The tube guys

This beautiful 400 page hard cover book is the first on the history of microwave tubes and begins with inventions that led to this technology; Edison, Marconi, Tesla, & deForest. There is a chapter on the invention of each type of tube and their inventors; Varian, Boot and Randall, Kompfner, Epsztein, & Phillips. The impact of microwave tubes on World War II was greater than that of the atomic bomb. Key applications are covered; radar, electronic countermeasures, communications, microwave ovens, and linear accelerators. Formation of the key companies is detailed including Varian, Litton, Hughes, Teledyne, Raytheon, Watkins Johnson, and many more. From WW II to the Cold War and even now as Russia and the US spar; microwave tubes are essential for our defense.