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In less than a decade, the Internet went from being a series of loosely connected networks used by universities and the military to the powerful commercial engine it is today. This book describes how many of the key innovations that made this possible came from entrepreneurs and iconoclasts who were outside the mainstream - and how the commercialization of the Internet was by no means a foregone conclusion at its outset. How the Internet Became Commercial demonstrates how, without any central authority, a unique and vibrant interplay between government and private industry transformed the Internet

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"Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the broader context in which the explosion of Internet-related innovation occurred."--Marc Levinson, Wall Street Journal

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Shane Greenstein is the Martin Marshall Professor of Business Administration and codirector of the program on the economics of digitization at the National Bureau of Economic Research. His books include Diamonds Are Forever, Computers Are Not and Standards and Public Policy.

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