Broken Genius: The Rise and Fall of William Shockley, Creator of the Electronic Age
, subject: William Shockley, transistor, Bell Labs, Shockley Semiconductor, Silicon Valley origins, 2006
Shockley believed every good idea had to come from him. This biography traces his company’s rise and fall as a record of management mistakes to avoid.
About the book
Shurkin, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, had access to Shockley's private archives. His biography moves between the transistor and the Nobel Prize and the later campaign on race, intelligence and genetics that Shockley himself regarded as his greatest accomplishment.
Why read it
Best if you want a close study of founder mistakes to avoid: how certainty in your own judgment can shape a first product, shut out staff ideas and end learning.
Key themes
- Pick a first product you can sell and make
- A founder who owns every idea stops hearing staff
- Certainty can end learning
Evidence and original sources
Sources: official Founders episodes — #165, #356
This record is supported by 11 public evidence rows linked to original Founders episodes.
- William Shockley (Creator of the Electronic Age) — David explains a listener recommended this Shockley biography after his prior Founders #157 coverage, which is how he found the book.
- How The Sun Rose On Silicon Valley: Bob Noyce (Founder of Intel) — David says Shockley's biography was episode 165 of Founders.