ESQUIRE CLASSIC OF THE WEEK“The Tinkerings of Robert Noyce”by Tom Wolfe

Ferraris, lab coats, and the birth of Silicon Valley

Fifty-four years ago this weekend, a young inventor named Robert Noyce was awarded a patent for the silicon chip, which would usher in the age of computers and Silicon Valley. In 1983, when Noyce was chairman of Intel, the computing company he founded, Esquire writer Tom Wolfe headed to the Santa Clara Valley to interview the man who’d become known as the mayor of Silicon Valley. What Wolfe created is a riveting story of the birth of startup culture and a fascinating portrait of the brilliant alchemists who founded the world’s most exciting technological hub.

Check out Tana Oshima’s illustrated excerpt of Wolfe’s story about the invention of the silicon chip, then head over to Esquire Classics to read Wolfe’s full story.

Read “The Tinkerings of Robert Noyce” on Esquire Classics.

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