Bob Johnstone, with "a sharp eye for drama" (Kirkus Reviews), traces the rise of the electronics industry in Japan and the United States. "[P]rovides a much-needed human dimension to the strange and wonderful threads of technology with which we weave our world." -Nature "Comprehensive, smartly written and accessible." -Publishers Weekly "A must-read." -Salon "A fascinating history of the silicon era in the land of the rising sun." -Business 2.0 Presenting a wealth of new material, including interviews with key players past and present, Bob Johnstone introduces us to a new and very different kind of Japanese worker-a dynamic, iconoclastic, risk-taking entrepreneur. Incorporating American inventions such as microchip cameras, liquid crystal displays, and sound chips, Japanese companies created products that are now ubiquitous facets of the modern world: digital calculators and watches, synthesizers, camcorders, and compact disc players. Without these creative men and women, Seiko, Canon, Casio, Sharp, and Yamaha could not have turned obscure American inventions into profitable, useful gadgets for the consumer.