Broken Genius: The Rise and Fall of William Shockley, Creator of the Electronic Age (Macmillan Science)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.13 (636 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0230551920 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 302 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-03-03 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
This is the first biography of William Shockley, founding father of Silicon Valley - one of the most significant and reviled scientists of the 20th century. Drawing upon unique access to the private Shockley archives, veteran technology historian and journalist Joel Shurkin gives an unflinching account of how such promise ended in such ignominy.
. He covered the moon landings for Reuters, served ten years as Science Writer at the Philadelphia Inquirer and was on the team that won a Pulitzer Prize for covering Three Mile Island, among many other awards. JOEL N. He has written nine books including Terman's Kids (Little, Brown) about the study of gifted students, Invisible Fire, on the eradication of smallpox, a science-fiction novel called The Helix (Norton) and most recently A
A tolerable, informative biography of Shockley. One problem Robert Speck A tolerable, informative biography of Shockley. One problem is that the index is inadequate. Major players in Shockley's life and beyond are either not mentioned in the index at all (e.g., Edwin Land) or receive incomplete mention (his son Bill). Also, Shurkin likes to insert his opinions into his writings when the subject matter doesn't call for it (for example, he refers to the music of the Kingston Trio as 'ersatz folk',. Pleasant and quick read Arthur Zatarain I am an engineer with particular interest in William Shockley because I was once barred from hearing him speak. This book presents an excellent recap of Shockley's entire life, concluding with the events that led to his downfall among the general public. I found the coverage to be generally fair and unbiased. Although the book provides the expected analysis of Shockley's later years, ample coverage is provided of his most p. Very bright, and more than a little strange William Shockley generated some mild controversy as a co-winner of the Nobel Prize for the transistor, and a firestorm of controversy as an investigator of supposed linkages between race and intelligence. Mr. Shurkin sheds considerable light on both disputes, as well as on those facets of Shockley's personality which occasionally drifted from merely difficult into the scarier modes of overbearing and compulsive. The author'
'At last, the definitive, unstinting biography of this hugely important historical figure - complete with all his contradictions and idiosyncrasies.' - Michael Riordan, coauthor of Crystal Fire'Shurkin deftly tackles this complex figure - and his unraveling - and delivers an unflinching portrait of a tragic life.' - Seed Magazine'Shurkin does a good job of portraying a difficult man - a vivid portrait.'- NewScientist'The other wonderful thing about this book is that it manages to convey the excitement of scientific inqu