The Idea Factory (2012)

Jon Gertner investigates the unparalleled incubator of AT&T's Bell Laboratories, where the transistor, solar cell, and information theory were born. The account dissects the intellectual rivalries and collaborative brilliance of luminaries such as William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Claude Shannon as they engineered the solid-state revolution. By exploring how this monopoly-funded powerhouse solved fundamental physical hurdles, the book illuminates the bedrock upon which modern digital logic and telecommunications rest.