Conquering the Electron

Conquering the Electron offers readers a true and engaging history of the world of electronics. Beginning with the discoveries of static electricity and magnetism and ending with the creation of the smartphone and the iPad, this book shows the interconnection of each advance to the next one on the long journey to our modern day technologies. Exploring the combination of genius, infighting, and luck that powered the creation of the electronic age we inhabit today, Conquering the Electron debunks the hero worship that so often plagues the stories of great advances. Want to know how AT&T’s Bell Labs developed semiconductor technology—and how its leading scientists almost came to blows in the process? Want to understand how radio and television work—and why RCA drove their inventors to financial ruin and an early grave? Conquering the Electron offers these stories and more, presenting each revolutionary technological advance right alongside the blow-by-blow personal battles that all too often took place.

Dr. Derek Cheung is a scientist turned businessman with a lifetime of experience in the fields of science and technology. He received his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in the same field from Stanford. Derek spent four years working as a research engineer at Fairchild Semiconductor, the company that gave birth to Silicon Valley, before making a career as president and CEO of Rockwell Scientific, a successful high tech company converted from a major corporate R&D lab. He lives in Newbury Park, California.

Eric Brach is a lecturer in English West Los Angeles College in Culver City, California. He is the author of Billy “the Hill” and the Jump Hook, and has been a contributor to national magazines, newspapers, and academic journals, including Bleacher Report, Box Office, and The Onion. He lives in Culver City, California.