Book excerpt: The concept of National Innovation Systems is well established in academic research and enthusiastically adopted by policymakers. Yet there are relatively few in-depth studies of how individual national innovation systems have evolved to their present stance. This book provides just that. The contributions of the book are threefold. First, it develops an evolutionary and historically oriented approach to the study of the development of these policies that may have wide applicability. Second, it focuses on a particular type of innovation, innovation in resource-based activities, that differs in many respects from the more commonly studied case of innovation in high-tech industries. Third, the book advances our understanding of the roles played by institutions and politics in innovation. The book includes contributions from historians, economists, and sociologists, and offers an unparalleled account of the development of one of the world's most successful economies.