Semiconductor nanowires (NW) are becoming increasingly important due to their novel electronic, photonic, thermal, electrochemical and mechanical properties and potential applications thereof in fields such as electronics and opto-electronics. \cite{Yang_2010} \cite{Dasgupta_2014} \cite{Li_2006} \cite{Yan_2009} There does not seem to be a limit to the innovative electronic designs that are being created to test these properties. Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) NWs have been explored for a myriad of possible devices including, transistors, photo-detectors, LED, solar cells, and nanolaser devices. In order for applications in these fields to be successful there must be synthetic control of NW quality; including, synthetic control of phase puritiy, chemical composition, surface:volume ratio, NW length, NW diameter, and NW shape.\cite{Fang_2014} \cite{Dick_2014} All these NW attributes consequently control the NW properties that are of interest, and even small variations or inconsistencies can have large effects on NW performance. This article reviews the methods of GaAs NW synthesis and the most recent electronics that have been designed using GaAs NWs. The topics to be reviewed are divided into two sections, one of synthesis and one of applications.