William Shockley, the inventor of the transistor, was a controversial and polarizing figure. Despite his accomplishments, he struggled with personal relationships and was disheartened by the success of his former colleagues, who went on to found Intel. In his later years, Shockley became a fringe figure, preaching eugenics. However, his relationship with his mother, May Bradford Shockley, remained strong and their correspondence remains preserved in the Stanford Library Archives.