This book is the first history of Silicon Valley from 1900 to 2013. It is a comprehensive study of the greatest creation of wealth in the history of the planet. It gives a chronological narrative covering a century of innovation and entrepreneurship, from the establishment of Stanford University to the age of Google and Facebook. A group of case studies describes innovations and narratives about radio, the US defense industry, HP, microchips, Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel, venture capital, Xerox PARC, software, Apple Computer, and the internet. Silicon Valley did not happen in a vacuum: this book also explores the surrounding social and cultural environment of the Bay Area.