Broken Genius: The Rise and Fall of William Shockley, Creator of the Electronic Age

When William Shockley invented the transistor, the world was changed forever and he was awarded the Nobel Prize. But today Shockley is often remembered only for his incendiary campaigning about race, intelligence, and genetics. His dubious research led him to donate to the Nobel Prize sperm bank and preach his inflammatory ideas widely, making shocking pronouncements on the uselessness of remedial education and the sterilization of individuals with IQs below 100. Ultimately his crusade destroyed his reputation and saw him vilified on national television, yet he died proclaiming his work on race as his greatest accomplishment. Now, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Joel N. Shurkin offers the first biography of this contradictory and controversial man. With unique access to the private Shockley archives, Shurkin gives an unflinching account of how such promise ended in such ignominy.

Review
"Shurkin is a good storyteller, and better still as a researcher of the personal facts." –Nobel laureate Professor Philip Anderson, Times Higher Educational Supplement
"Shurkin deftly tackles this complex figure – and his unraveling – and delivers an unflinching portrait of a tragic life."–Seed Magazine
"At last, the definitive, unstinting biography of this hugely important historical figure–complete with all his contradictions and idiosyncrasies."–Michael Riordan, coauthor of Crystal Fire
"I recommend it to people curious about the history of technology and the computer or anyone interested in a rise and fall of truly epic proportions."–Cory Ondrejka, CTO Linden Labs/Second Life
"Shurkin does a good job of portraying a difficult man–a vivid portrait."–NewScientist
Praise for Engines of the Mind:
"A popularized, clearly written history of computing…beautifully captures the hectic, creative air at the Moore School as young engineers labored under John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert to construct ENIAC…"–The Wall Street Journal
"A fine book, full of interesting angles and lively stuff…Shurkin has the same lively facility for writing clearly about computers that Robert Heilbroner has for writing about economics…Shurkin writes a crisp newspaperly style, has a good eye for color and has created a fine book."–Boston Globe
"Offers a glimpse of science at both its finest and most mundane…clearly and vivaciously written."–ALA Booklist
"The other wonderful thing about this book is that it manages to convey the excitement of scientific inquiry and invention."–New York Sun
"FIVE STARS: this gripping biography gives a balanced picture of the most bizarre of the great names of electronics. Recommended." –Brian Clegg, author of The God Effect and Light Years
"I recommend it to people curious about the history of technology and the computer or anyone interested in a rise and fall of truly epic proportions." –Cory Ondrejka, CTO Linden Labs/Second Life
"Masterfully walks the fine line between presenting Shockley as purely evil and legitimizing his more controversial theories–very readable." –Physics World
"This portrait of a flawed giant reveals a man crushed under the weight of his own pathological insecurities." –David Bodanis, Discover
"Shurkin reveals Shockley to be a fascinating example of an Aristotelian tragic hero–riveting." –Nature
"This informed and candid biography asks, 'Why did a man so brilliant deliberately destroy himself?'" –Skeptical Inquiry