Book excerpt: Semiconductor electronics is the major technology of our age. Its achievement and potential are vast, its application and influence ubiquitous, its social and economic consequences uncertain. Semiconductor electronics has become the vehicle for nearly all technological change and, consequently, the subject of much discussion. This revised and up dated edition is offered as a basic contribution to that vital discussion by authors who have long studied the process of technological change and who are familiar with the peculiarities of the semiconductor industry. Although it dealt with a highly technical subject, the first edition proved readily intelligible to a wide audience. The second edition is designed for that same group - those who seek an understanding of the processes at the heart of technological change.