Learning the Silicon Valley Way

As someone fortunate to have had some success in the business of technology, from time to time journalists and researchers contact me to ask about my experiences in the semiconductor industry here in northern California. Most have sought in some way to define and understand the birth of this place called Silicon Valley. This chapter is, in part, an addendum to and clarification of their efforts. Charting the establishment of this dynamic is fundamentally different than appreciating its operation. We have tried to capture what we feel are the crucial elements of the early history of Silicon Valley through the retelling and reexamination of the experiences of Shockley, Fairchild, and Intel.