This attempt to dramatize the events leading up to and following
the invention of the transistor is mired down in scientific detail.
Riordan (The Hunting of the Quark, 1987, etc.) and Hoddeson
(History/Univ. of Illinois) attempt to flesh out the labors of the
three Bell Laboratories scientists involved in the research
(William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain) by placing
their invention in the Modernist, relativist tradition descending
from Einstein. The coauthors do a fine job of making understandable
to the lay reader just what a transistor does: It takes the energy
that goes into it and magnifies it hundreds or thousands of times
before transmitting it. However, both historically and narratively,
the transistor's inventors are overshadowed by events of the era,
which included WW II and the Korean War (even when they were
awarded the Nobel Prize for their invention in 1956, their fame
swiftly faded because of events in Hungary and the Middle East).
When, finally, near the end of the book, we get a glimpse of the
true personalities of the trio, they are nearly impossible to like:
Shockley espoused racist views based on notions of a link between
heredity, race, and intelligence; and a misanthropic Brattain is
quoted as saying in 1980, "The only regret I have about the
transistor is its use for rock and roll music. . . . I still have
my rifle and sometimes when I hear that noise, I think I could
shoot them all." Some final comments about the place of the
transistor in the eventual development of the microchip and the
computer are thought-provoking. But lacking human interest, Crystal
Fire is likely to appeal only to scientists and tech-heads. (Kirkus
Reviews)
The Invention of the Transistor and the Birth of the Information Age
"Without the invention of the transistor, I'm quite sure that the PC would not exist as we know it today."—Bill Gates
On December 16, 1947, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain, physicists at Bell Laboratories, jabbed two electrodes into a sliver of germanium. The power flowing from the germanium far exceeded what went in; in that moment the transistor was invented and the Information Age was born. No other devices have been as crucial to modern life as the transistor and the microchip it spawned, but the story of the science and personalities that made these inventions possible has not been fully told until now.
Crystal Fire fills this gap and carries the story forward. William Shockley, Bell Labs' team leader and co-recipient of the Nobel Prize with Brattain and Bardeen for the discovery, grew obsessed with the transistor and went on to become the father of Silicon Valley. Here is a deeply human story about the process of invention — including the competition and economic aspirations involved — all part of the greatest technological explosion in history.
"The intriguing history of the transistor — its inventors, physics, and stunning impact on society and the economy — unfolds here in a richly told tale."—Science News
"Thoroughly accessible to lay readers as well as the techno-savvy. . . . [A] fine book."—Publishers Weekly
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