of the chip and some of the seminal figures involved in its development. I live in Dallas close to the central Texas Instruments plant where Jack Kilby and Morris Chang, whose contributions to the creation of the chip industry are outlined, worked. In the very late 1980s, Texas Instruments was a member of a chamber of commerce with which I volunteered. TI invited us over for a presentation. During the presentation TI observed that they had developed systems that would allow the US to send a missile 800 miles and hit a target the size of a barrel. This claim was impressive and the gentleman sitting next to me leaned over and whispered in my ear “I’ll bet the Russians have a bulls-eye drawn around this place.” A few years later in the 1st Gulf War, TI’s claim was verified. You don’t have to persuade me that computer chips are a critical technology.I divide the book into the first roughly 2/3rds that looks at the history of the chip and the US role in its development. This role in fabrication and lithography was initially critical. But, as noted in the book, “America’s technological lead in fabrication, lithography and other fields had dissipated because Washington convince itself the companies should compete but that governments should simply provide a level playing field.” Pg. 298. Other governments, particularly China, did not share this view.The last roughly 1/3rd of the book, largely beginning in Section VII, looks at the Challenge of China. The history is interesting, but if you’re mainly interested in the Chinese competition and the effects of globalization, you may want to start here and see what the author has to say. TSMC, located in Taiwan, manufactures a large percentage of the more sophisticated chips used globally. ASML, located in the Netherlands, manufactures basically all of the lithography equipment necessary to manufacture high-end chips. Korea and Japan manufacture meaningful amounts of the chips necessary for cars, phones, etc., but the loss of TSMC in, for instance, an attempt by China to take over Taiwan would have a huge impact on our daily lives.It’s also not clear that the Netherlands intends to willingly relinquish its primacy in manufacturing essential lithography equipment. So, the book explores the effects of U.S. efforts to globalize the manufacture of chips. The U.S. has tried to maintain some primacy of the design of chips in Silicon Valley and the book looks at some of these efforts. Recently the U.S. government has recognized the shortcomings of globalization and is trying to bring chip manufacturing back to America.The author makes a compelling case that computer chips are a critical technology. The history of the development of this technology and U.S. competition with China are the focus of this book. If these topics are of interest to you, I recommend the book highly.

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3. Very knowledgeable
   Very good explaining the evolution of semiconductors And the companies that make and develop them.

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4. Great read
   Amazing book! This is a complex topic but somehow read more like a story than a textbook. I really enjoyed it and would recommend to anyone who might be interested in the topic

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5. Need to read
   I have an IT background and this was an easy read, but also a real eye-opener. I can verify from my work experience much of what is written is 100% accurate.

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6. Shifts the fault lines of AI theory and geopolitics – Literally and Figuratively
   Producing advanced technology requires more than a set of instructions. In today’s world, we hear about reverse engineering and technology espionage of the most advanced tech, often extracted from the research halls or computer servers of U.S. facilities. But Chris Miller’s “Chip War” clarifies and corrects common misconceptions about cheap and “easy” reverse engineering. Cheap, maybe yes. But if there is an advanced computer chip involved, not easy and likely not a copy at all.As of 2021, the most advanced logic chips, also known as semiconductors, were produced in only two companies, Samsung and TSMC located in the Republic of Korea and Taiwan respectively. The various phases of chip production, research, design, fabrication and installation are shared between dozens of companies across North America, Asia and Europe. But the most advanced chips require the precision tooling made available by only one company located in the Netherlands.As Chris Miller explains, the “Chip War” is about understanding the risks of globalized supply chains, the importance of specially-funded research and the tenacity to keep up in a game where any system that relies on a chip can be outdated, obsolete or out-maneuvered by the following generation of chips. Chip capacity doubles in processing speed and memory capacity every two years. Known as “Moore’s Law” after one of the seminal researchers of early chip development, chip designers continue to find ways to replace key ingredients, carve or lase smaller grooves onto silicon wafers and double the processing power of every day gadgets and the latest Artificial Intelligence-enabled weapons systems. Since at least 2019, the processing power increase has doubled every six months!The book’s subtitle hints at the fact that winning the access, if not harnessing control of the latest chip generation, is critical to maintaining dominance not only on the battle field but on the trading floor and the farthest reaches of space exploration. It is not an understatement to suggest that the Soviet Union lost the cold war due to its inability to keep pace with computer chip advances. Today, Russia is 100% dependent on non-Russian companies to supply its advanced chips and decades behind in designing and fabricating today’s most advanced chips.The same is not exactly said for China. But like other advanced technologies, self-sufficiency requires a robust system of interconnected education structures, research, production feedback, creativity and a healthy dose of business risk aversion coupled with massive injects of investment capital. Here in 2023, China had still not built an indigenous capacity necessary to produce and keep up with the latest advances in chip production; which is also a critical component in AI.It’s not enough to describe the contemporary Chip War without understanding the complexity and fascinating history of the chip’s development. I like how Miller begins his book describing the WWII and post-WWII era of computing and the space race that spurred the advances in chip making. The early book chapters help provide context for why simply stealing and studying a chip is not enough to replicate it. And given Moore’s Law, not keeping pace with chip advances will always leave a company or product years behind in competitive capability.NASA was the first to provide monetary incentive for the early chip giants with the chips enabling better and better rocket technology. The US Department of Defense then took the helm in catalyzing the chip race. The DoD was fortunate to have people like Under Secretary of Defense for Research, William Perry, in the 1970’s who understood the complexities and necessities of computer chip applications.But with global demand came an increasingly complex global supply chain where chip companies died, were bought out, moved out or were pushed out by new companies taking advantage of cheaper production markets, even if the chip design kings remained in the U.S. Japanese companies like Sony, Toshiba, Hitachi and NEC dominated chip production in the 1980s with the Republic of Korea not far behind. Assembly plants popped up in Southeast Asia. The U.S. today is only 2% of the global chip market. China (PRC) and Taiwan are center-stage in the so-called chip wars.China is still unable to produce the most sophisticated chips, relying on an ironic geo-political reality, Taiwan, for the majority of its advanced chips. In 2015, China and Taiwan’s chip sectors almost merged under massive political and economic pressure from the People’s Republic of China but today the mood and posturing is much different. Taiwan has friends who increasingly understand the importance not only of Taiwan’s democracy and autonomy but also its irreplaceable tech contributions.Unlike nuclear technology which has not changed much in decades, chip technology as it contributes to ever-faster computing, forming the “synapses” of 5/6G and AI, is the real game changer and the ultimate “weapon” to win any war or contribute to humanity’s development, as Chris Miller would have us believe. I highly suggest you read the book for yourself and begin contemplating how semiconductor production could be as geo-politically powerful as crude oil extraction. It certainly shifts the fault lines of thought and geography.

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7. A Thrilling Tale of Innovation and Rivalry
   Chip War by Chris Miller provides a captivating account of the fierce competition and groundbreaking advancements that shaped the semiconductor industry. It masterfully blends technology, geopolitics, and history into a compelling narrative, leaving readers in awe of the technological revolutions that have transformed our world.

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8. A terrific overview of chip technology
   This is a clear, readable account of semiconductor technology and the evolution of chips over the last century. It features some of the stars of the process and their stories (and some of them are people I know, which is cool!) and brings the story to the 2020’s and the current state of affairs. I would have liked more exploration of the effect of AI on the balance of power, but otherwise, it was a great book.

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9. A well written story of the technology that is driving the current industrial revolution.

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10. No lo he terminado aún, pero lo que vengo leyendo hasta el momento es fascinante.

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11. Parte deste livro é mais facilmente compreendido para quem tem mais 50 anos e trabalhou na industria de informática de forma ampla Hardware e Software. Mas seu principal conteúdo é o de oferecer uma visão geo-política-econômica de onde estão os alicerces (poucos e concentrados), da mais importante e estratégica industria do século XXI – Circuitos Integrados (CHIPS) de altíssima densidade. O controle-domínio desta tecnologia determina quem tem os melhores armamentos, os elementos necessários para o desenvolvimento de tecnologia em torno da Inteligência Artificial ….. É leitura obrigatória para diplomatas, estadistas, homem de negócio,… Responde porque Taiwan é tão importante a China e para os EUA…

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12. So glad that I read this

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13. Für mich in zweierlei Hinsicht empfehlenswert.1) zeigt es die Komplexität der Lieferketten aus vielen Blickwinkeln2) ein beeindruckendes Werk über die Entstehung und Entwicklung der Halbleiterindustrie in der ich seit 38 Jahren tätig binWar schön zu lesen

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