Chip War: The Quest to Dominate the World's Most Critical Technology

Written by Chris Miller

Narrated by Stephen Graybill

One of Barack Obama’s Favorite Books of 2023

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.

Illuminating, timely, and fascinating, Chip War is “an essential and engrossing landmark study" (London Times).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Oct 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9781797147192

Chris Miller

Chris Miller is Assistant Professor of International History at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He also serves as Jeane Kirkpatrick Visiting Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Eurasia Director at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, and as a Director at Greenmantle, a New York and London-based macroeconomic and geopolitical consultancy. He is the author of three previous books—Putinomics,The Struggle to Save the Soviet Economy, and We Shall Be Masters—and he frequently writes for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The American Interest, and other outlets. He received a PhD in history from Yale University and a BA in history from Harvard University. Visit his website at ChristopherMiller.net and follow him on Twitter @CRMiller1.   

Reviews for Chip War

[Jimandjava · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Comprehensive review of the history of the semiconductor industry and analysis of the current status and possible future challenges. Excellent book, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[vince · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was the best non fiction audio book i’ve ever listened to - amazingly informative, with an ocean of information that’s been re-presented from each country and regions perspective as the history and story unfolded. Truly outstanding!

[Zhao Kelvin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very informative and detailed illustration of the industry history and contemporary competitive landscape. The book is so well structured that readers could learn through the industry evolution without prior knowledge on semiconductors.

[Pavel Bulowski · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Best sneak peek into the future of hardware part of technology and it's influence on geo politics od the mid 21st century.

[roven · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well written and narrated. An absolute must to understand geopolitical events taking place today.

[Neil Simmons · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Book was amazing but it seemed like there was something wrong with the recording, some bits were dead air and other times it seemed to skip.

[Anne Mowat · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I think the book is good but the Narration is clunky and robotic… Will read the book rather than attempt to listen to it…