In this past Sunday's
SF Gate there is an excellent article tracing the origins of Silicon Valley. It lays to rest several pearls of common wisdom about that origin, including how it rose suddenly out of the farms and orchards near San Jose in the early 790s. But perhaps most interesting is how the article looks back to the early days of radio for the taproot of this history, and then moving through the days of Fairchild, and the "Fairchildren" that followed. The pictures that accompany the article are gems as well.
Here's the fishwrap.