Chris Miller

An epic account of the decades-long battle to control what has emerged as the world's most critical resource—microchip technology—with the United States and China increasingly in conflict. 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, smartphones to the stock market — runs on chips. Until recently, America designed and built the fastest chips and maintained its lead as the #1 superpower. Now, America's edge is slipping, undermined by competitors in Taiwan, Korea, Europe, and, above all, China. Today, as Chip War reveals, China, which spends more money each year importing chips than it spends importing oil, 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 U.S. become 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. But here, too, China is catching up, with its chip-building ambitions and military modernization going hand in hand. America has let key components of the chip-building process slip out of its grasp, contributing not only to a worldwide chip shortage but also a new Cold War with a superpower adversary that is desperate to bridge the gap. Illuminating, timely, and fascinating, Chip War shows that, to make sense of the current state of politics, economics, and technology, we must first understand the vital role played by chips.

1879: An unknown and timeless evil descends on East Texas. John Dee, bestowed with knowledge from beyond, moves through time and space, pursuing age-old horrors and ending their reign. As he seeks the hidden town of Dust to continue his lifework, another is hot on his heels, and will stop at nothing to rip the divine knowledge from Dee. As these opposing forces collide, Dee becomes both hero and villain in his quest against the Elders. He doesn't have time to be sorry - THERE ARE GODS TO KILL. Third in the Splatter Western series from Death's Head Press.

When Vladimir Putin first took power in 1999, he was a little-known figure ruling a country that was reeling from a decade and a half of crisis. In the years since, he has reestablished Russia as a great power. How did he do it? What principles have guided Putin's economic policies? What patterns can be discerned? In this new analysis of Putin's Russia, Chris Miller examines its economic policy and the tools Russia's elite have used to achieve its goals. Miller argues that despite Russia's corruption, cronyism, and overdependence on oil as an economic driver, Putin's economic strategy has been surprisingly successful. Explaining the economic policies that underwrote Putin's two-decades-long rule, Miller shows how, at every juncture, Putinomics has served Putin's needs by guaranteeing economic stability and supporting his accumulation of power. Even in the face of Western financial sanctions and low oil prices, Putin has never been more relevant on the world stage.

An illuminating account of Russia’s attempts―and failures―to achieve great power status in Asia. Since Peter the Great, Russian leaders have been lured by opportunity to the East. Under the tsars, Russians colonized Alaska, California, and Hawaii. The Trans-Siberian Railway linked Moscow to Vladivostok. And Stalin looked to Asia as a sphere of influence, hospitable to the spread of Soviet Communism. In Asia and the Pacific lay territory, markets, security, and glory. But all these expansionist dreams amounted to little. In We Shall Be Masters , Chris Miller explores why, arguing that Russia’s ambitions have repeatedly outstripped its capacity. With the core of the nation concentrated thousands of miles away in the European borderlands, Russia’s would-be pioneers have always struggled to project power into Asia and to maintain public and elite interest in their far-flung pursuits. Even when the wider population professed faith in Asia’s promise, few Russians were willing to pay the steep price. Among leaders, too, dreams of empire have always been tempered by fears of cost. Most of Russia’s pivots to Asia have therefore been halfhearted and fleeting. Today the Kremlin talks up the importance of “strategic partnership” with Xi Jinping’s China, and Vladimir Putin’s government is at pains to emphasize Russian activities across Eurasia. But while distance is covered with relative ease in the age of air travel and digital communication, the East remains far off in the ways that matter most. Miller finds that Russia’s Asian dreams are still restrained by the country’s firm rooting in Europe.

"ארצות הברית עדיין שולטת ביד רמה בשבבי הסיליקון שהעניקו לעמק הסיליקון את שמו, אך מעמדה נחלש במידה מסוכנת. סין מוציאה כיום על יבוא שבבים יותר כסף משהיא מוציאה על נפט." מוריס צ'אנג הוא ככל הנראה האדם המשפיע ביותר על העולם המודרני, לפחות מקרב האנשים שרובנו לא שמע עליהם מעולם. צ'אנג, שייסד בטייוואן את חברת TSMC, הפך את מדינת האי הקטנה לערב הסעודית של עולם השבבים, ולנכס אסטרטגי שכיבושו או הריסתו עשויים להוריד את כלכלת העולם על ברכיה. הספר שאתם מחזיקים בידכם, שהפך לסנסציה עולמית והוכתר בפייננשל טיימס ובאקונומיסט גם יחד כספר השנה, עוקב אחר ההיסטוריה הסוערת של המשאב המלאכותי המוטמע בכל מוצרי האלקטרוניקה, ואשר האומות שישלטו בייצור המורכב שלו צפויות לשלוט במאה ה-21. "גורל האנושות תלוי בתוצאותיה של מלחמת השבבים, שבה מתחרות המעצמות בפיתוח טכנולוגיות ייצור ותכנון שיאפשרו להן לייצר את השבבים המתקדמים ביותר. מלחמות השבבים הוא הספר שאתם חייבים לקרוא על רקע המאבק המתעצם בין סין לאמריקה". — ההיסטוריון ניל פרגוסון * מה יקרה לכלכלת העולם אם יכולת הייצור של שבבים מתקדמים תיעלם בן לילה? * כיצד הפכה מכונה הולנדית עם יותר מ-100,000 רכיבים לצוואר הבקבוק של עולם השבבים? * איך משפיעים מרכזי המחקר והפיתוח הממוקמים בישראל על מלחמות השבבים? * מדוע יכריע הקרב על העליונות בשדה ייצור השבבים במאבק בין המערב לסין? ד"ר כריס מילר מלמד היסטוריה בינלאומית בבית הספר פלטצ'ר באוניברסיטת טאפטס. את הדוקטורט שלו קיבל מאוניברסיטת ייל. הוא מחברם של שלושה ספרים ושל מאמרים רבים שפורסמו בניו־יורק טיימס, בוול סטריט ג'ורנל ובאמצעי תקשורת מובילים אחרים.