I have to say the Silk Roads is one of the most uneven history books that I have ever read. Trying to write a history of the world is never an easy feI have to say the Silk Roads is one of the most uneven history books that I have ever read. Trying to write a history of the world is never an easy feat and packing it all in under 700 pages is even more difficult.
The reason why I say this book is uneven is because it starts off very well with the ancient history, moves through the so called dark ages, the greek and roman periods but then speeds through the medieval period and the following centuries so focus on the XXth century. I think more then 20-30% of the book focuses on the XXth century. Monumental events in history such as the Napoleonic wars, the Russian or Chinese civil wars or the great rebellions in China in the XIXth century are glossed over, while Frankopan spends large amounts of pages on quotes and anecdotes about from lesser known British generals, politicans, explorers or traders.
The book is a revisionist history of sorts as it rightfully moves the centre of the ancient world from the Mediterranean to Persia. The chapters about the Persian Empire and the Silk Road are probably the most interesting in the whole book. Also, Frankopan is a Byzantinologist by profession and this is reflected in the very good chapters about the Crusades and the Byzantine Empire. Although, I feel that too much attention was given to the Fall of Constantinople to the Crusaders in 1204, an event which is very important but not as momentous as the fall of 1453.
The whole book is very Persia-centric recounting the many incarnations of the Persian state as well as the many external interventions from the Ottomans, the Russians, the British and finally the Americans. The last part of the book focuses squarely on the oil politics of Persia and the greater Middle East in quite a lot of detail.
It's interesting, Frankopan set out to write a book that is not eurocentric by his own admission. However, in the end all he achieved was write a book that criticises the European expansion but still misses the actual history of the local states. There is also an unmistakable undercurrent of anti-Western and anti-American bias in the book. The examples are plenty, for example the Franco-British Suez crisis is covered in detail but the Communist takeover in Eastern Europe and China is almost completely ignored.
Nonetheless this is still a decent popular history book but probably not a book that i would recommend to someone that doesn't know much about history or doesn't understand Middle Eastern politics....more
A good popular history of the Roman Republic from the early years all the way to Augustus. Tom Holland is very wordy as he tries to spin history like A good popular history of the Roman Republic from the early years all the way to Augustus. Tom Holland is very wordy as he tries to spin history like a fiction novel. He partially succeeds in Rubicon. The great romans Sulla, Marius, Crassus, Cato, Cicero Pompeii, Caesar all come to life in this book. The story of the Roman civil wars is especially captivating.
At the same time, the book suffers from Holland's over-flowery language. The book ends with the death of Augustus but there's little explanation of what he did to end the republic. In fact, about 40 years of his life are skipped. Overall a solid 3.5....more
Persian Fire was a fairly disappointing book. Tom Holland really wants to be the most non-academic history book writer. He tries to write his books asPersian Fire was a fairly disappointing book. Tom Holland really wants to be the most non-academic history book writer. He tries to write his books as a novel to appeal to a wider audience and uses flowery language as if the text is an ancient chronicle.
For some people this might work but it annoyed the living daylights out of me. I just want to read a good history book not a pretend novel.
Anyway, the book covers the background and foundation of the three main states in the story: Persia, Athens and Sparta and then covers the Ionian Revolt and the Greco-Persian wars with the battles of Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis and Plataea.
The wars are told almost entirely from the Greek perspective despite the name Persian Fire. I was expecting more of a Persian perspective. But most of the book the Persians are referred to as 'barbarians' to underline the Greek point of view. Also, there are no maps of the battles which is a major minus. I had to go online and watch some videos to better understand the army placements....more
Another great book by Ben Macintyre! I really hope he keeps on writing because he's a fantastic storyteller.
The story of the British rake turned GermaAnother great book by Ben Macintyre! I really hope he keeps on writing because he's a fantastic storyteller.
The story of the British rake turned German spy turned British double spy Eddie Chapman was probably the most emotional out of all the Macintyre's spy stories. The ending literally had me with watery eyes.
Eddie Chapman was such a complex person, if it wasn't for the war he probably would have ended up like just another criminal spending his life in between prison and the London underworld. But there some extraordinary events in life which bring forth a person's true mettle. Despite his character flaws and criminal background Chapman ended up being one of the greatest British war heroes.
Chapman's relationships with both his German and his British spy masters but also with his criminal buddies and his lovers are all deeply personal and moving.
The adventures he went on and the risks he took were astonishing. That's where the conundrum lies, Eddie achieved so many things as a spy precisely because he was not a normal person, he was a criminal through and through. What a story!...more
Cavalerii Apocalipsei este o carte foarte grea de digerat dar este absolut necesara pentru oricine este interesat de istoria celui de-al doilea razboiCavalerii Apocalipsei este o carte foarte grea de digerat dar este absolut necesara pentru oricine este interesat de istoria celui de-al doilea razboi mondial. Este o carte de memorii ale lui Ion V. Emilian, un avocat dintr-o veche familie romaneasca, inrolat ca voluntar in armata romana ca ofiter de cavalerie.
Este ceva fantastic sa citesti despre sarje de cavalerie cu sabia si lupte cu alte formatii de cavalerie intr-un razboi in care erau tancuri si avioane. Dar calarasii chiar erau trupe de elite romanesti care au luptat in cele mai incrancenate batalii de pe frontul de Est. Emilian a participat la eliberarea Basarabiei si a luptat in Ucraina, in Kuban, in Crimeea si pana in extremitatea cea mai Estica a frontului in stepa Kalmuca. Apoi el a luptat pe frontul de Vest alaturi de Sovietici in Transilvania de Nord, Ungaria si Cehoslovacia.
Povestile de pe front sunt foarte viscerale, camarazii lui mor unul dupa altul, multi in chinuri groaznice. Dar cumva Emilian reuseste sa scape de fiecare data. Scenele de batalie cu rusii sunt alternate cu scenele de odihna prin satele rusesti unde soldatii romani reusesc uneori sa fraternizeze cu locuitorii terorizati de comunisti. Tatarii si mai ales Kalmucii se alatura romanilor din cauza suferintelor traite sub bolsevici.
Emilian a fost intotdeauna un anti-comunist convins si in tinerete facuse parte din formatiunea de extrema dreapta Liga Apararii National Crestina a lui AC Cuza. Din aceasta cauza el nu acceptase niciodata actul de la 23 August. Atunci cand a vazut atacurile sinucigase ordonate de Sovietici si mortile in zadar ale soldatilor romani, Emilian a decis alaturi cu trupa lui sa dezerteze la Germani. El se inroleaza apoi ca voluntar in trupele Waffen SS pentru a lupta impotriva Sovieticilor dar nu mai apuca fiindca razboiul se termina. In cele din urma este recrutat de serviciile secrete Americane si actioneaza ca agent secret reusind sa scoata din Romania comunista multi oameni si sa participe la multe misiuni impotriva serviciilor rusesti.
Mi-as fi dorit sa citesc mai mult despre misiunile secrete dar din pacate cartea a fost scrisa si publicata intr-o perioada in care comunismul inca era la putere. Asa ca Emilian nu a putut sa povesteasca deschis prea mult. In fine, este o carte care merita citita avand in vedere ca nu prea sunt chiar asa de multe carti memorialistice din al doilea razboi mondial. Faptul ca Romania a luptat alaturi de Germania Nazista si a fost apoi sub comunism a facut imposibila publicarea memoriilor soldatilor romani.
This book was a major disappointment. It claims to start in 1467 but it barely covers the events of the Onin War, I still don't understand why it starThis book was a major disappointment. It claims to start in 1467 but it barely covers the events of the Onin War, I still don't understand why it started. It seems to randomly skip forward in time spending little time explaining anything. The Imjin War gets only a few paragraphs with no explanation why it was a hard war or the Chinese intervention.
But then the author spends pages and pages on less important things such as the biography of a samurai and a tea master or the different types of sound signals used by the armies.
Overall very weak, not recommended as a primer on the subject. It probably creates more confusion if the reader isn't already versed in the history....more
Quite a nice description of the 1683 siege of Vienna. The battles are portrayed quite well and the maps and images are great as allays. Would have likQuite a nice description of the 1683 siege of Vienna. The battles are portrayed quite well and the maps and images are great as allays. Would have liked more information about the minor Ottoman allies though....more
What an emotional ending for a book, it truly brought tears to my eyes!
The names of David Stirling, Paddy Mayne and Jock Lewis will forever live as tWhat an emotional ending for a book, it truly brought tears to my eyes!
The names of David Stirling, Paddy Mayne and Jock Lewis will forever live as the heroic founders and leaders of the SAS.
When I watched the BBC TV series Rogue Heroes I thought that there was probably a lot of fictionalised accounts. It turns out reality is even crazier then the TV show.
All of the adventures and covert operations of the SAS in North Africa are absolutely unbelievable. A bunch of young crazy soldiers went around the desert attacking German and Italian bases, blowing up planes and causing chaos. The level of courage of these men is close to insanity.
The following operations in Italy, France and Germany a lot more dirty and dark with a lot more violence on both sides.
Ben Macintyre is the master of popular history books, they are almost like novels. He is now my favourite history author....more
Matei Cazacu's 'Dracula' is probably the best academic history book available in English on Vlad III the Impaler (also known as Dracula). That is at lMatei Cazacu's 'Dracula' is probably the best academic history book available in English on Vlad III the Impaler (also known as Dracula). That is at least until Corpus Draculianum is translated into English, which will hopefully happen in the next few years.
The first part of the book goes through the history of Vlad the Impaler's reign and then the life of his successors. The second part analyses the various sources that we have available about the Vlad's life and the veridicity of these sources.
This is because Vlad was the probably one of the first victims of media slander. His greatest enemies, the Saxons of Transilvania likely used the newly invented printing press to publish and spread stories about the Voivode's violence. These stories involved things such as flesh eating, drinking blood, sadism and so on and were spread throughout the German speaking world. While Vlad the Impaler was well known for impaling his enemies, this was not very unusual at the time as several of his contemporaries did the same thing. There is little actual evidence outside of the German tales about his savagery and cruelty, for example Chalkokondyles does not mention anything about this despite covering the Ottoman campaign of 1462 in detail.
The main sources that we have about his life are:
- Geschite Dracole Waide (Anonymus, 1463) - Von ainem wutrich der hies Trakle waida von der Walachei (Michael Beheim, 1463) - Laonikos Chalkokondyles (c 1474) - Skazanie o Drakule voevode (Fyodor Kuritsyn, 1486) - Die Geschicht Dracole Waide (Anonymus, 1488)
The last part of the book also deals with the history of the modern myth of Dracula and explains Stoker's inspiration for his novel. Even though I don't really agree with including modern myths and inventions in an academic book about a medieval subject there were some very interesting facts here.
It seems that Stoker took great inspiration from Marie Nizet's Captain Vampire. This was a book written in 1879 (19 years before Dracula was published) by a Belgian writer who was very interested in Romania's fight for independence against Russia and the Ottoman Turks. The novel takes place during the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-78 in Romania and Bulgaria and features Count Liatoukine, a Russian vampire that seduces women and drains their blood. Nizet likely took inspiration from Romanian folklore and the myth of the Sburator, an incubus that makes love to women at night. She was acquainted with Ion Heliade Radulescu, a Romanian writer that wrote a modern version of the Sburator myth in 1843.
This book is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the medieval history of Eastern Europe and the life of the real Dracula....more
Yet another wonderful spy story written by Ben Macintyre, this time from the other side of the Iron Curtain. The story of Oleg Gordievsky is very fascYet another wonderful spy story written by Ben Macintyre, this time from the other side of the Iron Curtain. The story of Oleg Gordievsky is very fascinating and in a way mirrors that of Kim Philby but in the opposite direction, a man that saw the repression of the Soviet regime for what it was and yearned for the freedom of the West. The first part of the book was a bit slow but the second part and Gordievsky's defection is explosive. Looking forward to read more of Macintyre's work!...more
A Spy Among Friends is as much about Kim Philby as it is about Nicholas Elliott, these two British spies and friends who ended up on different sides oA Spy Among Friends is as much about Kim Philby as it is about Nicholas Elliott, these two British spies and friends who ended up on different sides of the Cold War ideological struggle. The book literally starts with the upbringing and youth of Nicholas Elliott and there is actually a lot more detail in Elliot's backstory than there is in Kim Philby's. Philby is introduced when Elliot loses his best friend at the beginning of World War II and their 20 year friendship begins.
Macintyre is a great storyteller and he masterfully weaves between the lives of Philby and Elliot. The damage that the naïve Communist Philby did to the British secret services is unbelievable. But what is more unbelievable is how after he started being suspected as a Soviet agent there were still lots of people such as Elliot and others that stood by him. The book really highlights the 'old boy' mentality of the British establishment. Due to their hubris they refused to believe that someone from their inside group would ever betray them. The rivalry between MI5 and MI6 is also another layer to this betrayal.
Philby's upbringing is a story in itself and there was probably too little time spent on it. He was the son of a British legend, St John Philby (later known as Sheikh Abdullah) who served as an advisor to King Abdulaziz ibn Saud, the founder of Saudi Arabia. Just like many students of his generation, Philby became a Communist sympathiser at university. But unlike others he remained a convinced and dedicated Communist his whole life.
The spy stories detailed in the book focus on many of the operations handled and betrayed by Philby such as the German anti-Nazi Catholic resistance, the Albanian resistance, the Georgian resistance or Soviet defection attempts which led to the deaths of hundreds of people.
I just wish there was more details of Philby's relations and interactions with the other members of the Cambridge Five spy ring. Probably the most interesting part is the discussion about Philby's escape to the Soviet Union and whether Elliot allowed him to leave.
The ending of the book is really good because it shows the end of the lives of all of the main players including of course Philby and Elliot but also some of the other British and American agents involved.
I really enjoyed John le Carre's closing section and his interview with Nicholas Elliott. Elliot's Britishness and attitude is unbelievably stereotypical and ridiculous. It's so interesting that le Carre actually personally met both Elliot and Philby. I am actually going to start reading a few of le Carre's spy novels as he based them on these real spy stories....more
E foarte bine ca o carte de popularizare a istoriei este scrisă în engleză. Cartea chiar este scrisă bine, singura problemă este folosirea prea multorE foarte bine ca o carte de popularizare a istoriei este scrisă în engleză. Cartea chiar este scrisă bine, singura problemă este folosirea prea multor cuvinte românești și nume românești pentru localități care la acea vreme nu erau românești și un pic de bias românesc.
Primul capitol care explica toate sursele disponibile atat românești cat si ungurești despre Iancu de Hunedoara este binevenit....more
I am on a bit of a Crowley binge after Empires of the Sea I jumped straight into Conquerors. This book is just as fun to read as the previous one, theI am on a bit of a Crowley binge after Empires of the Sea I jumped straight into Conquerors. This book is just as fun to read as the previous one, the story of the creation of the Portuguese Empire is absolutely unbelievable. A band of explorers and adventurers like Vasco da Gama and Albuquerque managed in just a a few short years to create an Portuguese Empire ranging from the coast of Africa to the Straits of Hormuz, the coast of India and the Straits of Malacca. They managed against all odds to defeat the far more numerous Mamluks, the Sultan of Bijapur or Sultan of Malacca. This book has everything from great exploration journeys to sea battles and sieges. The only downside is that the book is only about the foundation of the Portuguese Empire and basically ends in 1515. Would have loved to know more about the age of exploration and the battles of the Portuguese against the Ottoman Empire....more
The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilisation is an excellent refutation of the modern historical trend which denies the existence of the Dark Ages.
EvThe Fall of Rome and the End of Civilisation is an excellent refutation of the modern historical trend which denies the existence of the Dark Ages.
Ever since the 70s-80s some historians have been claiming that there was no real fall of Rome, they are using the term 'transformation' and presenting the barbarian invasions as peaceful migrations and settlements. While some of these migrations were indeed peaceful, many of these barbarians actually serving in the Roman army there is a mountain of evidence to show that there was indeed a civilisational collapse.
The author touches on several areas to prove his thesis:
- the level of economic activity dropped as evidenced by a decrease in the number of amphorae and other trade goods discovered during the period after the fall of Rome - the sophistication of society also dropped as evidenced by the quality of the household goods. Pottery is a large part of the book and the author explains that there is a marked decrease in the sophistication and quality of pottery sherds found. It seems that pottery techniques were also forgotten after the fall of Rome. - the number of inscriptions and writing overall had a huge decrease after the fall of Rome, in the next centuries fewer and fewer writings are found and it is believed in some places such as Britain writing was completely forgotten. By comparison during the Roman times even some lower class people could read and write. - the size of cities and buildings decreased. New churches built in the centuries after the fall of Rome were small and dwarfed by their Roman counterparts. Roof tiles which were an important part of Roman city building almost disappeared due to the loss of the manufacturing centres. - the quality of buildings and the building materials dropped. For example the windows became smaller and stained glass a lot simpler. - even the size of the animals such as cattle experienced a marked drop. The author actually presents the different sizes of cow bones found which show that the cows became a lot smaller after the fall of Rome due to the loss of good quality grazing grounds and proper maintenance. The Romans invested a lot of time and effort in livestock growth which was simply no longer possible afterwards.
The effects of the fall of Rome were so serious that some areas actually reached a level of development lower than even prior to the period when Rome conquered them. It took several centuries to even reach pre-Roman levels of development as evidenced by archaeology and existing records.
This book was quite tedious in some parts due to the focus on archaeology, pottery and tiles. However, it is a welcome counter to the modern historical trends and well worth the read for anyone interested in late antiquity and early medieval period....more
Roger Crowley has to be one of the best writers of popular history books. His narration is second to none, his books don't feel like history books butRoger Crowley has to be one of the best writers of popular history books. His narration is second to none, his books don't feel like history books but rather like adventure novels. I absolutely breezed through Empires of the Sea which was my third Crowley book. Previously I have given him only 3 or 4 stars because although his narration is fantastic his history is usually a bit lacking or a bit too simplistic. But for the Empires of the Sea he deserves 5 stars both as a bit of a restitution from me but also in recognition of his wonderful writing.
The story of the siege of Malta, the battle of Preveza, the siege of Cyprus and the battle of Lepanto is told in breathtaking detail. I could not put the book down during these epic battles and I am left wanting for more. Next is his book about the Portuguese maritime conquests!...more
I wanted to read about the Cuban missile crisis for quite some time so the release of Max Hastings' The Abyss was perfect. Hastings does a fantastic jI wanted to read about the Cuban missile crisis for quite some time so the release of Max Hastings' The Abyss was perfect. Hastings does a fantastic job of telling the terrifying story of the crisis using both historical archives but also eye witness testimonies.
In between the meetings of great leaders and the movement of ships and submarines he added the recollections of regular Cuban and Russian people that were stationed in Cuba during the time of the crisis. These eye witnesses were interviewed for the book and they are a fantastic addition because they add a much needed ground level view.
Hastings sets the scene for the crisis by starting with the story of Castro and the Cuban revolution and of course the Bay of Pigs disaster. He then moves to describe the political and social situation in both the US and the Soviet Union and also briefly goes over the biography of Khrushchev and Kennedy.
What strikes the reader about the crisis was the fact that the whole missile placement was a decision taken by Khrushchev without planning in advance of what would happen. He just assumed that Kennedy was a young inexperienced President who he could take advantage of. It was a terrible miscalculation by Khrushchev as he backed himself into a corner once the US caught wind of the missile placement. However, once the crisis started both Khrushchev and Kennedy proved to be very level headed and rational actors. It is to the great fortune of the world that these two men were the leaders of their respective countries.
Despite the fact that the blame for starting the crisis lies solely with Khrushchev the great villains in the story are the US military leaders that were intent on pushing Kennedy to invade Cuba and were preparing invasion plans and Fidel Castro who was pushing Khrushchev to do a nuclear first strike on the US. The US civilian leadership with JFK, RFF and Robert McNamara were constantly trying to push back against the pressure of the hawks in the military. The same carelessness and aggressiveness will later be in full view during the Vietnam war. And while McNamara would later live in infamy due to his role in Vietnam he was actually one of the voices of reason in 1962. On the other side Khrushchev had to actually keep Castro in the dark due to his obsession with fighting the Americans, the Soviet leader thought that Castro didn't actually understand what nuclear war meant.
Probably the biggest takeaway of the book was that as in the words of McNamara the missile crisis was not actually a 'military crisis' but rather a 'political crisis'. The reason for that is because the geopolitical strategic balance had not really been modified by the placement of the missiles in Cuba. At the same time, the withdrawing of the US Jupiter missiles from Turkey would not have been any difference either because the missiles were obsolete and out of date. At the time nuclear missiles on submarines were just as dangerous and there were Soviet submarines with such missiles near the US and US submarines with such missiles near the Soviet Union yet nobody made a big fuss about it. However, publicly Kennedy could not be seen to accept the placement of Soviet missiles in Cuba so close to the US. If he would have allowed that to go on his Presidency would be compromised and he would have had no chance for a second term.
The book also goes over all of the incidents during the crisis such as the shooting down of the American U2 spy plane and the famous Soviet nuclear submarine whose captain allegedly was prevented from launching a nuclear missile by his subordinate and potentially preventing World War III. Hastings casts some doubt on the submarine incident as the timeline and the recollections of the witnesses are quite contradictory.
This book came out at the right time in 2022 as the world is once again threatened by nuclear war. It is a sobering reminder of how close we came to nuclear apocalypse and the importance of cool headed leaders, something which the world seems to lack more and more....more
Premisa cartii incepe de la Letopisetul Tarii Moldovei a carturarului Grigore Ureche, prima cronica care s-a pastrat partial pana in ziua de azi. ProbPremisa cartii incepe de la Letopisetul Tarii Moldovei a carturarului Grigore Ureche, prima cronica care s-a pastrat partial pana in ziua de azi. Problema este ca versiunea originala s-a pierdut si defapt ce avem noi astazi este o versiune completata sau terminata de un anume Simion Dascalul. Aceasta versiune contine un pasaj despre o origine legendara a romanilor conform careia un anume rege maghiar Ladislau a cerut ajutor de la Roma impotriva tatarilor si imparatul roman i-a trimis toti rau facatorii din puscariile din Italia. Acesti rau facatori au luptat impotriva tatarilor si drept rasplata au fost lasati de regele maghiar sa se aseze in Maramures iar mai taziu descendentii lor au intemeiat Moldova.
Ovidiu Pecican porneste intr-o lunga cautare a sursei acestei legende si trece prin cronica lui Ureche, apoi prin interpretarile lui Dimitrie Cantemir si apoi prin diverse cronici din Ungaria, Bulgaria, Serbia sau Rusia. Concluzia istoricului este ca legenda a fost copiata de Simion Dascalul probabil dintr-un asa zis Letopiset Unguresc, o cronica ungureasca scrisa probabil in secolul XIV ca instrument propagandistic impotriva romanilor din Regatul Maghiar. Acest Letopiset preia diverse legende si povesti, combina evenimente reale cum ar fi invazia tatarilor cu elemente de basm.
Autorul foloseste atat elemente de istoria dar incearca sa se uite si la mituri si traditii orale ca sa gaseasca legaturile dintre diversele cronici si cum a fost transmisa legenda de-a lungul timpului.
Cartea ar fi foarte interesanta dar din pacate autorul nu prea reuseste sa lege naratiunea prea bine. Diferitele capitole se citesc ca si cum ar fi din carti diferite, nu sunt legate prea bine intre ele. Explicatiile istoricului nu sunt prea clare si uneori nu sunt foarte convingatoare. De asemenea, sunt mult prea multe citate copiate intregi din varii cronici, inclusivi pagini si pagini de citate in limbaj arhaic. Nu prea avea rost sa fie incluse toate citatele intregi, doar mici fragmente erau de ajuns.
In concluzie, subiectul cartii este foarte interesant dar modul in care este prezentat lasa mult de dorit....more
Asa da! Cruciada împotriva lui Ștefan cel Mare este una din cele mai bune cărți de istorie scrisă de un român pe care am citit-o în ultimii ani. Este Asa da! Cruciada împotriva lui Ștefan cel Mare este una din cele mai bune cărți de istorie scrisă de un român pe care am citit-o în ultimii ani. Este scrisă în stilul cărților de istorie din vest, se citește ca o frumoasă poveste și nu ca un manual de istorie plictisitor și greoi.
Autorul trece în revistă istoria fiecărei armate și facțiuni care au participat la conflictul din 1497. O coaliție formată din teutoni, polonezi și lituanieni s-a confruntat cu o alta formată din turci, tătari, unguri, muntenii și moldoveni toți joacă un rol. Bătălia este plasata în contextul international și geopolitic al vremii. Ștefan cel Mare nu mai este dușmanul turcilor în acel moment ci aliatul lor.
Istoricii români au ce să învețe de la această carte minunată....more
Sensational book about the history of the chip industry and the current technological and trade conflict between the US and China. The book traces theSensational book about the history of the chip industry and the current technological and trade conflict between the US and China. The book traces the history of the chip all the way from the 1940s with its pioneers hailing from China, Japan, Korea and the US.
It explains how the US became a global tech super-power from the 1950s to the 1970s with tech companies such as Texas Instruments, Fairchild Computing or Intel, how they transferred their knowledge and know-how to their Asian allies in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, how they were challenged by Japan in the 1980s, how they created a symbiotic relationship with Taiwan in the 1990s and how they are once again challenged today by China today.
Other than the impressive pace of innovation the book explains how the key to the modern chip production is the fabless model. In this model US companies designs microchips but contract out their production to factories in Asia. This is what led to the current bottleneck where pretty much the whole world is dependent on a single company in Taiwan (TSMC that produces the chips) and a single company in Netherlands (ASML that produces the photolitography machines that are actually used to produce the chips).
One of the best books I have read a in recent times, 5 out of 5. It is the perfect primer to understand the chip industry, its history and also today's landscape....more
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